Today in putting your money where your mouth is: famed British artist Anish Kapoor has rejected an offer to show his work at the National Museum of China in Beijing in protest of Ai Weiwei’s ongoing arrest and detention. This, plus Chinese artists arrested for mounting a protest exhibition and the US State Department speaking out against Chinese cyber attacks on the Guggenheim’s Change.org Ai petition.
News
Spiral Jetty Has Lease Problems, Just Like Your Sublet
Could the Dia Foundation lose its lease to the most iconic work of land art ever? The Utah Department of Natural Resources recently informed Dia that it had failed to renew its lease on the land that holds Robert Smithson’s “Spiral Jetty” (1970) in Rozel Point, Utah.
Mail Art Bulletin: Outside the Envelope
Today’s additions to the Mail Art Bulletin come from California, London and Florida. I want to mention that over the course of the last few month I’ve discovering that my preconceived notions about mail art (a hand-drawn or -printed item in a carefully prepared envelope) are antiquated. The examples below demonstrate how the category can include a great deal of diversity — and these are only a few.
Friendly Balloons Invade the High Line
At the end of the newly opened Section 2 of the High Line is a psychedelic amusement park filled with inflatable creatures, googly-eyed, cartoony and basically irresistible. This playground, designed by artist collective Friends With You, was host to Aol’s party celebrating the High Line opening last Wednesday.
Tonight: Artists Take Over Williamsburg Internet Cafe
Did you know this week is Internet Week New York? Surprise! And there are art events, too. Tonight only, curator Lindsay Howard will be taking over Internet Garage, a Williamsburg internet cafe, with a team of net artists.
Photos from the 54th Venice Biennale, Part 2
More images from the world’s oldest and largest art biennial event, the Venice Biennale, including photos from the François Pinault Foundation, the French, Haitian, Danish, Swedish, Swiss and the Venezuelan pavilions.
Met Museum Raises Admission Prices That We Don’t Pay
The Metropolitan Museum is raising its suggested admission prices for adults from $20 to $25, reports the New York Times. Good thing we’ll still be paying the ticket price with whatever change we have in our back pockets.
Boycott of Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Continues
The official website of the coalition of artists boycotting the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi has this to say about the Guggenheim Foundation’s announcement of PricewaterhouseCooper’s (PwC) as the new monitor of the UAE project …
Germany Snags Venice Biennale’s Top Prize, Christian Marclay for Best Work
The 54th Venice Biennale has awarded its top prize, the Golden Lion for best national pavilion, to Germany for the art of Christoph Schlingensief. The best art work was given to Christian Marclay’s “The Clock” (2011). [In the Air/Artinfo]
Guggenheim Foundation Supports Appointment of Independent Monitor for Abu Dhabi Project
A statement by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation was released today in support of the appoint of PricewaterhouseCoopers as an independent monitor at the Abu Dhabi Guggenheim.
China Demands Return of San Diego Contemporary Museum’s Ai Weiwei
Tyler Green has this incredible story — China is demanding the return of two marble chair sculptures by Ai Weiwei recently bought by the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego due to a claimed export license problem. Is China trying to censor Ai’s work abroad?
Street Artist Gets Jilted by LA MoCA, Bombs Bathroom
Becca Midwood, a downtown LA street artist working since the mid-1990s, got pulled from LA Museum of Contemporary Art’s Art in the Streets exhibition due to a “last minute curatorial choice.” Becca gets her work in the museum anyway, though, with a wheatpaste in the museum’s bathroom. Check out this video of the guerrilla operation.