News
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11/30/2011
The Indianapolis Museum of Art has announced a call for proposals for 2012 residency on Andrea Zittel's Indianapolis Island.
from the IMA Web site: "The Indianapolis Museum of Art is issuing a call for proposals for a summer 2012 six-week residency on Andrea Zittel's Indianapolis Island within the IMA's 100 Acres: The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art and Nature Park. Graduate and undergraduate students and emerging professionals in the fields of art, design, architecture and performing arts are encouraged to apply to customize and reside on Indianapolis Island. Proposals are due Friday, January 13, 2012."
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11/29/2011
Art & Auction’s ninth annual Power 100 issue names Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, daughter of the Emir of Qatar, the most powerful person in the art world.
from Bloomberg: "This is the first year the magazine has broken out a ranked list from its annual issue on 100 movers and shakers, grouped into categories such as auctions, dealers and curators. Sheikha Al-Mayassa is the chairwoman of the Qatar Museums Authority, an organization overseeing the country’s ambitious cultural initiatives. 'Sheikha Al-Mayassa has the resources of an entire country at her disposal,' said Benjamin Genocchio, a vice president at Louise Blouin Media and editor in chief of Art & Auction. 'They have hired Ed Dolman to be their personal shopper. And the budget has no limit.'"
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11/29/2011
The wife of Ai Weiwei was taken from the Chinese artist's studio by police Tuesday and was questioned for three hours.
from CNN: "Four policemen took Lu Qing from the Beijing studio to a nearby police station, [Ai] said. She was released by police after questioning and is now a 'criminal suspect,' he said. They have not told her what crimes she is accused of. 'I think the authorities are trying to threaten me through her,' [Ai] said, speculating that Lu's arrest was related to her plans to visit Taiwan for an exhibition of her husband's work. She has now been told to stay in Beijing."
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11/28/2011
A group within the Occupy Wall Street movement is in discussions to find a multi-purpose, indoor arts space.
from The Art Newspaper: "The Arts and Culture committee of the New York City General Assembly, the protest group behind the movement, is planning to use shared office space on Wall Street with other Occupy groups, and is considering another offer from the arts blog Hyperallergic to borrow space in its Brooklyn offices, among other options. The space will be used for 'studio space, rehearsals, concerts, storage, performances, exhibitions, teach-ins, film screenings, art classes for children, sleeping, etc.'"
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11/28/2011
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation has announced six finalists for its 2012 Hugo Boss Prize.
from the New York Times: "The $100,000 prize, named for the German men’s wear company that sponsors it, is given every two years to an individual who has made an important contribution in contemporary art. In addition to cash, the winner is awarded an exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. The finalists are: Trisha Donnelly, Rashid Johnson, Monika Sosnowska, Danh Vo, Tris Vonna-Michell, and Qiu Zhijie.
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11/23/2011
Shepard Fairey has created a modified version of his famous "Hope" poster that calls for President Obama to support the Occupy Wall Street movement.
from the Los Angeles Times: "Fairey unveiled the new poster on his website late last week. The image substitutes Obama's face with a figure wearing the Guy Fawkes protest mask that has become a sartorial symbol of the Occupy rallies. 'This image represents my support for the Occupy movement, a grassroots movement spawned to stand up against corruption, imbalance of power, and failure of our democracy to represent and help average Americans,' the artist wrote on his site."
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11/23/2011
French artist Laure Prouvost has won the Max Mara art prize for women for her film and installation work.
from the BBC: "Prouvost, who has exhibited at galleries including Tate Britain and the ICA, was born in Lille but lives and works in London. Chair of the judges, Iwona Blazwick, described Prouvost's short films as "gripping". Prouvost's prize is a six-month residency in Italy, split between the British School in Rome and the Pistoletto Foundation in Biella."
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11/22/2011
The Auckland Triennial has announced that Hou Hanru will be the lead curator for for its fifth edition.
from Artforum: "Hou has curated the Lyon Biennale, the Istanbul Biennale, and the Venice Biennale. The Auckland Triennial was founded in 2000 and features contemporary artists. Hou explained, 'I’m looking forward to being a part of this unique exhibition experience, and I am excited to be in New Zealand.'"
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11/21/2011
Police have begun investigating Ai Weiwei's assistant for allegedly spreading pornography online.
from the Washington Post: "Police called in videographer Zhao Zhao, one of Ai’s assistants, for questioning on Thursday. Zhao said police asked him about an artistic photo he took last year of Ai and four women, who were all nude, titled “One Tiger, Eight Breasts.” The investigation appears to revive an accusation leveled against Ai when he was detained in April. Reports then said Ai was being investigated for tax evasion, bigamy and for spreading pornography online."
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11/18/2011
Following a highly competitive process, ACAC-SF and Art Practical are delighted to announce that Ellen Tani is the recipient of the 2011 ACAC Writing Fellowship.
Key to the selection of Tani was her shotgun review of Resistant Archaeology at the Mary Porter Sesnon Gallery in Santa Cruz. Tani, who is a graduate student in the Department of Art & Art History at Stanford University, will receive a $1,000 honorarium in support of her contributions as a writer for Art Practical. Tani will be commissioned to extend her shotgun review to a full-length review to be published by Art Practical on December 8, 2011. Between now and October 20, 2012, she will contribute six reviews to Art Practical, with the potential to write a feature-length article and to collaborate with the internationally regarded podcast Bad at Sports on an interview.
The other five finalists for this year’s fellowship include: Michele Carlson, Liz Glass, Joshua Kim, Charlotte Miller, and Jeffrey Songco. Their shotgun reviews have also been published in Issue 3.5 of Art Practical.
