Did you know Mexican artist Diego Rivera built a massive, tiled icon of the Aztec rain god Tlaloc, sprawling face-up in a pool of shallow water. (via architizer.com)
This week, droit de suite, art conservation, Daniel Burren and Allora & Calzadilla, ruin porn, hacking Ikea, top auction prices of 2011, the world’s first spaceport, Penguin books logo and architecture tattoos.
Have you been hearing a lot about the droit de suite bill currently in the US congress? Some say it’s good for artists since they will receive royalties from future sales but some don’t think it’s a great idea. Here are some articles from the last two years that may help you make up your mind on the issue:
- “Droit de suite bill introduced in US Congress” (The Art Newspaper)
- “Lawmakers Propose Royalties Be Paid to Artists on Resale” (ArtsBeat/NYTimes)
- “The Case for Droit de Suite in New York” (The Art Newspaper)
- “The Droit de Suite Delimma (And Why It’s Just a Bad Idea)” (Forbes)
- “Four Things to Know About the Nutty Droit de Suite Bill Introduced in Congress Last Week” (Artinfo)
- “Art dealers claim droit de suite levy threatens London’s art trade” (Guardian)
- “Artist Profit-Sharing: Another Example of How California Is Like Europe” (Freakonomics)
- “New U.S. Artists’ Equity Bill is an Auction-House Inequity Bill” (CultureGrrl)
The top 10 … er, 9 … online art conservation projects of 2011 by Richard McCoy at the Art 21 blog.
Chloe Nelkin explores the Daniel Buren and Allora & Calzadilla show at London’s Lisson Gallery, which continues until January 14.
Is Ruin Porn a 2011 trend?
Creators Projects writes about an artist, Taeyoon Choi, who “hacked” the largest Ikea store in Europe. Architizer covers the same project in a provocatively titled post, “Art in the Age of Ikea.” The lede is a little mind boggling:
It’s estimated that 1 in 10 Europeans is now conceived in an Ikea bed.
I’m not a fan of The Observer‘s slideshows, which are just at attempt at pageview grabs (think HuffPo) and feel so slow to flip through, but this one may interest people: The 10 Most Expensive Prices at Auction 2011.
Did you know that Foster + Partners have completed the world’s first spaceport? It’s located in the deserts of New Mexico.
A post about the evolution of the Penguin Books logo. Funny that the little guy once looked like he was dancing.
Architecture tattoos are pretty cool. Full disclosure: I have one but I won’t tell you what it is.
Required Reading is published every Sunday morning-ish, and it is comprised of a short list of art-related links (10 or less) to long-form articles, videos, blog posts or photo essays worth a second look.
The Latest
MTV’s The Exhibit Is Back With an Inflatable Dolphin
Episode four, in which artists tackled themes of justice and injustice, was the most lifeless of the reality TV show so far.
Florida Principal Ousted Over “Pornographic” Michelangelo Sculpture
Parents complained that the famous sculpture was shown to their sixth graders.
The Milton Resnick and Pat Passlof Foundation Presents The Feminine in Abstract Painting
Curated by Jennifer Samet and Andrea Belag, this group exhibition in NYC explores the feminine through aesthetics, as opposed to identity or gender.
Tickets to Sold-Out Vermeer Show Are Going for Hundreds
The online resale market for the Rijksmuseum’s smash exhibition is booming, with tickets selling on eBay for over $2K.
NYU Steinhardt Opens 2023 MFA Thesis Exhibitions
Taking place at 80WSE Gallery in New York’s Greenwich Village, Part I is on view from late March through April while Part II opens in May.
Miniature Worlds: Joseph Cornell, Ray Johnson, Yayoi Kusama
Through small-scale works, this exhibition at the Katonah Museum of Art in New York examines Cornell’s prominent role in the lives and careers of Johnson and Kusama.
Three Looted Antiquities at the Met Repatriated to Turkey
Nine other repatriated works were seized from Met Trustee Shelby White, whose collection was subject to a criminal investigation.
Required Reading
This week, the world’s lightest paint, Pakistan’s feminist movement, World Puppy Day, and were some of Vermeer’s paintings created by his daughter?
The Wider World and Scrimshaw
On March 28, join the New Bedford Whaling Museum online and in-person for a symposium on global carving traditions from across the Pacific Rim.
Who Will Decide on the Future of a Miami Native Burial Ground?
Native activists say sacred remains and objects dug up from a Brickell construction site should remain there, but mega-developer Jorge Pérez is pushing back.
How Can a Curator Approach South Asian Futurisms?
How do I acknowledge my shortcomings while reckoning with obscured histories and the exclusion of subaltern narratives in the fine art landscape? A working checklist for curators.
MCA Chicago Presents On Stage: Frictions
Will Rawls, Shamel Pitts | TRIBE, and Barak adé Soleil explore Blackness, queerness, movement, and dance in performances at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.
The Complicated Legacy of Camilo Egas
The Ecuadorian painter, a leading figure of Latin America’s Indigenismo art movement, has been both praised and scorned for his representation of Indigenous peoples.
Tom Jones Zeroes in on Ho-Chunk Visibility
“I think about the young kids, the teenagers, and I think being able to see yourself represented in art is so powerful,” says the artist.