United States

Robert Reid’s Miniature

“The Miniature” by Robert Reid Currently Housed at the Detroit Institute of Arts

“Art Exhibits for the Selfie Set”

“Art Exhibits for the Selfie Set”

by Richard Morgan via “Wall Street Journal“

“Carmelle Fernandez came down to Chelsea from the north Bronx with her cousin to stand in front of a pair of 18-feet-tall wooden characters. She asked a fellow visitor to Mary Boone Gallery to photograph them in similar poses as the sculptures—a shot destined for Instagram, Ms. Fernandez, a 30-year-old office assistant, said.

“It just makes you feel like you’re part of it,” she said. “It’s just fun. I think a lot of people take these photos. It’s hard not to.”

The exhibit, of sculptures and paintings by the artist KAWS, isn’t . . . .”

Out of curiosity, how long until the selfies themselves are considered works of art? I fully expect an exhibition to appear within the next 1-2 years focusing on the “best selfies” or “selfies that tell a story” theme. It is a surprisingly important part of modern culture–the obsession with oneself and one’s own interaction with the world as opposed to merely appreciating the works and experiences of others. That being said, this is a great way to involve otherwise un-interested audiences in the arts.

“The Confidence, and the Art, Looked Real”

“The Confidence, and the Art, Looked Real”

by Patricia Cohen via “New York Times”

“To many people, the art dealer Jose Carlos Bergantiños Diaz seemed like an enviable man. He came to the United States from Spain with his Mexican inamorata, Glafira Rosales, some 30 years ago, barely a dollar in his pocket, and only a few words of English at his command. Soon, he was living life on a grand stage. He bought a fine house in a wealthy New York suburb, opened an art gallery with Ms. Rosales and maintained auction accounts at Christie’s and Sotheby’s.He boasted of a friendship with Andy Warhol, an audience with the pope and his daughter’s violin performance at the Clinton White House. He created a charity that helped the poor and the sick in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, and won awards for his humanitarianism.

Behind the curtain, though, federal prosecutors say, Mr. Bergantiños was engaged in a very different sort of enterprise, a daring forgery swindle that fooled the art world and led collectors to spend more than $80 million on dozens of phony masterworks. The marketing of these forgeries, many of them sold through the offices of what was once New York’s oldest gallery, Knoedler & Company, has been among the most stunning art market scandals of the last decade. . . .”

I’ll just bet he’s out of the country; I can’t imagine having the cahoney’s to pull something like this off. And it begs the question of how well Knoedler & Co. were investigating the works they processed. Where are the provenance records, the testing process results, etc.? Were those forged as well, or were they not included in the sale? In this day and age, how were so many forged items passed of?

“In Brookhaven, Santa Claus is Coming to the Museum”

“In Brookhaven, Santa Claus is Coming to the Museum”

by Joe Earle via “Reporter Newspapers“

Santa Claus to meet children at Oglethorpe Museum of Art

“An exhibition of paintings of Santa Claus that artist Haddon Sundblom created for Coca-Cola ads has been extended through Dec. 21. Santa Claus and Elf Evie will appear at the museum to greet children on Dec. 7, Dec. 14 and Dec. 21. Photography of Santa, the elf and children is encouraged.

When: Santa appears Dec. 4, Dec. 14 and Dec. 21, 1 p.m. until 4 p.m. The museum is open to the public from noon until 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays.

Where: Oglethorpe University Museum of Art, located on the Oglethorpe University campus at 4484 Peachtree Street NE in Brookhaven.

Cost: Free for children 12 and younger. Museum admission for adults . . . . .”

“Arson Engulfs Art at Detroit’s Heidelberg Project”

“Arson Engulfs Art at Detroit’s Heidelberg Project”

via “Fox News“

“On Detroit’s Heidelberg Street, where a local artist turned the shell of a crime-ridden neighborhood into an interactive public art project, visitors coming to see offbeat display are noticing something that’s not part of the quirky exhibition: Yellow fire tape.

There have been at least eight fires since early May– the latest last Sunday — leading to questions about who might be targeting the installation known as the Heidelberg Project, and why they want to burn it down. . . .”