Archives for July 2013

Now you can! Below is the video of today's White House ceremony for the 24 recipients of the National  Medals of Arts and Humanities. Ironically, despite Obama's appreciation (as stated during the ceremony) of the arts' and humanities' power "to open up minds and nourish souls," he hasn't yet managed to nominate new chairpersons for the National Endowments for the … [Read more...] about Wanna See Ellsworth Kelly Receiving the National Medal of Arts from President Obama?

Why has Philippe Vergne, the Dia Art Foundation's director, green-lighted the wrongheaded plan to raise acquisitions funds by substantially weakening the existing "permanent" collection? Dia's director has yet to grant my requests to discuss with him the rationale behind the decision to auction at Sotheby's all of the foundation's Cy Twomblys, plus key works by John Chamberlain … [Read more...] about More on the “Dia-ccessions”: Honoring Twombly, Discarding Twomblys (and Chamberlains, Newman)

Even after the county legislature had voted in favor of renovating, rather than demolishing, the Paul Rudolph-designed Orange County Government Center in Goshen, NY, there were those who believed that the rescue of this distinctive building was still not a done deal. They were right. Chris Mckenna of Orange County’s Times Herald-Record now reports: Demolition is back in … [Read more...] about Goshen Commotion (not again!): Paul Rudolph’s Orange County Government Center Remains Imperiled

It's beginning to look like Italy's left hand doesn't know what its right hand is doing. At the same time that American institutions are celebrating the Year of Italian Culture in the U.S.---including stellar loans from Italy to the Metropolitan Museum of a Velázquez portrait (to July 14) and the astonishing, over-lifesize Boxer at Rest (to July 15), it appears that American … [Read more...] about Cultural Exchange with Italy (or not): “Boxer at Rest” in Metropolitan Museum vs. Sicily’s Newly Combative Stance (with video) UPDATED