- A great white shark, possibly pregnant, lurks off the shore of Jones Beach, Long Island. [am New York]
- Facebook begins testing instant articles with nine different publishers, including NBC News, National Geographic and The New York Times. This means you don’t have to follow a link to a new site any more – content will just load directly on Facebook. How will this work out for The New York Times, which receives a lot of revenue from the paywall? Good question. [The New York Times]
- An article that begins with a very obvious premise—that the boom in the global art market reflects rising inequality—contains one anecdote worth repeating. In the case of the record breaking Picasso, writer Neil Irwin suggests that only 50 people in the world could purchase the work, assuming most are unwilling to bid more than 1 percent of their total income. In 1997, there would only be a dozen. [The Upshot]
- Hauser & Wirth’s Partner and Vice President Mark Payot told me three years ago at an art fair that an artist had never left the gallery and vise-a-versa. Well, times have changed. In a report on the Art Newspaper on the fluid relationship of artists with galleries, we learn that Sterling Ruby left Hauser & Wirth, but is still represented by Sprüth Magers (C9), Gagosian Gallery (B60) and Xavier Hufkens (B44). For the artists reading this who have yet to secure representation, I feel your pain. [The Art Newspaper]
- Christoph Büchel’s installation at the Icelandic Pavilion at the Venice Biennale may be shut down. Büchel created a mosque, and city officials worry that extremists will attack it. Doesn’t this seem like a massive over reaction? [Artforum via The New York Times]
- A Howard law professor notes that mainstream Americans love fictional rebels who fight oppressive authoritarian governments in films like The Hunger Games. So why didn’t the nation sympathize with the rioters after the murder of Freddie Gray? Suggestion: we need a black Katniss Everdeen. Maybe it’s time for Angela Basset’s character from Strange Days to get a spin-off sequel. Another suggestion: let’s all just skip the comments section on this article. [The Baltimore Sun via Deray McKesson]
- Speaking of futuristic dystopia, those of us who thought our humble salaries in the art appreciation field were safe from the threat of mechanization have been proven horribly wrong—computer algorithms are now taking on art history. If it’s any consolation, the hard-working medical robots and military drones that this generation of software is descendant from are probably just as disappointed as our parents are. [MIT Technology Review]
- And in other Insanely-Rich-People-and-Paintings news, Picasso’s “Women of Algiers” sold for $179.3 million at a Christie’s auction, breaking the record for an auction sale price. [BBC News]
- There’s a giant translucent Hello Kitty parked on 47th St. and Second Ave. It’s the latest project from Sebastian Masuda, hosted by the Japan Society. New Yorkers are invited to fill the sculpture with personal belongings to be displayed in Tokyo during the 2020 Olympics. [The Daily Beast]
Wednesday Links: Infested Waters
by Paddy Johnson and Michael Anthony Farley on May 13, 2015 Massive Links
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