With the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics kicking off today, most people’s minds are turned to thoughts of curling, figure skating, bobsledding. But did you know that once upon a time, the Olympics included art competitions? Yup. From 1912 to 1948, awards were given out for works of art in roughly five different categories — architecture, literature, music, painting, and sculpture — for artworks inspired by sport.
Olympics
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Brazil Evicts Indigenous People in Violent Clash Over Sports Stadium
Brazilian police dressed in riot gear stormed an old museum in Rio de Janeiro last week with tear gas and pepper spray in order to evict some 20 indigenous people squatting there. The building, the former site of the Brazilian Indian Museum, is adjacent to the Maracanã stadium and set to be demolished as part of plans to renovate the stadium for next year’s World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.
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Are UK Police Cracking Down on Graffiti Artists Ahead of Olympics?
The British blogs and media are buzzing with reports that UK police are visiting the homes of graffiti writers in what appears to be an attempt to scare artists from leaving their mark during the city’s Olympic spotlight.
Posted inArt
Unmade in the USA
Seemingly all of the United States was put into a fashion frenzy last week when it was brought to the media’s attention that the Ralph Lauren-designed uniforms for the 2012 US Summer Olympic team with their all-American flair (and hideous berets) were produced in China.
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Assassination of Danish ‘Muhammad’ Cartoonist Foiled, Burj Khalifa Opens, Arts Audience in US Shrinks
… a new modern art museum in Charlotte, North Carolina, opens … Arizona’s defunct West Valley Art Museum needs a place to store its art … British arts institutions are getting short changed by the 2012 Olympics … Bank of America gives its customers free admission to LA museums … Michael Jackson’s art continues to raise eyebrows.