Tag: 05.10.19

Broadband In The US Is Still Slow And Expensive, But Companies Are Racing To Change That – From Space

OK, from low orbit, anyway. Still, potentially cool (and creepy? All at once?): First of all, Elon Musk’s SpaceX has a plan for something called “Starlink,” and now, “government filings have indicated Amazon is preparing a constellation of 3,236 satellites as the backbone of its own planned service currently dubbed ‘Project Kuiper.'” – Vice

The Estate Of Robert Indiana Sues To Stop Sales For Reproductions Of ‘LOVE’ And ‘HOPE’

Wow, ugh, and this sure messes with those trying to remember Indiana a year after he died. “The complex legal battle surrounding the estate of Indiana began the day before he died at his home on Vinalhaven, when the Morgan Art Foundation filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York accusing McKenzie and Jamie Thomas, Indiana’s caretaker, of fraud and elder abuse. Indiana also was named in the suit. In fall 2018, Morgan also sued the Indiana estate alleging breach of contract.” Now there’s more. – Portland Press Herald (Maine)

Artist Verna Hart, Whose Art Reflected The Rhythms Of Jazz, Has Died At 58

Hart’s creative journey began in – and probably before – kindergarten. Then, “encouraged by her parents and refusing to be confined by the contours in coloring books, she made the walls of her family’s home in Queens her canvas. She drew cartoons and other scenes on them, delighting her siblings and even her parents. By the time she was 8, her father was already introducing her as a professional artist — the very thing she would remain until her death on April 26 at 58.” – The New York Times

Chinese Gov’t Is Keeping Zhang Yimou’s Latest Film Out Of Festivals — Because They Don’t Want It To Win

One Second, set during the Cultural Revolution, is said by people who’ve seen it to be Zhang’s best movie in years and a sure bet to take a prize in Berlin or Cannes. Yet, even though the completed film was approved by the censors of China’s national film board, officials have blocked it from being shown at festivals — because, say insiders, the government doesn’t want international attention drawn to the subject matter. – The Hollywood Reporter

Conan O’Brien Settles Lawsuit By Writer Who Alleged Joke Theft

“After years of buildup, a debate about the nature of humor that verged on the metaphysical and the specter of a trial featuring testimony from Patton Oswalt and Andy Richter, Conan O’Brien settled a lawsuit against him Thursday, ending a standoff with a freelance comedy writer who had accused the late-night host of stealing jokes.” (O’Brien announced the settlement in an op-ed published in Variety.) – The New York Times

Wildenstein Gallery Sued For Allegedly Selling Fake Bonnard Painting

“The art collector and real-estate investor Neil Wallace, who with his brother Monte are thought to be the sellers of a $100 million Impressionist art collection at Christie’s London in February, is part of a trust suing Wildenstein & Co. over a Pierre Bonnard painting bought more than three decades ago that they now deem ‘a clever fake.'” – Artnet

One Of World’s Largest Corporate Art Collections To Be Sold Off To Fund Social Projects

“The Italian bank UniCredit has announced plans to sell off its art collection — one of the largest corporate holdings in the world — to help finance social initiatives across Europe. … The collection of 60,000 works includes those by Gustav Klimt, Giorgio de Chirico, Fernand Léger and Gerhard Richter.” – The Art Newspaper