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Francis Bacon

Thursday Links: George Bush Painting Pop-Up, $50,000 Fellowships, and Keanu Reeves Art Press

by Michael Anthony Farley on July 20, 2017

Israeli student Rotem Bides has generated a major controversy after allegedly stealing items from the Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial site in Poland for an artwork. The university has since cancelled the exhibition, and Bides may face prosecution from Poland as well as disciplinary action from the school. [The New York Times]
The Roddenberry Foundation is giving out 20 fellowships worth $50,000 each to activists fighting to make the world a little more like Star Trek. You can apply for projects related to civil rights, climate change and environmental justice, immigration and refugee rights, or LGBTQIA and women’s rights. Hurry, applications close on July 25th! [The Roddenberry Fellowship]
Whoa. Keanu Reeves is partnering with artists to launch X Artists’ Books, a new publishing platform that will focus on “unconventional, interdisciplinary and collaborative” print projects. [Los Angeles Times]
The conservative Steamboat Conference is going to feature a one day pop-up exhibition of George W. Bush’s paintings in Colorado. There’s nothing particularly noteworthy about this beyond the fact that I never miss an opportunity to bring up GEORGE EFFING BUSH’S WEIRD PAINTINGS. [artnet News]
The final U.S. iteration of Now Be Here, the photography project that documents thousands of women in the arts at the same time, will take place at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. The project is a collaboration between the NMWA, LA-based artist Kim Schoenstadt, and D.C.-based artist Linn Meyers. Female-identifying artists, curators, and gallerists in the DC/Baltimore metropolitan region are invited to participate, and can register here. [Google Forms]
Police in Spain have recovered three out of five Francis Bacon paintings (valued at nearly $30 million) stolen in Madrid in 2015. They managed to track down the photographer who took photos of the stolen paintings when the images appeared on the market. The case is considered Spain’s largest ever contemporary art heist. [BBC]

Monday Links: ISIS Will Not Destroy Western Civilization

by Paddy Johnson and Michael Anthony Farley on November 16, 2015

French soldiers guard the Eiffel Tower which remained closed on the first of three days of national mourning in Paris. Image via: Deccan Chronicle

The art fair Paris Photo officially shut down having been closed all of Saturday due to the terrorist attacks Friday night. Carolina Miranda spoke to Jean-Daniel Compain, a senior vice president at Reed Exhibitions, the fair organizer about the decision. Looks like the fair is going to take bath on this iteration of the fair due to its closure, but Compain said taking care of their exhibitors and visitors had to be their first priority. The fair will continue next year. “Of course we will continue the show,” Compain said. “We will face the barbarians. It’s a question of civilization and culture.” [Culture: High & Low]
We saw lots of complaints over facebook this weekend about how little attention Beirut was getting compared to Paris. The reaction has indeed been different—no country lit up its landmarks with the colors of Beirut’s flag as they did with Paris—but the media did not ignore the attacks there. Artist Martha Rosler has the statement of the day via facebook. “Saying ‘the media’ ignored the attack on Beirut (and so many other attacks, including the almost endless ones by the US) is to confess one’s own refusal to pay attention. And to imagine that what “we” see in ‘our’ media is what the rest of the world’s media also show. This is a pernicious form of political narcissism.” [Facebook]
And for those who are fearful of what these attacks mean for France and the rest of the world, here’s some good, common sense from Paul Krugman: ISIS will not destroy Western civilization. [The New York Times]
Richard Haden reports on the demise of Wynwood as Miami’s arts district. The rampant gentrification of the area has led to a mass diaspora of galleries, many of whom are purchasing their own spaces in lower-density, lower-income neighborhoods scattered across the city. It looks like the days of gallery-hopping on foot are gone. [ART IS ABOUT]
Baltimore’s monthly screening/performance series Lighthole has put out a free, open call for video, performance, and writing for their December iteration. This month’s topic is “Idols” and will be accompanied by a printed journal. This is a great artist-run project, submit! [Lighthole]
Citing the success of Leipzig, Germany’s Wächtershäuser program, Colin Alexander makes the case for postindustrial cities giving vacant buildings to artists. [The Baltimore Sun]
There’s now a petition to create an “Art” category in Apple’s App Store. The petition claims that it’s currently difficult to locate apps by art institutions and artists, a new medium that’s proliferating rapidly. [PSFK]
A Washington state agency is removing four paintings from an exhibition of Native American artists in its lobby after complaints from law enforcement. The paintings are the work of Leonard Peltier, a Native American activist who is serving two life sentences after being accused of killing two FBI agents during a stand-off on a reservation in 1975. [ABC News]
Despite selling a record-breaking $1.1 billion of art in 10 days, Sotheby’s is offering employees buy-outs ahead of downsizing. The auction giant is facing declining profits and slumping shares, as their expenses have evidently outpaced what seems to be otherwise astronomical income. [Bloomberg]
Francis Bacon fans rejoice: A new Francis Bacon catalogue will reveal 100 previously unseen works. [The Guardian]