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11/18/2011
The National Endowment for the Arts announced $22.5 million in grants Thursday; California organizations received $4.3 million, or a fifth of the total.
from the Los Angeles Times: "Nationally there was just one six-figure grant — $100,000 to New York City’s New Dramatists for its Playwrights Lab program to foster new plays. In the four previous grant rounds since fall 2009, the top grants had reached $140,000 or $150,000. Since then, the NEA has seen its annual budget cut 7.5%, returning to its 2008-09 level of $155 million. The average grant for arts organizations announced Thursday was $26,177, down from $27,848 in the four previous rounds."
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11/17/2011
Dissident artist Ai Weiwei's latest provocative piece was handed to him by the Chinese government: a $2.4 million tax bill that he says is a trumped-up effort to silence him.
from the Associated Press: "To Ai, who has created installations around the world but had been able to show little of his work domestically, it is all art — right down to the scathing commentaries against him in the official Global Times newspaper. State media normally decline to acknowledge his existence. 'This has become a social performance and there are so many people involved. Even the Global Times. They are also playing a role in this,' Ai said. 'This has generated such energy which has never happened in the history of China.'"
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11/17/2011
Amid public outcry, the Arts Commission terminated a $750,000 Central Subway art contract with controversial dog-killing artist Tom Otterness on Tuesday.
from the San Francisco Examiner: "Otterness was selected by the Arts Commission earlier this year to install 59 bronze sculptures in the Moscone station of the proposed Central Subway project, but that was before The San Francisco Examiner reported Otterness’ past work in which he shot a dog for a film he claimed was a piece of art. But Otterness will still receive $700,000 for the Mother with Children sculpture for the new San Francisco General Hospital despite outcry from San Francisco’s animal advocates to also reject that work."
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11/16/2011
A group of street artists is suing AEG in a dispute over lost artwork in a penthouse in downtown L.A.
from the Los Angeles Times: "Anschutz Entertainment Group, which sent treasures from King Tut’s tomb around the world without apparent mishap, operates the Grammy Museum and runs the current touring exhibition, “America I Am: The African American Imprint," now stands accused in U.S. District Court of destroying works by street artists Mear One, Chor Boogie and Shark Toof that had been displayed in a penthouse at its Ritz-Carlton Residences at L.A. Live hotel and condo tower."
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11/16/2011
San Francisco may terminate $1.4 million in art contracts with Brooklyn artist Tom Otterness after revelations that he shot and killed a dog on film and called it art sparked outrage in San Francisco.
from the San Francisco Examiner: "The San Francisco Arts Commission said it was unaware of the incident when it awarded Otterness earlier this year with a $750,000 contract for 59 bronze sculptures in the Moscone station of the proposed Central Subway project. A $700,000 contract was awarded last year for a sculpture at San Francisco General Hospital...The commission will hold a Wednesday meeting to vote on whether to rescind the contracts."
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11/15/2011
The Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative, which pairs established figures in the fields of dance, film, literature, music, theatre, and visual arts with up-and-coming talents, has announced its mentors for the 2012-2013 cycle.
from ARTINFO: Mentors "include Margaret Atwood (literature), Gilberto Gil (music), William Kentridge (visual arts),Patrice Chéreau (theater), Lin Hwai-min (dance), and Walter Murch (film). Each protégé, selected by a panel of experts, receives $25,000 with the potential for an additional $25,000 grant for a work of art created during the program. The lucky emerging talents will spend at least six weeks over the course of the year with their mentors."
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11/15/2011
Hours before the deadline, Chinese officials refuse to allow Ai Weiwei to use his mother's house as collateral to pay the 15 million yuan fine.
from The Guardian: "Ai Weiwei has said his life is turning into a "Hollywood movie" as Chinese officials throw up fresh obstacles to his efforts to clear tax charges against his company. Hours before the deadline for paying the 15m yuan (£1.47m) fine, tax officials told the artist and human rights campaigner he could not use his mother's house as collateral and that there were problems with the funds he had raised in a public appeal."
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11/14/2011
Silvio Berlusconi's choice to be the new president of the Venice Biennale has withdrawn his name from consideration after the Italian prime minister's resignation.
from The Art Newspaper: "Giulio Malgara, 73, the foodstuffs concessionary appointed on 6 October to replace Paolo Baratta, 72, as president of the Venice Biennale has withdrawn his candidature, the Italian minister of culture, Giancarlo Galan, announced on 10 November. The real reason, though, for Malgara’s withdrawal is the fall of his chief supporter, prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. Baratta’s mandate ends on 18 December and he may be reappointed, but his name is also being mentioned as a possible minister of culture in the new government."
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11/14/2011
Yvonne Rainer denounced Marina Abramovic's planned MOCA gala performance as "grotesque."
from ARTINFO: "Renowned dancer, choreographer, and filmmaker Yvonne Rainer has written a letter to MOCA director Jeffrey Deitch indicting Abramovic’s planned performance for the event, which she calls “grotesque” and “verg[ing] on economic exploitation.” [P]erformers will spend three hours with their their heads protruding through the gala's tabletops, kneeling on Lazy Susans below to slowly rotate in circles while maintaining eye contact with guests. Other performers will lay nude on tables with fake skeletons on top of them, recreating Abramovic's famous "Nude With Skeleton" performance, as reperformers did at her MoMA retrospective."
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11/11/2011
Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton is unveiling the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Ark., on Friday.
from the Wall Street Journal: "This company town has few tourist attractions besides a seven-foot statue of a Confederate soldier and the Sam Walton five-and-dime that started theWal-Mart Stores Inc. empire. That changes Friday with the opening of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, an elaborate edifice built with Walton money that is luring boutique hotels, trendy restaurants and art galleries to this corner of the Ozark Mountains."
