Vanity Fair is said to be publishing a story claiming that painter Francis Bacon, who died in 1992 aged 82, was a tax dodger. The magazine alleges that Bacon avoided paying tax in Britain by failing to declare payments made by his dealers Marlborough Fine Art to a Swiss bank account. – London Evening Standard
Tag: 07.04.00
COME IN FROM THE LIGHT
The art world loathes Thomas Kinkade’s precious paintings. But America’s mall-goers can’t buy them fast enough and have made Kinkade a wealthy man. Reviled by the critics and scorned by galleries and agents, his work has been described as everything from ‘pseudo’ to ‘a damning indictment of our society’. Some question whether what he does is art at all.” Now Kinkade’s taking his show to England. – The Telegraph (UK
THE PARIS OF THE MIDWEST?
Chicago’s Mayor Richard Daly has been traveling to Europe. And thinking that what his city needs is a little bit of Europe. He’s proposed a London-style theatre district downtown, borrowed the downtown art cow idea from the Swiss, and proposed Venetian gondolas for the city’s waterways. What’s next? – Chicago Tribune
MERMAIDS IN NORFOLK, GIANT CORN IN BLOOMINGTON
Some three dozen US cities have deployed art on their downtown streets after Chicago reported a hit with its art cows last year. Now Chicago is talking about putting a twist on the idea next summer. “If Chicago can reinvent itself and come up with something even more inventive, I’d say we’re up for a decade of things on parade.” – CNN (AP)
COME IN FROM THE LIGHT
The art world loathes Thomas Kinkade’s precious paintings. But America’s mall-goers can’t buy them fast enough and have made Kinkade a wealthy man. Reviled by the critics and scorned by galleries and agents, his work has been described as everything from ‘pseudo’ to ‘a damning indictment of our society’. Some question whether what he does is art at all.” Now Kinkade’s taking his show to England. – The Telegraph (UK)
A SIDE OF BACON
Vanity Fair is said to be publishing a story claiming that painter Francis Bacon, who died in 1992 aged 82, was a tax dodger. The magazine alleges that Bacon avoided paying tax in Britain by failing to declare payments made by his dealers Marlborough Fine Art to a Swiss bank account. – London Evening Standard
DOT-COM CRASH IMPACTS ART SALES
With much of Seattle’s new wealth built on the dotcom boom, the recent downturn in the market has affected gallery art sales. “Everybody’s afraid to bring it up, because everybody wonders at first if it’s just us, if our business is down and everybody else is doing fine.” – Seattle Post-Intelligencer
DOING THE CONTINENTAL SWING
Recent European jazz albums suggest that the innovation in jazz is coming from the Old World and not from America. “Almost without anybody noticing, European jazz, regarded for years by the Americans with the same kind of tolerant smile they reserve for Japanese baseball, seems poised to step to the forefront.” – The Times (UK)
DEATH OF INDEPENDENCE
In recent years, the entertainment business has been all about consolidation. “Zero score and seven years ago, in fact, the Federal Communications Commission brought forth a new TV business, one dedicated to the pursuit of bigness and consolidation at any price” Now, a few independents are beginning to strike back. – Los Angeles Times 07/04/00
THE REALITY OR REALITY
Just why are so many millions of people fascinated with the reality shows “Survivor” and “Big Brother”? Daniel Boorstin may have predicted the reason some 40 years ago. “Attributing the blurring of news and pseudo news to a combination of technical virtuosity and audience democratization, he wrote: ‘The image, more interesting than its original, has become the original. The shadow has become the substance.’ Images, synthetic and simplistic yet vivid and believable, have become the nation’s measure of what is real. – New York Times 07/04/00