This week, students at Denver University’s Environmental Art Clinic have taken action to block artist Christo’s massive “Over the River” project to be built almost entirely within the federally-protected Arkansas Canyonlands Area of Colorado. The project was approved in November by the Bureau of Land Management even after extensive protests from the Rags Over the Arkansas River (ROAR) volunteer activist group.

Two DU students, Mason Brown and Justine Shepherd are spearheading the case, and they are very concerned about the impact the project could have. ”The art project will be akin to a mineral-development project, which is not allowed in the Arkansas Canyonlands,” Shepherd said at a February 1 press conference about the case.

Law professor Michael Harris explained that ROAR had contacted DU’s Environmental Art Clinic and after looking at the case they shared the group’s concern for the canyon that is protected under the Federal Land Policy Management Act. He pointed out that Christo’s project will drill 9,100 holes in the canyon, some as deep as 30 feet, which he compared to drilling 9,100 oil wells, as much of the equipment is the same. According to the court filing, in addition to the drilling the project incorporates 2,275 anchor transition frames, 1,275 cables of varying lengths, 925 fabric panel segments and will require a crew of 3,000.

The site of "Over the River" (original map via pilotfriend.com) (click to enlarge)

ROAR spokesperson, Joan Anzelmo, who was also at the press conference characterized the case as “a modern day David versus Goliath struggle” with the volunteer organization and its allies being the David preparing to hurl their slingshot towards the behemoth of an art project.

The $50 million two-week project has been projected to bring over 400,000 tourists to the delicate environmental region that is home to Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, which are highly susceptible to stress, not to mention peregrine falcons and bald eagles that are also native to the area. Preparations for the project, which is being paid for by the artist, will last two years and the activists and environmental law students are concerned that this will have a greater impact than the supporters of the project are willing to admit.

The civil action, filed with US District Court for Colorado claims, “The Art Project will have significant short- and long-term impacts on wildlife within the Arkansas Canyonlands.”

Christo is no stranger to controversy and his projects have created concerns over blocking airspace and been the site of accidents that have killed people. His Colorado project, one of his most ambitious, is planning to place 5.9 miles (9.5 km) of silvery, translucent fabric panels above the Arkansas River in eight different segments of a 42-mile stretch between Canon City and Salida in August 2014.

The disparity in the art world grows. Yesterday, we pointed to the $200 million windfall that artist David Choe was reputedly going to make from Facebook’s IPO and today we learn that the nation of Qatar, which is quietly building a very expensive collection of modern and contemporary art, acquired Paul Cézanne’s “The Card Players” (c.1890?) for the tune of $250 million in 2011.

First reported by Vanity Fair, which is an unlikely source for art news, the information should be taken with a grain of salt as it is difficult to confirm the prices of works purchased in private sales. Having said that, it’s still a mighty big figure and even if you shaved off $100 million it would still be the most ever paid for a single art work. Jackson Pollock’s “No. 5″ (1948) went for $140 million in 2006.

While the work is one of five in a renowned series by the post-Impressionist, the purchase reasserts what is already been widely know, Qatar is amassing an important collection of art for their new museums and hoping to make the island nation a culture destination.

How did the Qataris get the Cézanne? According to Vanity Fair:

For years, Greek shipping magnate George Embiricos had owned and treasured the painting, rarely lending it. He was “entertained” but unmoved, according to one art dealer, by occasional offers for it that climbed ever higher alongside the art market in past decades. A few years ago, the painting was listed by artnews magazine as one of the world’s top artworks still in private hands.

Shortly before his death in the winter of 2011, Embiricos began discussions about its sale, which was handled by his estate. Two art dealers — William Acquavella and another, rumored to be Larry Gagosian — offered upward of $220 million for the painting, people close to the matter said. But the royal family of Qatar, without quibbling on price, outbid them, at $250 million. (Disputes about the exact price turn on currency exchange rates, exactly when the painting changed hands—and whether the person talking has a pricey Cézanne in inventory. Estimates of what Qatar paid range as high as $300 million.)

