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Auction Winner Won't Pay for Chinese Relics

Collector says he bid $36 million on antiquities as protest

(Newser) - Among the most closely watched lots at last week's Paris auction of Yves Saint Laurent's art collection were two imperial Chinese bronzes that each sold for $18 million. Beijing spent months insisting that the sculptures were looted in the 19th century and should be returned to China, but failed to...

Smithsonian Gallery Names New Director

Former MoCA chief takes over Hirshhorn after yearlong search

(Newser) - Richard Koshalek, former director of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, will become the new head of the Hirshhorn Museum—the modern gallery of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. Koshalek expanded MoCA over 20 years, leaving in 1999 to run the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena....

Cash-Poor Collectors Turn to Haute Pawnshops

'Private art banks' exchange paintings for cash

(Newser) - With loans hard to come by, some rich Americans are turning to their art collections for quick cash. Rather than sell in a depressed market, collectors turn to a lightly regulated corner of the marketplace that provides capital in exchange for temporary ownership of artwork. While they may look like...

Christie's $264M Auction Stuns Art Market

(Newser) - Celebrity power revived the art market in Paris for at least one night, the Wall Street Journal reports. Despite the economy, a giddy atmosphere prevailed at Christie's as bidders battled over blue-chip works from Yves Saint Laurent's personal collection, dishing out $32 million more than expected. Only a moody, Cubist...

Fairey Makes 'Pop Masquerading as Art'
 Fairey Makes 'Pop 
 Masquerading as Art' 
ART CRITICISM
Feb 16, 2009 4:11 PM CST

Fairey Makes 'Pop Masquerading as Art'

(Newser) - Shepard Fairey’s iconic Obama image inspires “a thrill of concerted purpose,” writes Peter Schjeldahl in the New Yorker, but the same can't be said for the rest of Fairey’s work, on exhibition in Boston. While the Obama poster made something new and vibrant, writes Schjeldahl, Fairey...

'Demon Horse' Divides Denver

Critics stampede to complain about sculptire of 32-foot mustang with blazing red eyes

(Newser) - A fierce controversy has reared up in Denver over a gigantic blue mustang that looms at the gateway to the city's airport, reports the Wall Street Journal. Naysayers complain that a "terrifying" 32-foot sculpture with glowing red eyes isn't the kind of first impression Denver should be giving visitors....

With Legal Gray Areas, Art Heists Go Digital

Point-and-click age makes for murky copyright arguments

(Newser) - A disconnect between the artistic and legal communities is reigniting the debate over copyright infringement, the Wall Street Journal reports. The law says an artist can adapt an existing work only if the resulting piece is “transformative,” or provides a new spin. “It’s meant to be...

Now Brandeis May Close Museum, Keep Art

But university president insists that museum will have to close

(Newser) - In the face of universal shock and disapproval, Brandeis University has backpedaled on its plan to sell 6,000 works of modern art—but it will go ahead with its plan to close its museum. At a meeting with about 200 students, the university's president said that a sharp drop...

Mass. AG Will Probe Brandeis Museum Sale

Art world condemns decision to close gallery, sell collection

(Newser) - The Massachusetts attorney general announced a probe into Brandeis University's shock decision to shut its modern art museum and sell off the entire 6,000-work collection. Brandeis did not consult the AG's office or even the museum's board, and wills and agreements between the Rose Art Museum and its donors...

Brandeis Shuts Museum, Will Sell 6,000 Works

Art world shocked as university closes renowned institution

(Newser) - Facing severe budget shortfalls, Brandeis University will close its well-regarded modern art museum and sell off the entire 6,000-work collection, reports the Boston Globe. The move has shocked the art world and drawn heavy criticism from museum and university professionals. "This is not a happy day in the...

How Obama Can Rebuild the Arts

America can re-establish serious arts support with these 'first steps'

(Newser) - Despite the economic crisis, Barack Obama’s ascension to the White House is triggering a wave of optimism in the art community, David A. Ross writes in the Art Newspaper. He prescribes 10 “first steps” the president can take to re-establish serious support for arts in the United...

