MAeX Art Blog

Collectors Guide 2008

Collectors Guide 2008:

"A widespread economic slowdown could start to cool the market for art and collectibles. But until then--ouch! It's hot."

(Via Forbes.com: Collecting News.)

Arts & Letters Daily (30 Dec 2007)

Arts & Letters Daily (30 Dec 2007):

"Giving to charity can induce an endorphin high not unlike sensations people get from drugs such as morphine or heroin... "more

"If you want to know how humans learned to create pleasure by building beautiful things, just look at the birds and the bees... "more

"Yes, classical music really is addressed to people with certain independence of mind, individuals with a capacity to think, to sense, to imagine... "more

(Via Arts & Letters Daily - ideas, criticism, debate.)

Was Cubism A Dead End?

Was Cubism A Dead End?:

"'Cubism didn't just change what pictures after it looked like. It changed almost everything about the way an artist could come at the world. And here's what makes that cubist watershed even more notable: A century later, and it's hard to find a clearly cubist touch in much of anything young artists are making. Can there truly be a watershed that doesn't water what's downstream?'

Could cubism's true greatness lie in being the most glorious, ambitious failure art has ever known? Did it set the model for the modern artist as impossible dreamer?"

According to Karmel, all the fractures and disjunctures that we're used to in modern media were first hinted at in Picasso's Montmartre studio a century ago.

At the end of the day, cubism's revolution, Hoptman says, "happened on a conceptual rather than a perceptual level."

(Via Washington Post.)

Is cubism THAT much part of our world today? I don't doubt some influence from the cubist past is still here, that's the way we humans are, carrying the familiar and comforting into the present. But, somebody needs to better explain how a computer usings 'windows' as a way to see various content is related to cubism.

What We Talk About When We Talk About Art

Oh, this is interesting. A number of arts professionals have made comments about it including, Roberta Smith needing to find a dictionary. How much of our common understanding of word meanings discolors our communication? As a teacher I run into this all the time with students wanting to say a word means what they want it to or, worse, using vague words applied to specific instances so that they are sure to be inclusive enough to cover at least the smallest trace of accuracy. Blah. That doesn't work in academia or, in the world of business where a contract can mean the difference between getting paid and getting jail time.

WHEN it comes to fashionably obtuse language, the art world is one of the leading offenders. Academic pretensions flash through like brush fire, without a drop of cold water splashed their way.

“Reference” and “privilege” are used relentlessly as verbs, as in “referencing late capitalism” or “privileging the male gaze.” Artists “imbricate” ideological subtexts into their images. Some may think such two-bit words reflect important shifts in thought about art, but they usually just betray an intellectual insecurity.

Another lamentable creeping usage is not only pretentious, but it distorts and narrows what artists do. I refer to — rather than reference — the word practice, as in “Duchamp’s practice,” “Picasso’s studio practice” and worst of all, especially from the mouths of graduate students, “my practice.” Things were bad enough in the 1980s, when artists sometimes referred to their work as “production,” but at least that had a kind of grease-monkey grit to it.

Via: What We Talk About When We Talk About Art - New York Times.

There are only a few days left to make year-end tax-benefiting charitable contributions

Other than supporting local charities, national organizations could meet your giving needs.

There are only a few days left to make year-end tax-benefiting charitable contributions:

"Wall Street Journal's Your Money Matters"

(Via Wall Street Journal's Your Money Matters.)

Mould threatens Leonardo works

Are there conservators that can really save and/or restore works as old as da Vinci's? This is also a reminder to us all here in humid South Florida that we have some unique conservation issues. Is there anyone available to speak to my group? Well, I did speak to a couple people during Art Basel Miami Beach that should be expecting a phone call almost immediately. Conservation is a highly sought after profession but, very exacting and demanding.

Mould threatens Leonardo works:

"Dec 22: Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Atlanticus, the largest collection of drawings and writings by the Renaissance master, has been infiltrated by mould, officials said yesterday"

(Via Guardian Unlimited Art.)

Artpick | The Coral Springs Museum of Art

I was talking to an artist I met on Friday night who was really thrilled about the current exhibition at the Coral Springs Museum of Art. The work is largely figurative. I haven't seen the show myself but, it's recommended by the Herald.

Artpick | The Coral Springs Museum of Art:

"Heres an antidote to holiday stress: The Coral Springs Museum of Art is offering free admission to Dec. 31 to all visitors as a holiday gift. Enjoy two exhibitions: Royo: ingravidos, the celestial-themed work of Spanish artist Royo, and the museums Faculty Exhibition. Both are up until Jan. 5. Stroll through the museums sculpture garden to view the work of past artists-in-residence, and if thats too much relaxation for you and you feel the need to shop, the museum store sells..."

(Via MiamiHerald.com: Visual Arts.)

The Death of Modernism

The Death of Modernism:

"Peter Gay's Modernism: So boring, so necessary. By Morgan Meis"

(Via THE SMART SET FROM DREXEL UNIVERSITY.)

Custodians of Culture: The Museum: Institutions of Market or Measure?

Custodians of Culture: The Museum: Institutions of Market or Measure?:

"A [podcast] discussion chaired by Massimiliano Gioni (Artistic Director, Nicola Trussardi Foundation, Milan and Curator of Special Exhibitions, New Museum, New York) examining the changing relationship between museums, artists, their sponsors and patrons."

(Via Frieze Art Fair Podcasts.)

Pantone's Color of the Year Is...

Okay designers, did you know there is a Pantone color of the year? Why didn't you tell us about it?!

AT least one color authority, Pantone, has taken the plunge and announced its favorite color for 2008. To be sure, this news doesn’t seem as delectable as People’s Sexiest Man Alive or as snugly affirming as Time’s Person of the Year. You probably did not even know that chili pepper red was the color for 2007.

Via: Pantone's Color of the Year Is... - New York Times.