According to Business Insider, “[Street] artist David Choe painted the inside of Facebook’s first headquarters back in 2005, and Mark Zuckerberg made him an offer: he could be paid a few thousand dollars in cash, or take the same amount in Facebook stock.” Choe took the stock and now it’s worth $200 million. Yes, you heard that right. Bravo to Choe for taking a chance and not going for the easy money.

The New York Times has the full story but did they just call Choe a “decorator”? Then again, Choe wasn’t exactly a social media fortune teller. A New York Times blog reports:

Although [Choe] said the very idea of Facebook seemed “ridiculous and pointless” at the time, he chose the stock.

Sometimes a gamble pays off.

Mike Kelley taking part in his three short dance/performance pieces for Performa 09 known as "Day Is Done Judson Church Dance." (photos by the author)

Popular LA-based artist Mike Kelley has died of an apparent suicide. One of the most recognized names of the American contemporary art scene, Kelley is best known for his pop culture-infused sensibility that combined the abject with the everyday.

The artist was 58 years old and he was found dead at his home in South Pasadena, California. The artist was announced to be included in the 2012 Whitney Biennial, which opens March 1.

Related Links:

• “Pioneering Artist Mike Kelley Has Died at 58” (Gallerist)
• “Legendary Artist Mike Kelley Dead at 58, an Apparent Suicide” (Blouin Artinfo)

Occupy Museums in the MoMA atrium last Friday (all images via (all images via occupywithart.com)

Last Friday, January 27, an otherwise uneventful evening of art-gazing was interrupted when Occupy Museums, a subgroup of Occupy Wall Street, made its way to midtown Manhattan to give MoMA visitors a lot more to see than they paid for when the movement infiltrated the institution’s atrium. In an effort to ascertain the museum’s stand on the Sotheby’s lockout, Occupy returned to the MoMA to demand a decision as to whether it would retain or relinquish the symbolic banner that the museum had removed during the previous protest. The members of Occupy Museums had fashioned the black banner with white, yellow and red lettering in solidarity with the 43 art handlers locked out of the multi-million-dollar auction house.

An Occupier in MoMA

According to the protest group, if MoMA kept the banner, it would symbolize the museum’s support of the art handlers’ struggle for a fair contract. However, if the banner was returned, the museum’s actions would be considered an expression of its ongoing partnership with Sotheby’s, despite the firm’s refusal to negotiate a new contract with Teamsters Local 814 since this past summer.

After their conditions were reviewed in unison — informing those who cared to listen — an anonymous MoMA staffer appeared, banner in hand. He returned the banner to the Occupiers without answering any questions or elucidating MoMA’s stance on the lockout. However, the answers and elucidations were unnecessary. MoMA’s message to the Occupiers was clear. Occupiers and Teamsters alike (along with a generous amount of rubberneckers and tourists) exited the museum, where police awaited them. The demonstration that followed was peaceful, albeit noisy and impassioned. The Occupiers did what they did best to draw attention to the unfair treatment of plight of the 99%, magnifying the auction house’s disregard for the welfare of its laborers through noise and occupation. In front of the doors of MoMA, Occupy Museums lay down the banner and painted a new red-colored message on their battered banner, “Not For Sale.”

Occupy Museums exiting MoMA with their banner.

A sign of solidarity (click to enlarge)

Making a scene has served the movement well so far, maintaining public awareness of issues otherwise brushed under the rug of mass media and pop culture, but for how long can these precariously peaceful assemblies last? With the recent outbreak of violence in Oakland serving as a stark representation of rising tensions between the police force and Occupiers everywhere, only time will tell.

Outside the MoMA, many Occupiers heckled police officers, requesting they take a picture with the banner. Fortunately for them, these officers appeared to be resigned — not the least bit amused but not the least bit inclined to do more than stand aside. Although Occupy deserves the respect it receives for its fearless defense of the 99%, the movement needs to protect its neck. Words are weapons and they are to be used wisely.

Occupiers and lockedout Sotheby's art handers have red paint on their hands in front of MoMA.