What Makes Joel the Worst Singer Ever?
What Makes Joel the
Worst Singer Ever?
OPINION
Jan 24, 2009 3:33 PM CST

What Makes Joel the Worst Singer Ever?

Contempt, phoniness drives 'really bad art'

(Newser) - Billy Joel serves up his own brand of schlock-rock, but why is it so uniquely bad? Critic Ron Rosenbaum easily pans the piano man—"anodyne, sappy, superficial, derivative, fraudulently rebellious"—but what he hates most is the “unearned contempt" in Joel's tunes. It's usually for “the...

China Knockoff Craze Gains Steam, Courage

Shanzhai culture shifts from brand names to national symbols

(Newser) - An internet variety showed parodying the annual lunar new year gala on Chinese central TV is just the most publicized knockoff generated by the country’s rebellious shanzhai culture, the Wall Street Journal reports. Once mainly the province of counterfeit name brands (think HiPhone), the web now is awash with...

Arts Need a New Deal, Too
 Arts Need a New Deal, Too 
OPINION
Jan 21, 2009 7:40 PM CST

Arts Need a New Deal, Too

Cultural anthropologist suggests President Obama appoint arts cabinet

(Newser) - Fifty years after FDR’s Public Works Art Project paid and promoted American talent, President Obama has people dreaming of a new deal for arts, cultural anthropologist Patricia Williams Lessane writes in Ebony. While division spawned the Harlem Renaissance, Lessane is hopeful an arts resurgence would be “born out...

Tough-as-Nails Pooty-Poot Is Also an Artiste

Russian PM's painting fetches $1.15M at charity auction

(Newser) - Vladimir Putin has a murky past with the KGB, a black belt in judo, and the public image of a tough guy, so when the Russian PM tried his hand at fine art, patrons sat up. Putin painted a scene of snowfall seen through a window for a charity auction...

Thank Portrait for Obama's Success: Hope Artist

LA graphic designer says image boosted power of art

(Newser) - The iconic Hope image of Barack Obama helped get the Illinois senator elected president, says the graphic designer who created the image. “It has exceeded my expectations almost from the get-go,” Shepard Fairey told Smithsonian magazine, adding that Obama’s “unique” look was an inspiration for him...

Art World Still Divided on Wyeth

Some call him modern; others, 'corny Americana'

(Newser) - Andrew Wyeth divided the art community throughout his life, and little seems to have changed with his passing yesterday. While many in the field call him one of the most important 20th-century American artists, others insist his mode of realism makes him more of an illustrator than a serious painter,...

Painter Andrew Wyeth Dead at 91
 Painter Andrew 
 Wyeth Dead at 91 
obituary
Jan 16, 2009 9:56 AM CST

Painter Andrew Wyeth Dead at 91

'Polarizing' Pennsylvanian known for 'Christina's World'

(Newser) - Andrew Wyeth, a painter both celebrated and scorned in the art community, has died at 91 at his home outside Philadelphia. In his paintings, the “polarizing” figure depicted a rural America of fallow fields, faded colors, and weather-beaten people, writes Michael Kimmelman in the New York Times. He was...

Christie's Cuts Jobs as Art Sales Slump

250-year-old auction house downsizes to stay afloat

(Newser) - Following months of bad results in America and Europe, Christie's is reorganizing to cut costs, including "significant staff reductions," the auction house said yesterday. While at the start of 2008 the art world seemed immune to the economic downturn, the decade-long boom in art prices busted this fall....

Artist Cooks Up Rachael Ray Nude Portrait

Alex Gardega will use paprika to paint

(Newser) - The wait is over: You may soon be able to see Rachael Ray naked. Artist Alex Gardega is painting a 6-foot nude portrait of the TV personality, the New York Post reports. Fittingly, the “art-world rebel”—who says modern art “needs a savior … to bring painting...

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