Go back to my post "Money Money on the Wall," from 19 July.
And now read this, about a collector who paid more than $21,000 for $20,000.
Crazy? Fun? Stupid?
Drop the camera and put your hands up!
This story about a Long Beach policy is mostly being treated as a joke or a censorship blip.
I think restricting people from taking bad photos is probably an idea worth exploring.
Why didn't I know about this sooner?
I literally saw this site for the first time about ten minutes ago. And I need to share it now.
I knew that Google Earth had done this with the Prado, but I had no idea they had done it with so many museums.
Go immediately. Have fun.
Prehistory Supplement
Art History Resources: the motherlode of art history links.
Gotta support students: a senior seminar project on prehistoric art.
A primer on the Art History Archive.
A 3-D virtual tour of Lascaux Caves--in French, no less!
Ai Weiwei
Perhaps you followed the story this summer about Ai Wewei, the well-known Chinese artist who was "detained" by Chinese authorities for several months and eventually released. I thought I'd put together a quick primer on who he is and what happened:
Video about a current show of his architectural work.
Video about Sunflower Seeds, one of his pieces.
PBS Frontline profile of Ai Weiei.
Certainly his most famous design.
New York Times story on his detention.
Frida's Corsets
I'm not really sure what this short essay's purpose is, what question it's trying to answer or new idea it's trying to get across. But it's a compelling and quick read.
But don't take my word for it
There are a few web sites that are attempting to become complete Art histories, but in a different model than the traditional survey textbook.
ArtHistoryUnstuffed is based on a blog and podcast model--it's got a single author with a vision and control.
smarthistory is slightly more wiki-like. It has a number of contributors, allows users to submit content, and includes multi-media presentations. It's attempting to become an online textbook and course unto itself, not just to supplement a traditional book or course. The cool thing about smarthistory is that it's got more than you could ever want. The problem may be that it's got more than you can possibly fit into your schedule. Or your brain. (Hint: the Flickr pool may be a great place to get good notecard images.)
Have fun with both, and let me know if you come across any other sites of this type.
A new Oldenburg just went up
Claes Oldenburg, the 82-year-old sculptor who made "the giant clothespin" among other large objects, watched as workers erected his newest public piece, a large paint brush, in Philadelphia.
More Oldenburg images here.
"Jim Henson's Fantastic World"
Since we've already brought Spongebob into things, why not the Muppets, too? I'd love to see this show, but it's in Queens.
Should we celebrate?
This Sunday marks the 100th anniversary of the theft of the Mona Lisa. Is there a more famous heist?
Read about the history here.
I never thought this would happen...
...but the same name keeps popping up on all the arts blogs this week: Spongebob Squarepants.
I've never seen the show, so I will not comment on its artistic merits. But a former designer for the show is accused of hiring thugs to beat up and hold up his art dealer.
And just how ubiquitous is Mr. Squarepants? Neither Spongebob nor Squarepants get flagged by the spellchecker.
Woman Attacks Another Painting!!
Just to be clear: this is the same woman. She has now attacked two works at the National Gallery in under a year. I hope the security guards all get a photo of her to watch out in the future.
Indie Video Games?
I don't play video games, and I know very little about them.
So I was surprised (I shouldn't have been) to learn that there are "indie" and "alternative" video games to compete with the Grand Theft Auto and the like.
This one, One Chance, looks like something to try. If you're into that kind of stuff.
A note to readers (if any)
First, thanks to Jenny for encouraging me to get this running again.
I'll have a new batch of students in two weeks, and I plan on insisting that they follow this blog. I'll sometimes post things very pertinent to their classwork, just to make sure they're paying attention.
But to those of you already following: any suggestions? Anything I can do to make it more readable or interesting? Any technical tips that I should already know but don't? I'd love to hear from you, either as a comment here or an email. Or even a Facebook message.
Thanks!
Benjamin
New Tendencies and Bit International
If you were to ask me about the early days of computer-generated art, I would look back to the late 1970s and early 80s. Apparently I would, as is all to often the case, be wrong. This article (frustratingly lacking pictures) is a review of this book about several pioneering groups of computer artists--from 1961 to 1973.
Finding images takes a little bit of digging, but a great place to get a good taste is to do a Google image search for Bridget Riley.
Paa Joe
Every spring when students do the Non-European Art unit, Paa Joe's quirky coffins are always a hit.
Here's a link to a nine more. I think my favorite is the fish--it's got a Jonah in the Whale vibe to it. And oh how I'd like to think this shark one was made for Damien Hirst.
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