Although the Occupiers were disappointed with the silent return of their banner, the movement’s determination to stand by the Teamsters and demand their right to a fair contract was reaffirmed as members of Local 814 marched with Occupy down West 53rd and out of sight, red paint dripping down the street as the banner dragged behind them, freshly decorated with the handprints of Teamsters and Occupiers side-by-side.

I asked Paul E. Talbot, whose self-professed mission is to document the movement with video and photography and “tell a horizontal story of what happened with no viewpoint or judgement,” what the goal of last Friday’s action was. He replied:

“The purpose of the event was to collect the banner from MoMA. The goal was for MoMA to keep the banner and stand in solidarity with Occupy Museums and the teamsters by telling Sotheby’s to end the lockout. MoMA didn’t address our demands and in turn returned the banner. This meant that they supported the lockout and would continue to support the 1% and Sotheby’s.”

It’s not yet clear what Occupy Museums will do next.

The following is the online video created by Occupy Museums regarding their most recent MoMA action.

All GIFs via stereo.nypl.org

Who doesn’t love GIFs?  Nothing like a choppy stick figure animation to remind you of the good old 1990s. Though we have left that formative age, there seems to be a resurgence of interest in this spritely graphics interchange format.

The internet has long been a safe haven of time wasting, but you have to give it to the New York Public Library (NYPL) for putting the GIF to an educational use.

This week, the guys over at NYPL Labs launched their Stereogranimator, which promises to revive interest in the 40,000-strong vintage stereograms in their collection.

The application allows visitors to the site to translate the museum’s collection of stereogram’s into GIF animations. A stereogram, for those like me previously unfamiliar with the format, is a 19th century technology that overlays two seemingly identical photographs side by side to obtain the illusion of three dimensionality.

At one point this was pretty cutting edge stuff and allows for a level of heightened experience that wasn’t possible at the time in photograph. The NYPL is pretty good about digitizing their collection, but the paired photograms don’t translate without a stereoscope. The flickering nature of a GIF is an easy way of rendering this experience for the online viewer.

Sculpture hall images (via stereo.nypl.org/view/10223 & stereo.nypl.org/view/6177)

We asked NYPL’s Ben Vershbow about this new effort:

“The Stereogranimator was conceived to deepen engagement with this existing digital collection, bringing users closer to the original 3D experience that these images were originally intended to afford and giving them a direct, participatory role in the process. Working directly with images opens up one’s perceptions, and empowers the viewer to interpret and enquire.”

Left, "'Dey 'aint no use in talkin', we jes had one scrumptious time.' 1904" (via stereo.nypl.org/view/12473), and right, "Prospectors returning to camp. 62 degrees below zero, Alaska. 1898-1900" (via stereo.nypl.org/view/6480)

The project is based on a project called Reaching for the Out of Reach run by writer/artist Joshua Heineman. He discovered the 3D possibilities of the GIF by accident while cycling through downloaded stereogram photographs. Heinman explains this process in detail in an essay he wrote for the Huffington Post. Vershbow explains that:

“We had long pointed to Joshua’s work as an example of creative remix of our collections. Late this past year, when the Labs team was established with the resources and mandate to experiment with where the research libraries could go digitally, we started to explore what it would take to translate Joshua’s method into a public web app. We’re definitely trying to signal with this project that the Library is paying attention to the wonderful, creative ways people are using our materials, and how those ideas may wind up being integrated into new library tools and services.”

Studio of Edward L. Henry? ca. 1865 - 1860?-1880?

The project is visually fascinating, though some examples obviously work better than others, and it brings to life a dead technology, but this small online project is a powerful example of what is possible when large institutions listen to their constituents.

In addition to the artistic and genre images we posted here there is a wealth of 19th and early 20th C. imagery that is worth a look, including Brooklyn’s Prospect Park in the snow, historic images of Native American culture, images of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, vintage interiors and, of course, cute cat images, it is the internet after all.

