Ben Davis: "The main issue that will dominate, I believe, is cultural institutions trying, and probably failing, to process the confused splintering of the liberal ideological consensus. A faith in a certain type of cultural politics has fallen apart. What comes after, for the moment, is unclear." - Artnet
Since the Revolution, churches in France have been the property of the central government, and most of them which aren't Notre-Dame de Paris can't attract millions of euros in donations for renovations. Some local churches, facing declining attendance, are turning to unusual means to bring in money. - The New York Times
Unwelcome back, bad old days: “Several works by photographer Sally Mann displayed at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth were reportedly removed following Texas Republican officials’ calls for an investigation into her artworks.” - Hyperallergic
“Having lived through more than 50 years of civil war in her native country, and having witnessed the fallout of that conflict in the displacement of millions of people, and in endemic political corruption and environmental destruction, she has watched those tragic patterns being replayed." - The Observer (UK)
"For decades, the interior of the Temple of Our Lady of the Assumption (in Santa María Huiramangaro in Michoacán state) stood stark white, with blue accents. But ... a new restoration has revealed a host of resplendent 16th-century religious paintings that once spanned the ceiling of the historic church." - Artnet
Such petroglyphs were designated by the state’s legislature as official state works of art in 2023, the Utah Bureau of Land Management noted, as it called them “incredibly important to preserve and contemplate.” They are also considered sacred ancestral sites for Indigenous people in the area.
The organisation, which is responsible for more than 130,000 works of art and attracted more than 2.4m visitors to its sites during 2023, has suggested "seismic changes" may need to be made to safeguard the future of what it describes as "some of Scotland’s greatest cultural assets". - The Scotsman
Sales at Sotheby’s and Christie’s were down for the second year in a row in 2024. With both supply and demand for big-ticket art in a slump, the auction houses are making major bets on selling luxury goods and niche experiences to make up the shortfall. - The New York Times
Artifacts found at the tombs included bronze coins with the image of Alexander the Great dating to the Time of Ptolemy I (367-283), children’s toys made of clay, cartonnage and funerary masks that covered mummies, winged scarabs, beads and funerary amulets. - APNews
I’ve been waiting years for the emergence of a bold timber architecture with designs that take advantage of the material’s expressive personality, its strength and malleability, its ability to support immense burdens or be worked in fine filigree, to form great blocks and stiff walls or else to bend like reeds. - New York Magazine (MSN)
"Dancing between art, philanthropy and activism, For Freedoms addresses issues including racism, misogyny, violence and free speech, most visibly by commissioning artists to make billboards. They hope their imagery will provoke questions in people who see them." The results of the election have them reassessing their efforts. - The New York Times
Though they depict no sexual activity, Mann's nude portraits of her young children have attracted controversy ever since they first appeared 35 years ago. This week five of them were taken down from a group exhibition at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth after a complaint was filed with police. - Glasstire
In the current climate, I would argue there are few more urgent subjects for art than identity and contemporary politics, just as was the case when the Whitney staged its groundbreaking biennial in 1993. - The Art Newspaper