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Tuesday Links: Pained Cries Over the Whitney’s Spilt Milk

by Paddy Johnson and Corinna Kirsch on April 28, 2015

The new Whitney. Photograph Ed Lederman. Image via: The Whitney

A grumpy review by Christopher Knight about the Whitney’s new digs. It’s a tourist attraction. The art doesn’t start until the 5th floor. The collection is parochial. There aren’t enough West Coast artists in the collection! Get a grip, dude. Sure, the collection is parochial, but on balance it should have been mentioned that the museum is doing better than their contemporaries. The rest of these complaints seem really trivial. [The L.A. Times]
A great, simple first-hand account of what happened yesterday when one person stumbled upon teenagers and police in Baltimore. [What I Saw While Riding My Bike Around Today]
Sara Reisman, director of New York’s Percent for Art Program, gets a new job. She’s been appointed the artistic director of the Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation. [Artforum]
In an article on Francis Bacon self-portraits going to auction, we learn that Bacon liked to paint himself to look youthful. “Although Bacon was in his 60s he looked much younger in the work, having dyed his hair and worn make-up as he grew older.” So he’s normal [BBC]
From the “Hiscox Online Art Trade Report 2015: “ Investment return is a growing motivation for online art buyers, with as many as 63% driven to purchase by a piece’s potential return on investment.” [Hiscox]
More on flipping for investment with sneakerheads, obsessive tennis-shoe collectors, compared to art collectors. [It’s Vintage]
Canine private investigator. [Craigslist]
You know The Toronto Star is running low on story ideas when they dedicate an entire story to Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s tweets from last year. The paper claims this has made him a “Twitter star” among other world leaders, but provides no evidence to support the headline. [The Toronto Star]
A collection of sparkling prose from recent New York Times articles. My favorite is the following lede by James Gorman: “For anyone who has ever been told by a smarty-pants 7-year-old, ‘There’s no such thing as Brontosaurus; it’s called Apatosaurus’ — it is payback time.” [The New York Times]

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Tuesday Links: It’s All Unbelievable

by Corinna Kirsch on December 10, 2013

Stay inside, New York. There are many ways to die by snow today. [The Awl]
Attendance at the Frick has more than doubled now that they’re borrowing Vermeer’s “Girl With the Pearl Earring.” Frick staff lets on that over 100,000 visitors have made their way into the collection since the October opening of Vermeer, Rembrandt, and Hals. [Real Clear Arts]
Can the art world ever recover from the influence of celebrity and entertainment on art? “No way,” remarked one curator at the Centre Pompidou-Metz. “And why would we, with such crossover programming in the upcoming year like Paparzzi! Photographers, Stars, and Artists?”* (*NOT A REAL QUOTE, BUT THIS IS A REAL EXHIBITION.) [e-flux]
Residents and business owners in the LES and and East Village want to keep SantaCon’s drunken hordes out of their streets. Let the protests begin. [Bowery Boogie]
Wow. Larry Gagosian has some harsh words for the new breed of collectors and partiers coming out to Miami. “Two years ago, the audience was a little more interesting from the perspective of the galleries that come here.” [Women’s Wear Daily, Alain Servais]
Bored much? Try cat petting, the computer game. [@PixelatedCowboy]
Ah! LACMA is starting up its Art and Technology program again—the very same one from the 1960s. They sent Claes Oldenburg to do research at Disney; John Chamberlain to Rand Corporation; Richard Serra to Kaiser Steel. Now it’s different; mostly, the program gives office space at the museum. [The New York Times]
Happy Birthday, Michael Snow! [@tylergreendc]
Missed this one last week, but the Van Gogh Museum is authorizing 3-D reproductions of Van Gogh’s masterworks. $35,000 for Starry Night, y’all. The first round will debut in January, at the L.A. Art Show. [Los Angeles Times]
Do subjective end-of-year lists not make you angry? Then go ahead, read Complex’s 25 Most Important Artists of 2013 list. Francis Bacon, who just sold the world’s most expensive painting at auction barely scrapes by in the 22nd slot; Robert Indiana is just a nudge ahead of him at 21. Top artists include those who have collaborated with Lady Gaga (#10: Inez and Vinoodh) and Pharrell (#5: Daniel Arsham, #8: JR). Celebrity art collaborations ≠ Most Important Artists. [Complex]

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Tobias Meyer to Leave Sotheby’s

by Corinna Kirsch on November 22, 2013

The timing of Meyer’s departure has already given rise to speculation in the press. Within the last year, the so-called “Seller of the Century” has encountered a bevy of setbacks to this title.