"Sound Installation" by Navin Thomas, (photo via Hindustan Times)

Indian artist Navin Thomas recently recieved a bunch of press for winning the SKODA prize for Indian contemporary art. Unfortunately his latest installation at Lalit Kala Akademi in New Delhi is garnering attention for an entirely different reason. His “sound installation” involves subjecting pigeons to using a copper wire perch that is actually a giant antennae in a room awash with radio chatter/white noise. According to professionals, this might be detrimental to the health of the birds. (duh)

Animal NY asks Is this a Sculpture or a Bird Torture Device? I might not go that far, but it seems pretty messed up. What makes it worst is the artists statement that, “I’m treating the birds better than they were treated where they had come from. I would even use a monkey if I could.” According to the Hindustan Times the artist didn’t obtain proper permissions from the Animal Welfare Board for his project.

Animal Cruelty Art

Sadly, this isn’t a first and probably won’t be the last. Way back in 2008, Costa Rican artist Guillermo Vargas chained what appears to have been a starving dog just out of reach of food as part of his installation “You Are What Your Read” at the Códice Gallery in Managua, Nicaragua. After a massive internet outcry, and a number of death threats, the gallery claimed the dog was only chained up during exhibition hours (to mimic the appearance of abuse?) You can read up on that whole debacle on The Guardian.

In a historicized throwback, LA’s MOCA included the Survival Research Laboratory’s “De Manufacturing Machine” (1979) in its exhibition Under the Big Black Sun: California Art 1974-1981. Check out the video of the machine, which grinds pigeons, dressed as Arab dignitaries and flings the gruesome remains at audience members. What’s interesting is that there seems to have been nothing but possitive press for the dudes at SRL. Rhizome reported pretty happily on the racist corpse eating machine.

Tom Otterness, despite a long, relatively socially conscious practice, has never seemed to quite escape the stigma he developed when he adopted a pup from the pound, tied it to a fence, shot it to death and called it art.  In fact he lost his 2011 comission with the city of San Francisco when word about the video got out.

It’s interesting to see who gets chastised for this stuff and who gets away relatively unscathed but really, the fact that this even happens makes my head hurt. Ok, so I understand the impluse to provoke outrage, but when will enough be enough? We don’t allow animal cruelty in the movies so why should our art be any different?

Dead pigeon image by karkajou1993 via DeviantArt

Today, we received the following email response to our request for comment from Alison Klayman, the filmmaker behind the award-winning documentary:

“The real reward has definitely been the overall response to the film at Sundance, from the audiences and also the filmmaking community. To have the whole festival and town buzzing about Ai Weiwei’s charisma, humor and courage, to overhear conversations around town about China and social media and change, and to see that the overwhelming takeaway message for audiences was to be inspired to go speak out in their own life … that was the real reward.”

Yesterday, the Sundance audience (as requested by filmmaker Alison Klayman) saluted Ai Weiwei with their middle finger. The motion is a tribute to the artist's well-known "Finger" series.

Yesterday, “Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry” was award the US Documentary Special Jury Prize for Spirit of Defiance at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. The in-depth documentary follows the life of one of the world’s most renowned and provocative artists over the last few years as he has been catapulted into news headlines.

Since 2008, Ai Weiwei has been the subject of one controversy after another. His objections to China’s handling of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and his blog that documented the truth about the tragedy was the first major event to attract serious government scrutiny. The same year Ai was critical of China’s 2008 Olympic propaganda during a time when the country was sensitive to foreign perceptions. Since then he has taken to the internet, particularly Twitter, to criticize the Chinese authorities and bypass local media control. In 2011, China’s official discomfort with the artist reached new heights when the authorities demolished what they claim was his “illegal” studio in Shanghai and his April 3 arrest — and eventual parole —  for supposed tax evasion.

Hyperallergic attended a special screening of segments of the film and we can report that the stories that are told give a rich and varied picture of the artist, his world and his passion for reform in China. The film doesn’t seek to hide the inconvenient realities of his life — for instance, it touches upon the fact that the Chinese artist recently had a child with a woman other than his wife — but  hurls the viewer into his inner circle and his many confrontations with authority. The film follows the artist around the world and talks to him about his formative year’s in New York as a largely unknown artist.

Wired spoke to the filmmaker at the festival and she had this to say:

“Weiwei’s whole life is his creative practice … While he knows the difference between a museum piece and a tweet, he also understands that, to update McLuhan, the artist is the message.”

