| | Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts Installs Claes Oldenburg Sculpture in Lenfest Plaza
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"Paint Torch" by Claes Oldenburg is reflected in the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Saturday, Aug. 20, 2011, in Philadelphia. The art school and museum commissioned the celebrated 82-year-old artist to make the outdoor sculpture for its new public plaza, located two blocks north of his celebrated “Clothespin.” AP Photo/Alex Brandon.
PHILADELPHIA, PA.- The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts commissioned world-renowned artist Claes Oldenburg to create a new public artwork for its Lenfest Plaza. The design consists of a 51 foot high sculpture in the form of a paintbrush, raised at a 60 degree angle as if in the act of painting, with a 6-ft paint glob on the ground below. The sculpture is positioned between PAFA’s Historic Landmark Building and the Samuel M.V. Hamilton Buildings. Oldenburg titled the work Paint Torch, merging two ideas in this project: the paintbrush and the torch. He stated that the paintbrush is a good fit for PAFA to “celebrate a place where painting with a brush is really practiced.” Thus the paintbrush refers to location as well as identifies the activities of the School. The torch highlights a moment in history as the first place of art in the new country. David R. Brigham, PAFA’s President and CEO, remarked: “ ... More |
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| Internationally-Renowned Sculptor Antony Gormley Showing Two New Works in Leeds | | Rhenish Expressionists: Heinrich Campendonk, An Exhibition Series at Kunstmuseum Bonn | | LACMA Displays First Major Public Sculpture by Chinese Contemporary Artist Ai Weiwei | 
British artist Antony Gormley poses for the media at the opening of his "Two States" exhibition at Harewood House, in Leeds, northern England.The artist's two new works are on exhibition in the Terrace Gallery until October 30. REUTERS/Nigel Roddis.
LEEDS.- Harewood is showing two new works by internationally-renowned sculptor Antony Gormley in the Terrace Gallery until the end of October. Earlier this season Harewood focused on Adam, Sir Jacob Epstein’s masterpiece, which stands in the Hall upstairs. Epstein was a key early influence on the development of Gormley’s art. Gormley says: ‘I am delighted to have the opportunity to show two works at Harewood House, which has long been associated with Adam, Epstein’s powerful evocation of masculine yearning carved from a massive block of English alabaster. ‘My material is iron. Smelted and cast, it also engages with the block but uses the language of architecture to interpret the male human body as an unstable space made up of individual cells fused and propped together. ‘The room in which the works are shown is supported by four stone ... More | | 
Heinrich Campendonk, Gelb-weiße Kuh vor Häusern, 1913 (detail), Dauerleihgabe des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2011.
BONN.- With Heinrich Campendonk (1889-1957) Kunstmuseum Bonn continues its exhibition series about the Rhenish Expressionists. Following Hans Thuar and Paul Adolf Seehaus, a selection of works by Campendonk from the museum’s collection is presented on a wall in the exhibition spaces on the ground floor, accompanied by information on the artist’s life and work. At the same time the presentation of the “Noble Guests” from Kunsthalle Bremen leaves and is replaced by classical modernist works from the museum’s collection. Heinrich Campendonk was one of the most independent artists among the Rhenish Expressionists. The close connection to Der Blaue Reiter, which he shared with August Macke, was, biographically and stilistically seen, more important for the artist than the little concrete contact he had with the Rhenish Avantgarde. However, artistic aspects, his friendship with August and Helmuth Mac ... More | | 
File photo of a person posing next to two bronze animal heads that form part of an installation, entitled Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads, by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. EPA/KERIM OKTEN.
LOS ANGELES, CA.- The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is displaying the first major public sculpture by Chinese contemporary artist Ai Weiwei, titled Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads. The installation comprises twelve monumental bronze animal heads that are re-creations of the famous traditional zodiac sculptures that once adorned the fountain clock of Yuan Ming Yuan, the Old Summer Palace, located just outside Beijing. For LACMA’s presentation, Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads is on view outdoors just east of the museum’s Lynda and Stewart Resnick Exhibition Pavilion. Cast around 1750, the original animal heads were located at the Zodiac fountain in Yuan Ming Yuan’s European-style gardens, which were designed by two European Jesuit priests in the eighteenth century. In 1860, British and French troops looted the heads amid the destruction of Yuan Ming Yuan during the Second Opium War. Today, seven heads—the ra ... More |
| University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology Marks September 11 Attacks with Exhibition | | Utah Researcher Randy Lewis Helps Dutch Artist Jalila Essaidi Make Bulletproof Skin | | RM Auctions Sets New World Record for a Mercedes-Benz Sold at Auction in Monterey Sale | 
Members of the media look at an exhibit Excavating Ground Zero: Fragments from 9/11, at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology, during a media preview, in Philadelphia. The exhibit runs August 20 through November 6, 2011. AP Photo/Alex Brandon.
