“[The] proceeds on all the works by women artists in [this month’s enormous] Christie’s sale tallied up to a mere $17m – less than 5% of the total and not even half the price achieved that night by a single picture of two naked women by Yves Klein. Indeed, depictions of women often command the highest prices, whereas works by them do not.” Things are slowly getting better, however.
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Vandals Deface Satirical Portrait Of South African President
“One man painted a red cross across [Jacob] Zuma’s face and penis while a younger man spread black paint over the image. The younger man was reportedly assaulted by security guards [in the Johannesburg gallery]. The 1.85-metre-high painting, entitled The Spear, has bitterly divided South Africans,” with Zuma and the ANC party suing to have the painting taken down.
Angela Lansbury At 86: ‘I’m The Bionic Woman’
“It surprises me that I didn’t get left behind. I’ve always managed to keep up. In the process of keeping busy, I’ve always stayed relevant. And that is a surprise to me. Because they still will allow me to get out there – particularly in the theatre – it’s total illusion. If you can sell that you’re 50, the audience will believe you.”
Here’s One Major Critic Who Really Likes The New Barnes Foundation
Roberta Smith: “Against all odds, the museum that opens to the public on Saturday is still very much the old Barnes, only better. … And Barnes’s exuberant vision of art as a relatively egalitarian aggregate of the fine, the decorative and the functional comes across more clearly, justifying its perpetuation with a new force.”
The Essence Of Science, Explained In 63 Seconds
“Here it is, in a nutshell: The logic of science boiled down to one, essential idea. It comes from Richard Feynman, one of the great scientists of the 20th century, who wrote it on the blackboard during a class at Cornell in 1964.”
Danish Orchestra Forms Flash Mob On Copenhagen Metro
“Oh, Copenhagen. … Now you’ve one-upped every philharmonic in the world with video of your orchestra (Sjællands Symfoniorkester) making an entire subway train weak in the knees with a flash mob performance of Grieg’s Peer Gynt on a Copenhagen Metro train.”
A Banksy Goes Down The Drainpipe (Actually, It’s The Reverse)
“A Melbourne builder has inadvertently destroyed a valuable piece of street art by British graffiti artist Banksy, by drilling a hole through it to put in a bathroom pipe.”
Easter Island Statues Have Bodies Beneath Those Heads (Petroglyphs, Too)
“When most people think of the renowned monolithic statues, they think of the heads only. But in October 2011, the Easter Island Statue Project began its Season V expedition, revealing remarkable photos showing that the bodies of the statues go far deeper underground than just about anyone had imagined.”
Top This, Toreadors! Swiss Town Hosts Cow-Fighting Tournament
“Each spring, [Aproz] is gripped by cow-fighting fever as dozens of the local Hérens cows vie for the coveted title of ‘Queen of Queens.’ The matches aren’t exactly gladiator-style brawls – the action is largely limited to head-butting, heavy breathing and abundant slobber. … The finals draw national TV crews and thousands of spectators.”
Implosions, Hollywood’s New Favorite Means Of Destruction
“For the Hollywood blockbuster the implosion has many advantages over the explosion. The first and most obvious attraction is novelty. The implosion takes the rather well-worn Hollywood explosion and turns it inside-out – with none of those pesky balls of fire covering up the destruction.”