Sundance award ceremony gives symbolic finger for Ai Weiwei. It felt more appropriate than an empty chair http://t.co/jC3YMkkU #NeverSorry

January 28, 2012 10:40 pm via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@AWWNeverSorry

Ai Weiwei Film

While at the podium receiving her award, Klayman asked the audience at Sundance to give her the middle finger so that she could capture the moment for Ai Weiwei. The image above is the result. To see the audience’s perspective, click here. And this was what the filmmaker tweeted before she took to the stage.

The Salt Lake Tribune Sundance blog summarized the context for the image:

Alison Klayman, receiving a special jury prize for her documentary “Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry,” asked the audience to flip the bird to her camera – for a photo she planned to send to Ai Weiwei, the dissident Chinese artist. “He’ll be seeing that,” she said.

Here is the tweet with pic from the filmmaker’s personal Twitter account:

All of Sundance award ceremony gives the symbolic finger for Ai Weiwei. It felt more appropriate than an empty c… http://t.co/S0Ouixkm

January 28, 2012 10:36 pm via Tweetpic for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@aliklay

aliklay

And what Ai Weiwei responded:

Texted the good news and the photo of the awards ceremony to Ai Weiwei. He wrote back immediately, "Hehe, joy."

January 28, 2012 10:51 pm via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@aliklay

aliklay

The wreckage at the Lao Buddhist Temple in Westminster, Colorado after a fire in December (all photos courtesy of the Lao Buddhist Temple)

After a fire in December ravaged the Lao Buddhist Temple in Westminster, Colorado, the Laoist population of Westminster now seeks to rebuild their temple that is at the heart of their community. According to a story yesterday in the Denver Post, plans to reconstruct the temple have received new urgency since the temple’s head monk, Ounkham Vuennasack, was recently diagnosed with brain cancer. The community hopes they can rebuild fast enough so that Vuennasack will be able to see his temple open once again, although Maly Khanthaphixay, whose father was one of the founders of the temple, says that it may take years.

Khanthaphixay told Hyperallergic that nearly everything was destroyed in the fire, including almost all of the temple’s precious artifacts. Only 28 of the temple’s 100 buddhist sculptures made of copper, bronze and gold were salvaged, while a 15-foot Buddha sculpture donated by a temple in Thailand was completely melted by the fire. Ancient bamboo scrolls of the Buddha’s teachings, relics that have been passed down through generations of monks, were also lost. The temple was home to more contemporary works as well, like a panel painting of the buddha’s life by a Thai artist named Pan. While Khanthaphixay mentioned that they have asked the artist to recreate his work in the new temple, most of the other artifacts are irreplaceable.

Some of the few sculptures that were spared from the fire on the Lao Buddhist Temple grounds

The Westminster Fire Department claimed that the fire was an accident, caused by faulty wiring in the temple, which was built in 1989. Khanthaphixay noted that they are now fighting with the city to get a new license for the property so that they can begin building. In the meantime, the monks have been placed in temporary living quarters while the temple has tried to maintain certain religious practices during the upheaval. Khanthaphixay explained that in Lao Buddhism, women are not allowed to have direct contact with the monks, so it is important that they occupy a separate living space.

“Our head monk has said that first we must rebuild the meditation room so that people can gather there,” said Khanthaphixay when I asked her about plans for the reconstruction. “We would love to have it ready for our New Year, which happens at the end of March or beginning of April depending on the lunar calendar, but I just don’t see that happening.”

The temple is Theravadin, the oldest surviving Buddhist school and the predominate religion in Laos as well as most of continental Southeast Asia. The temple also welcomed visiting monks and served as a research library with 100-year-old books on the history of Laos and Buddhism.

Khanthaphixay stressed the importance of restoring the temple’s historical resources so that first generation Laotian Americans can learn about Buddhism without losing sight of ancient traditions along the way. Donations have been pouring in from the community, but the temple still needs to raise much more money to cover the costs of rebuilding, which Khanthaphixay estimates could reach $600,000.