PHILADELPHIA, PA.- Ten years to the day that two hijacked planes crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, Penn Museum marks the solemn occasion with two special programs September 11, and one October 12--and a powerful display, Excavating Ground Zero: Fragments from 9/11, on view August 20 through November 6, 2011. The program and the display offer visitors a timely opportunity to remember--and reflect anew. In the weeks, months, and years following the events of September 11, 2001, archaeologists and physical anthropologists excavated the site of the World Trade Center in New York City. Penn Museum's special display features 15 poignant objects recovered at the site of Ground Zero, including eyeglasses, a computer ... More | | 
A .22 caliber bullet hitting but not breaking the “bulletproof” skin created by Dutch artist Jalila Essaidi. AP Photo/Jalila Essaida.
By: Lynn DeBruin, Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY (AP).- A bio-art project to create bulletproof skin has given a Utah State researcher even more hope his genetically engineered spider silk can be used to help surgeons heal large wounds and create artificial tendons and ligaments. Researcher Randy Lewis and his collaborators gained worldwide attention recently when they found a commercially viable way to manufacture silk fibers using goats and silkworms that had spider genes inserted into their makeup. Spider silk is one of the strongest fibers known and five times stronger than steel. Lewis' fibers are not that strong but much stronger than silk spun by ordinary worms. With Lewis' help, Dutch artist Jalila Essaidi conducted an experiment weaving a lattice of human skin cells and silk that was capable of stopping bullets fired at reduced speeds. "Randy and ... More | | 
1937 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Spezial Roadster. Photo: Shooterz.biz ©2011 Courtesy of RM Auctions.
MONTEREY, CA.- RM Auctions, the world’s largest collector car auction house, continued its strong track record in Monterey, California last night, setting a new world record for a Mercedes-Benz sold at auction and selling 12 automobiles for individual million-dollar-plus results. The star of the night, a spectacular 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Spezial Roadster, chassis number 154140 (pictured), attracted spirited bidding in the room and on the phones, selling for an impressive $9,680,000 to applause from the crowd – a new world record for a Mercedes-Benz sold at auction. The stunning 540 K was joined by a magnificent series of four other supercharged eight-cylinder Mercedes-Benz automobiles from the 1930s, each fetching multi-million-dollar results before the packed house. Other highlights included a superb roster of historic Ferraris, lead by the sale of a rare alloy-bodied 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Competi ... More |
| Ragnar Kjartansson: Endless Longing, Eternal Return at Frankfurter Kunstverein | | British Artist Tracey Emin Dazzles 10 Downing Street with "More Passion" Neon Light | | European Masterpieces from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Set to Dazzle Perth | 
Ragnar Kjartansson, God, 2007. Single channel video installation production photo. Commissioned by: Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary, Vienna & The Living Art Museum, Reykjavik. Photo: Rafael Pinho. Courtesy of the artist, i8 Gallery, Reykjavik and Luhring Augustine, New York.
FRANKFURT.- On the occasion of Iceland’s invitation as guest country at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2011, the Frankfurter Kunstverein presents the first major solo exhibition in Germany of Ragnar Kjartansson (born 1976). The exhibition comprises more than fifteen video works, image series and installations of the past ten years by the well-known Icelandic artist whose six-month-long continuous performance at the Icelandic Pavilion caused quite a sensation at the 2009 Venice Biennale. Especially for the exhibition at the Frankfurter Kunstverein, Kjartansson has produced a new sculptural work. Iceland is home to a small but very lively and diverse art scene, which is shaped by both international influences and the unique geographical and historical circumstances of the island state. Contemporary art from Iceland is characterized by ... More | | 
File photo of Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron, right, greeting British artist Tracey Emin. AP Photo/Akira Suemori.
