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Restaurant menus designed by artists, the Indianapolis Museum of Art settles the score, and paintings by "the voice of a generation" were among the stories in the week's news. Read on for ArtWeLove’s news digest, now also available in email form—bringing a comprehensive roundup of the week’s art developments to your digital doorstep. If you aren’t signed up, click here. As always, we welcome your feedback at editorial@artwelove.com.
POOR IS A STATE OF MIND, BROKE IS A STATE OF WALLET
And Polaroid is both. Once upon a time, instant gratification was synonymous with Polaroid cameras. But now that digital has replaced instant and fraud has corroded the company, bankruptcy court cleans house. Polaroid is being forced to auction 1,200 snapshots worth $10 million. Among the offerings: Ansel Adams, Robert Rauschenberg, David Hockney, Robert Mapplethorpe, Andy Warhol, and Chuck Close. In a more dignified divestiture, 30-years of Tribeca fine dining has closed its doors but not its menus. The debt-riddled Chanterelle is strategically selling 65 menu-covers designed by the likes of Roy Lichtenstein, Ellsworth Kelly, Robert Indiana, Cy Twombly, and yes, creditors’ new favorite—Rauschenberg. Nor is all well across the pond. The Foundry, London’s popular egalitarian art space, is scheduled for demolition because the site owners—not be confused with the devastated gallery founders—have decided a hotel and retail complex would be more profitable. In a paradoxical move, they are sparing a single wall with a huge Banksy mural.
CONTEMPORARY ART PARTNERS WITH SPORTS, AND FASHION, AND SPORTS AGAIN
On time for Fashion Week but a continent away, Tommy Hilfiger and the Keith Haring Foundation hawk rain boots and sneakers printed with Haring’s playful hieroglyphics. There’s only one way to get them before your best frenemy does—hit up the Colette concept store in Paris where select styles are available this week only. The entire collection launches in September, and I’m assuming—since it is the Foundation’s mission—that part of the proceeds go to AIDS-related charities. And the Colts lost the Super Bowl, so the Indianapolis Museum of Art has to settle the score. Indianapolis made a deal with the New Orleans Museum of Art that the winning city would receive a loaned masterpiece. But New Orleans scoffed at Indianapolis’s initial offering, an Ingrid Calame, and upped the ante by waging a Renoir. The museum directors tweeted insults and counter-offers, transforming a sporting event into a sporting of tastes. Final score: J.M.W. Turner’s “The Fifth Plague of Egypt” will hang for three months beside Claude Lorrain’s “Ideal View of Tivoli,” which is spared the stress of travel. Art meets sport again as the Vancouver Art Gallery showcases a rare set of Leonardo da Vinci’s anatomical drawings in conjunction with the Olympics, although protests continue over Olympic-related artist censorship.
EARTH TO STARCHITECTS
Slate recently compiled an Architecture Hall of Shame, featuring notables such as the two Franks (Gehry and Lloyd Wright) and I.M. Pei, who was recently awarded one of Britain’s most prestigious architecture awards. Dubai’s Burj Khalifa hasn’t made the list yet but a month after the world’s tallest building opened, it closed for repairs following the elevator entrapment of terrified tourists, who were caught between the 123rd and 124th floors.
TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN'
On February 12, San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum kicked off a major exhibit about the art of Shanghai intended to historically contextualize the city and its relationship to San Francisco; Sandwiched between performances, lectures, and film series, the exhibit is a primary component in a year’s worth of Bay Area programming focused on its sister city. Chuck Close became the first visual artist appointed to President Obama’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities, and a Dartmouth professor designed a program that analyzes mark making. The program correctly identified fake Bruegels that have only recently been debunked by historians, so it should be able to red-flag other forgeries. Finally, collectors and fanatics can own “the voice of a generation” on canvas. Bob Dylan opened a show this weekend at London’s Halcyon Gallery.
RELATED ARTICLES:
"From That Instant Thrill, Enduring Art, Now for Sale" [via the New York Times]
"Chanterelle Sells Its Art à la Carte" [via the New York Times]
"Foundry arts space set to make way for 18-storey hotel" [via the guardian.co.uk]
"Footwear collection featuring Keith Haring’s work" [via fibre2fashion.com]
"Artful Wagers on the Super Bowl" [via chicagonow.com]
"Leonardo da Vinci makes a stop at Winter Games in Vancouver" [via the Los Angeles Times]
"Salt Lake's Olympic artistic director sends open letter to VANOC" [via THE GLOBE AND MAIL]
"Critics worried Olympic artists will be censored" [via xtra.ca]
"I.M. Pei receives Royal Gold Medal" [via WorldArchitectureNews.com]
"Dubai’s Burj Khalifa to Reopen Feb. 14 After Viewing Deck Shuts" [via BusinessWeek.com]
"Math Professor Helps Uncover Art Fakes" [via NPR.org]
"Paint on the Tracks: Dylan's art on show in London" [via Reuters.com]
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