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A Week of Record Breaking Auctions in Perspective

by Paddy Johnson on November 14, 2013

The contemporary auctions are breaking records again. Maybe it’s time to revisit Sarah Thornton’s reasons not to write about the art market.

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Thursday Links: Auction Horror Think Piece

by Paddy Johnson and Whitney Kimball on November 14, 2013

"Study for the Nurse from the Battleship Potemkin", Francis Bacon, 1957

WSJ’s comparing buying a Bacon painting to buying the services of a sports player (“The Art of Fielding”). William Powhida points out that unlike art, a player isn’t “private property that we may or may not see again.” [Wall Street Journal]
AFC’s twitter feed is filled with tweets expressing horror over last night’s record breaking auction results at Sotheby’s. (This sales video for Warhol’s Car Crash prompted ArtInfo’s Tyler Green to ask how the Sotheby’s people live with themselves). What people buy isn’t the problem here. It’s the income inequality driving the success of these auctions that deserves outrage and action. [Twitter]
The term “hedge fund activist” has been coined. Apparently this term describes shareholders who exert pressure on the companies they’ve invested in, to change in directions they see fit. Daniel S. Loeb, for example, thinks Sotheby’s needs a makeover. [Dealbook]
Lily Allen takes issue with sexism in the music industry. Cue the think pieces. [The Guardian]
Selina Gomez is in the sentimental art film “Searching” by Victoria Mahoney. She’s wearing lingerie, so I guess that’s reason to talk about it? [The Superficial]
Jerry Saltz on Reddit AMA. Regular Saltz readers will be familiar with most of his answers, but he did remind us (AFC’s Paddy Johnson) that we like Francis Bacon a whole lot more than Saltz. His 2009 show at the Met was fantastic. [Vulture, summary]
An activist artist in Switzerland is gathering signatures for a minimum federal income distributed to all people. The New York Times’ Annie Lowry doesn’t think it’s that crazy, arguing that here and abroad it would only be a better use of money locked up in welfare. [New York Times]

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Tuesday Links: Can’t Wait for the Christie’s Record Auction Trickle Down!

by Paddy Johnson on November 13, 2013

Francis Bacon, "Three Studies of Lucian Freud"

Christie’s Contemporary Auction totaled a record $691.6 million with 91% of lots sold. Francis Bacon’s Three Studies of Lucian Freud proved to be the big ticket of the evening, selling at $142.4 million, an all-time record for a work of art at auction. This beats last spring’s $119.9 million paid for a pastel of Edvard Munch’s The Scream at Sotheby’s New York. Josh Baer asked around to find out why the lot was moved from 32 to the 8 position. Speculation: Frees up money underbidder money and the seller wanted to know how much money he/she had to spend on other items. Baer reports that Acquavella purchased the work. If they weren’t bidding for a client, we now know what to expect to see in their Art Basel booth this December. [Josh Baer]
Jerry Saltz is complaining that museums can’t afford to buy art at auction anymore. My take? The public can’t afford to attend museums anymore either; the loss to public happened a long time ago. [Vulture]
Spin unleashes an issue on Art Pop. So far, they’ve got an interview with Yoko Ono up, a seven decade timeline of music crashing the gallery, and a cover story that proposes that pop stars use the art world to further legitimize their brand to fans, and the art world uses these performers to sell art. I was the art world consultant for this issue, so I’m looking forward to seeing all the features roll out. [Spin]
Speaking of Spin, I spent a good deal of time on their site last night looking at the “20 best” K-pop songs. The actual best song is Nu Abo by f(x) and takes the number 12 position. [Spin]
Getting a fine art degree isn’t the dead end you think. According to the Wall Street Journal most graduates end up making more than social workers. The median income is $42,000 a year. [The Wall Street Journal]
Ian David Moss, thinks creative placemaking has some issues in the grant world. People don’t yet have clear ideas about what “making a difference” means. A thoughtful piece that uses the failures of the project Underpants Gnomes, as a jumping off point. [Create Equity]
Amelie von Wulffen at Meyer Kainer. [Contemporary Art Daily]

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BLNK: Things That Look Like Art, Part II

by Juozas Cernius on April 29, 2011

Photographer Juozas Cernius visited Africa and took a few shots of objects resembling well known works of art. The photo essay after the jump.

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Francis Bacon

BLNK: Things That Look Like Art, Part II

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