By: Jill Lawless, Associated Press
LONDON (AP).- A new message is greeting visitors to the home of Britain's prime minister: "More Passion." The words, rendered in dazzling neon, are a work by artist Tracey Emin that that is now hanging in 10 Downing St. Prime Minister David Cameron's office said Sunday that the work was installed earlier this week in a busy hallway, above the door to Downing St.'s Terracotta Room. It stands in contrast to the oil paintings and portraits of former prime ministers elsewhere in the 300-year-old house, which serves as the British leader's office and London home. Emin said earlier this year that she wanted to hang a piece in Downing St. to give the building "a bit of an edge." She was invited to install the neon sign by Cameron, a fan of her work. One of the "Young British Artists" who burst onto the art scene in the 1990s, Emin is renowned for her provocative and ... More | | 
François Boucher, Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour (1721–64) France, 1758. Oil on Canvas, V&A: 487-1882 ©Victoria and Albert Museum / V&A Images.
PERTH.- The Art Gallery of Western Australia is gearing up to host its second major international exhibition of the year ‐ a treasure trove of European decorative art from London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. Princely Treasures: European Masterpieces 1600 – 1800 from the Victoria and Albert Museum comprises more than 90 magnificent artworks and objects, rarely seen on Australian shores. Coming exclusively to Perth, this significant and highly visual collection includes painting and sculpture, ceramics and glass, metalwork and furniture, textiles and tapestries, personal adornment and dress, armoury, prints and drawing. Many of these pieces are coming to Australia for the first time and were originally acquired by European men and women of power, wealth and taste between 1600 and 1800. Made by Europe’s finest artists and craftsmen, and using precious materials from around the world, these masterpie ... More |
| Urban Cliff Divers Make a Splash in Boston Harbor Using the Roof of the Institute of Contemporary Art | | Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Presents Black Box: Nira Pereg | | Two Comprehensive Photo Installations by Susanne Kriemann at Kunsthalle Winterthur | 
Sasha Kutsenko of Ukraine dives from the 26.5-meter platform on the Institute of Contemporary Art building. AP Photo/Red Bull, Balazs Gardi.
By: Lauren Keiper
BOSTON (REUTERS).- Divers from across the globe leapt from a platform some 90 feet above Boston Harbor on Saturday in an extreme-diving tour that used the overhanging roof of an art museum as its most recent launching pad. Fourteen divers competed in the urban twist to the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series. Their diving board was the roof of the Institute of Contemporary Art, as thousands of spectators marveled at the acrobatic feat from behind a glass wall on the museum's fourth floor gallery, and from nearby grandstands and lawn seats. Some of the best views were had by spectators cruising the waters nearby in leisure boats, or lounging in kayaks mere feet from the divers' entry point. It took just three seconds from take-off to entry, with a host of tucks, twists and somersaults on the way down, before ... More | | 
Still from Nira Pereg's 67 Bows, 2006. Courtesy of the artist and Braverman Gallery, Tel Aviv.
WASHINGTON, DC.- The Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden’s popular Black Box series has brought a diverse range of international film and video works to Washington for more than five years. The upcoming installation, on view Aug. 22–November 2011, features the work of Nira Pereg (Israeli, b. Tel Aviv, 1969), who creates documentary-based video projections that transform everyday occurrences into dramatic scenarios. “67 Bows” (2006), inspired by the artist’s visits to the Karlsruhe Zoo in Germany, demonstrates that transformation with disquieting effect. For this piece, Pereg spent time studying a flock of the zoo’s flamingos. She discovered particular qualities in the behavior of individual birds by setting up situations in which group responses were expected. Employing various camera angles, the artist offers sumptuous close-ups of these exotic animals calmly going about th ... More | | 
Susanne Kriemann, One Time One Million, 2009. Exhibition view Kunsthalle Winterthur. Photo: Kunsthalle Winterthur.
