Lots of little things have been happening and here are a few:
**Yinka Shonibare has won the next commission for the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square, London. It’s called Nelson’s ‘Ship in a Bottle’ and it’s the first work to actually relate to the symbolism of Trafalgar Square: a representation, to scale, of H.M.S. Victory, Admiral Nelson’s flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar, set in an oversized, transparent receptacle.
**Pronounced swings on Wall Street don’t seem to be slowing down the art market: 58% of the lots at recent contemporary art auctions were sold at the high-end or above the estimate, according to ArtTactic. And, “Average auction prices for the contemporary evening sales …are now standing at £2,903,583, up from £1,382,841 a year ago.” Of course, other sectors — American art for example — aren’t doing as well; sell-through rates were in the 60% range.
**The electronic publishing revolution is starting to affect the art world, but illustrated art books won’t be on your Kindle anytime soon — at least not in color. While Apple’s iPad does allow color illustrations, Amazon chief Jeff Bezos told annual-meeting attendees the other day that a color Kindle screen is “still some ways out,” says the Seattle Times.
**The European Museum Forum has given the “European Museum of the Year” prize to the Ozeaneum in Stralsund, Germany — part of the German Oceanographic Museum. The citation rewards an institution for attracting and satisfying visitors with imaginative presentations and interpretations, plus the creation of educational and social responsibility efforts. That probably puts art museums at a disadvantage.