“The role of national museums is to record, preserve, research and display artefacts and art. They are not shops or businesses, and it is not their job to sell off or dump items that should be held in care for future generations. Museums hold items in storage for the benefit of researchers, in case new questions arise, or for use in future exhibitions when, due to innovation and a bit of imagination, the items are deemed exciting and interesting again.”
Tag: 02.29.08
Why A Fake Holocaust Memoir Fooled So Many For So Long
“Why did people take her seriously for so long? Raising questions about the authenticity of someone’s Holocaust testimony, however implausible it seems, is a joyless task and one that puts you in unsavory company.”
London Contemporary Art Sales Up 50 Percent In February
“Sotheby’s, Christie’s International and Phillips de Pury & Co. said they sold 56.4 percent more contemporary art than the total of 157.1 million pounds with fees in February 2007.”
Basel Refuses To Return 100 Works Stolen By Nazis
“The city of Basel rejected a claim by the heirs of Curt Glaser, a Jewish art collector persecuted by the Nazis, for the return of more than 100 works by artists including Edvard Munch, Max Beckmann, Marc Chagall and Henri Matisse.”
Chicago Sculture Stolen For Its Scrap Value?
A big metal scuplture outside a library on Chicago’s North Side was stolen this week. Will the thieves find a buyer? Ths sculpture is valued at $70,000. “The more relevant figure, police and art officials say, is $300. That’s what the piece may fetch on the scrap market, probably double what it would have gotten a few years ago.”
The Music Candidate?
One of the odder sub-stories of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign has been the way in which young artists and musicians have rallied around the Illinois senator, and begun celebrating him through self-produced songs and online videos. “Obama’s presidential bid has clearly struck a chord with the musically inclined. The senator, who is popular in rap shout-outs, has been designated “B-Rock” by the hip-hop community.”
Not Famous Enough? Insult Someone Who Is.
A collection of letters in which a now-forgotten Scottish composer launches attack after attack on Edward Elgar has gone on display in Liverpool. Ernest Bryson called Elgar “stupid” and “impertinent” after the composer declined an invitation to become president of a local chamber music society.
No Time To Build Your Audience In An Online World
The 20-something drama “quarterlife” didn’t seem like a good fit for a traditional TV network, so its creator turned it into one of the most popular online shows around. Naturally, the TV networks noticed, and NBC snapped it up and debuted it as an hour-long drama last week. They canceled it three days later.
Author Caught Fabricating Holocaust Memoir
“Eleven years after the publication of her best-selling Holocaust memoir – a heartwarming tale of a small Jewish girl trekking across Europe and living with wolves – [Misha Defonseca] yesterday admitted the whole story was a hoax.” The confession followed revelations in the French and Belgian press that Defonseca was not who she has been claiming to be.
A Bigger (Better?) Whitney Biennial
“This 74th incarnation promises to be more than the usual love-it-or-hate-it survey of contemporary art. Occupying all but one floor of the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Madison Avenue home, the show will also spill over into the Park Avenue Armory on 67th Street for several weeks.”