WINTERTHUR.- Susanne Kriemann composes her works based on historical and social research. The artist often reproduces vintage prints and combines the appropriated material with new photos taken by herself; the emerging convolution of pictures is a result of visual association and formal analogies, but at the same time it derives from topics that were linked to the original context of the pictures. At Kunsthalle Winterthur, Kriemann shows two comprehensive photo installations. The walkable panopticon of One Time One Million (2009) presents product photographs of an original Hasselblad camera next to pictures of individual birds, flocks of birds and aerial views of housing developments. The pictures are part of a suggestive visual network, but at the same time they share a context that is based on information: Hasselblad, who invented the world famous camera, was an enthusiastic ornithologist and took hundreds of pi ... More |
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 Assouline Commemorates 10th Anniversary of September 11th with New Book NEW YORK, NY.- All of us were affected by the events of September 11th, but it was the youngest generation who was affected most of all. The innocence so profoundly disrupted that day is nowhere better demonstrated than in the drawings created shortly after the attacks by thousands of children. In their straightforward depictions, these works, both heartbreaking and heartwarming are testaments to the human instinct to bear witness, provide comfort, and attempt to make sense out of the unthinkable. Commemorating the 10th anniversary of September 11th, Assouline presents a collection of these drawings in Art for Heart: Remembering 9/11. This exquisite tome includes selections of artwork and messages from the New York University Child Study Center, the Art for Heart Program of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and Dear Hero and Notes of Hope collections, which have been acquired by the National September ... More "In Our Time" Exhibition by Tom Wolfe at the National Museum of American Illustration NEWPORT, RI.- After an outstanding reception by visitors at the National Museum of American Illustration’s (NMAI) 10th Anniversary Gala, Tom Wolfe’s illustration from his 1980 book In Our Time returns in an expanded format for the 2011 Summer season-continuing the first ever exhibition of Tom Wolfe’s illustrations. Widely known for his satirical accounts of modern life, Wolfe is far less known for his brilliantly humorous and engaging pen and ink illustrations. Now on exhibit in conjunction with the widely acclaimed exhibition, Norman Rockwell: American Imagist, viewers have the unique opportunity to see two very different interpretations of American life; Rockwell’s concurrently exhibited at the NMAI’s venue, Vernon Court, a 19th century Gilded Age mansion in Newport. The leading figure in the New Journalism movement of the 1960s and 70s, Wolfe is widely renowned for his unconventional ... More Santa Fe's Native American Art Market is Cultural Feast SANTA FE (REUTERS).- Diego Romero, from New Mexico's Cochiti pueblo, spent months building pieces of pottery, melding traditional Native American art with his love of comic books to create a contemporary look at Indian culture. Standing by his booth on a packed Santa Fe street, his thin, black hair tied in a braid down his back, and wearing shorts and sneakers, he showed a single shallow bowl with golden trim surrounding a painted image of corn dancers. A second bowl, an "historical piece" depicting the hanging of Native Americans by the conquering Spaniards, sold for $6,000 hours after it went on sale at the Santa Fe Indian market. Romero said his highly sought after artwork chronicles time, history and human nature, integrating images of alcoholism, domestic abuse and exploitation of native culture, depicted like Greek mythical narratives embedded in clay. "They're narratives of the human condition. We've all been ... More For Its First Participation at Paris Photo, Ilan Engel Gallery Puts the Focus on Arnaud de Gramont PARIS.- For its participation in the Paris Photo Show from 10 to 13 November 2011, Ilan Engel Gallery is designing a stand (no. A11) on the theme of "Contemporary Forests", a marriage between force and fragility, light and shadow. Ilan Engel will be showing the enigmatic forest borders photographed by Romanian artist Mihai Mangiulea, and Tolstoy's haunted woods captured by Stephan Crasneanscki. Also present will be the sensitive work of Arnaud de Gramont as he explores the Australian forests in search of the essential. Born in 1960 in Paris, where he still lives, Arnaud de Gramont opened an interior design agency in 1986 before choosing to devote himself to photography in 2003. “That professional practice has allowed me to broaden my outlook on the perceptions we have of space. For me, it essentially comes down to two words: geometry and light. These are the parameters I emphasize when taking pictures. It's an ar ... MorePuerto Rico Ponders New Site for Shunned StatueSAN JUAN (AP).- A towering statue of Christopher Columbus shunned by several U.S. cities may finally find a home on an uninhabited Puerto Rican island. Rep. David Bonilla filed a resolution asking the government to study the viability of installing the roughly 600-ton bronze statue, which is twice the height of the Statue of Liberty without its pedestal, on the tiny island of Desecheo. The statue began its ill-fated, two-decade journey in 1991, when it was built by controversial Russian sculptor Zurab Tsereteli to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Columbus' 1492 arrival in the Western Hemisphere. It was rejected by New York, Miami, Baltimore and other cities for reasons ranging from cost to appearance before finally being accepted by Puerto Rico. The statue shows Columbus at the wheel of a tiny ship with three billowing sails behind him. Critics have said the explorer's arms are too long, the head too small and his one-handed greeting pose silly. The Puerto Rican plan was to ... More |
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