Sum of the Arts
Terracotta soldiers expected to be unearthed in China after excavation was halted in 2008 = 1,400
Inspired by the Harper’s Index, Sum of the Arts is a periodic tabulation of numbers floating around the art world and beyond.
Years Diego Rivera asked that Frida Kahlo’s personal effects be sealed off in their Mexico City house’s bathroom after her death in 1954, although they wouldn’t be revealed until 2004 = 15 (photographs by Ishiuchi Miyako of her long unseen wardrobe are on view in London)
Number of earthquakes that damaged the Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World = 3 (the landmark has been approved for reconstruction by Egyptian officials)
Monumental bronze extinct birds by Todd McGrain installed at the Smithsonian Institution Libraries = 5
Artworks by women and queer artists donated in a conceptual piece called “Deed of Gift” to the Seattle Art Museum = 7
Austrian and Russian cannons used to cast a statue of Napoléon Bonaparte in 1833 = 16 (it was later lost in the Seine where it lost its head)
Fine (in US dollars) each of the two artists were given by the city of NYC for their guerrilla Edward Snowden sculpture installed in Fort Greene Park last month = 50
Percentage of the National Museum of African American History and Culture (expected to open in 2016) that is now complete = 75
Talking dolls made and sold by Thomas Edison in 1890, the shrieking wax cylinder voices of which were recently resurrected = 500
Gallons of primer that will be required to repaint the Philip Johnson-designed New York State Pavilion from the 1964 World’s Fair = 700
Terracotta soldiers expected to be unearthed in a new dig in China (excavations were halted in 2008) = 1,400
