"New York authorities will facilitate the return of the objects to officials of their origin countries" — Italy, Egypt, and Turkey. "The works include a bronze statue of an Etruscan warrior dated from the 5th Century B.C.E., a terracotta Italian wine flask from 330 B.C.E. and an ancient Egyptian cosmetics vessel." - ARTnews
I’d understood that rich people could buy lots of art, but I hadn’t realized until this moment that my definitions of rich and lots were off by many orders of magnitude. “Clients ask me, ‘Are we collectors?’ And I say, ‘Has the word warehouse entered your vocabulary?’” - The Atlantic
What is the function of all that bric-a-brac? they would ask. Why all the fuss when a flush door with a thin steel frame would do just as well? Why carve words when a ready-made embossed plastic plaque is available? Isn’t it all just a waste of money? - The American Scholar
That would be bamboo. It grows quickly in the hot climate; it sequesters plenty of carbon; it's inexpensive; it withstands floodwaters well. And Lari's innovative-yet-simple design for small houses made of traditional mud and limestone on bamboo frames can be built and repaired quickly by villagers themselves. - MSN (The Washington Post)
"Darling is a 41-year-old Oxford-born, Berlin-based multidisciplinary artist working across sculpture, video, drawing and performance; he also released a collection of poetry, Virgins, last year. His Turner Prize-winning exhibition is an installation that places viewers in a custom-built environment evoking chaotic city streets and industrial barriers." - CNN
When the Guggenheim raised the price for adult admissions to $30 from $25 over the summer, it cited a lack of visitors and declining membership at a moment when expenses have skyrocketed because of inflation, increased labor costs and insurance, as well as rising shipping fees. - The New York Times
The thieves broke into a warehouse in suburban Paris, cut through the metal guard fence around Kiefer's The High Priestess/Zweistromland, a large lead sculpture of two loaded bookcases, and escaped with several books (presumably to be melted down for the metal) when security guards arrived. - Artnet
Four finalists contend, but "I don’t believe anyone cares who wins any more. The artists successfully derailed the system themselves in 2019." - The Observer (UK)
"The city’s mayor, Matteo Lepore, noted in a debate earlier this month that the Garisenda tower had leaned since it was built 'and has been a concern ever since.'" - The Guardian (UK)
That's right, people will soon be able to see (but not ride) a Keith Haring carousel at the long-neglected, now revived amusement park Luna Luna. - Los Angeles Times
Starting this year, the award comes with $500,000 for the winner to donate to a non-profit of their choice. (Bradford has yet to announce his pick.) - The Art Newspaper
For a large part of international public opinion the return seems only fair. For some, it is a matter of aesthetics: repatriating historic monuments to exhibit them in the environment they were created for. For others, it is a political question: another step towards accepting the many crimes committed by imperialism and colonialism. - The Guardian
"In a small garden hut in north-eastern Tunisia, just a short distance from what was once Carthage, one man has spent most of the last 16 years smashing up sea snails – attempting to coax their entrails into something resembling Tyrian purple," for which all recipes have been lost for centuries. - BBC
A.I. as photographer falls short because it can’t truly empathize with a subject. A camera, no matter how high-tech, can’t grasp the unspoken stories in a person’s eyes or the vulnerability they show in front of the lens. Empathy is a major element of what allows a photographer to build trust. - The Observer
