Photographs from Chris Burden’s “Shoot”
- Oh lord. Kanye West’s commencement speech for the Art Institute of Chicago praises the painting skills of George W. Bush. [Stereogum]
- Last night Pablo Picasso’s Les Femmes d’Alger (Version ‘O’) sold for $179.4 million including fees at Christie’s, making it the most expensive art work ever sold. Less than 30 minutes later, Alberto Giacometti’s sculpture L’homme au doigt (Pointing Man) $141.3 million with fees, making it the most expensive sculpture ever sold. Josh Baer had no significant observations from the sale past the fact that it was mostly new money purchasing the lots. [Baer Faxt]
- Most of the obituaries we’ve read on Chris Burden have been long pieces dedicated to chronicling his work and his importance. But arguably the most heartfelt comes from this short reflection by Jonathan Jones, “I will always picture Chris Burden in those 1971 photographs, wounded and shocked. An artist sharing the pain of others. He was one of the true greats.” [The Guardian]
- A list of “must see events” for the week that are almost entirely invitation only or ticketed. [Artnet News]
- Nobody writes a better Venice Biennale review than Adrian Searle. He says that All the World’s Futures tells a story “of a world too complex to submit to any single critique or system.” It’s too much to unravel. [The Guardian]
- And here’s an unusual review of the Biennale that takes it to task for being filled with too much angry and ugly work. [Artnet News]
- Yesterday Matthew Apperson injured George Zimmerman—the man was acquitted of Trayvon Martin’s murder in 2013—in a shooting. Apperson’s lawyer says his client was acting in self-defense. [WFTV]
- A devastating story about what caring for a loved one with cancer looks like. [Esquire]
