2010.08.19

International News Digest

Visitor Records at German and Italian Museums； Stolen Polke Works Found； Prizes for Walther and Ullman

VISITOR RECORDS AT GERMAN AND ITALIAN MUSEUMS

German and Italian museums are enjoying long lines outside their doors. As Der Standard and APA report, exhibition success stories in Germany include the Neo Rauch shows at Munich’s Pinakothek der Moderne and Leipzig’s Museum der Bildenden Künste, the Ernst Ludwig Kirchner exhibition at Frankfurt’s Städel Museum, and the Frida Kahlo retrospective at Berlin’s Martin-Gropius-Bau. The Kahlo retrospective, which opens on September 1 in Vienna’s Bank-Austria-Kunstforum, welcomed 200,000 visitors.

Italian museums registered eighteen million visitors for

2010.08.14

International News Digest

France’s “Cols rouges” under Investigation； Internet: More Information than Market?；Photography, Fine Art, and Popular Practice

FRANCE’S “COLS ROUGES” UNDER INVESTIGATION

The French guild of auction warehouse clerks at the Paris auction house Hôtel Drouot, also known as the “cols rouges” (red collars) for the distinctive collars on their uniforms, are under investigation for robbery and other charges. It seems that some guild members have taken advantage of their proximity to artworks and other valuables. According to a report in Le Quotidien, French police discovered a Gustave Courbet painting, Marc Chagall prints, a Picasso drawing, diamonds, and other valuables while searching the residences of “cols rouges” in

2010.08.08

International News Digest

Looking into the Stendhal Syndrome； Hamsters in the Museum；Security Camera Art；Dog Days of August

LOOKING INTO THE STENDHAL SYNDROME

Does the Stendhal syndrome really exist? As Der Standard reports, Italian researchers want to take a closer look at the syndrome named after the French writer Stendhal who swooned after seeing too much beautiful art during a trip to Florence in 1817. The team of researchers––including doctors and psychologists from Florence and Pisa––want to measure the physical bodily reactions that occur when people look at impressive artworks. The researchers set up a multi-sensory path in a hall painted by the seventeenth-century artist Luca Giordano (1634–1705) in the

2010.07.28

International News Digest

Italy Culture Cuts Run Deep；Venice Biennale too Pricey for Estonia?；British Pavilion with German； New Dates for Contemporary Istanbul； Leopold Museum Sells Schiele to Pay Victim of Nazi Theft； Museum Ludwig and Suchan Kinoshita Honored

ITALY CULTURE CUTS RUN DEEP

The Italian government’s massive cuts to its own budget, thirty-two billion dollars for 2011–2012, are now being felt in the cultural realm. Le Monde’s Philippe Ridet focuses primarily on cuts to the performing arts––from theaters to operas––which will have to make do with one-third less of their annual budget, which has been slashed from 582 million dollars to 388 million dollars for the next year. “Many foundation and cultural associations will receive no further financing from the state starting in 2011,” writes Ridet.

At the beginning of June, a demonstration

2010.07.22

International News Digest

Pinault to Part with Christie’s?；Jonathan Franzen；Mona Hatoum Wins；Golden Lion for Rem Koolhaas；Daniel Spoerri Donates Work；Romanian Culture: Communist or Medieval?

PINAULT TO PART WITH CHRISTIE’S?

It’s only a rumor, but it seems to have traveled from France to Germany and a few open ears along the way. Citing an article in the French Journal des Arts, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung’s Angelika Heinick reports that the owner of Christie’s François Pinault is allegedly discussing the possible sale of his auction house with the Qatar royal family and Qatar Holding. Heinick is intrigued by the rumor. “It’s not totally improbable,” she writes, “since Pinault needs money for the maintenance of his foundations in Venice.”

JONATHAN FRANZEN

The American writer

2010.07.12

International News Digest

French Museums Look to Security and Budget Cuts; New Cancer Diagnosis for Schlingensief; Berlin’s Postfuhramt Sold; Gallerists Head to Reykjavik as an Economic Avant-garde?; Palais de Tokyo Architects Chosen; South London Gallery Expands; England Reveals Salaries; Finns have a Basic Right to Internet;

FRENCH MUSEUMS LOOK TO SECURITY AND BUDGET CUTS

After a spectacular robbery six weeks ago at the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, the French minister of culture Frédéric Mitterrand has sent out a massive group e-mail about security to the country’s museum directors. As Le Monde reports, Mitterrand said that the prevention of robberies is “a priority in the heritage policy of France” and urged directors to recognize “the importance of inventory, checking, and documentation of the collections.”

Mitterrand’s group e-mail does not seem to include information about financing the measures

2010.07.05

International News Digest

French Museums Look To Security and Budget Cuts； New Cancer Diagnosis for Schlingensief； Berlin’s Postfuhramt Sold； Gallerists Head to Reykjavik as an Economic Avant-garde?； Palais de Tokyo Architects Chosen； South London Gallery Expands； England Reveals Salaries； Finns Have a Basic Right to Internet

FRENCH MUSEUMS LOOK TO SECURITY AND BUDGET CUTS

After a spectacular robbery six weeks ago at the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, the French minister of culture Frédéric Mitterrand has sent out a massive group e-mail about security to the country’s museum directors. As Le Monde reports, Mitterrand said that the prevention of robberies is “a priority in the heritage policy of France” and urged directors to recognize “the importance of inventory, checking, and documentation of the collections.”

Mitterrand’s group e-mail does not seem to include information about financing the measures

2010.06.25

International News Digest

Museum Salaries Withheld unless Quotas met； Otto Muehl Apologizes ; Judith Butler refuses Civil Courage Prize； Green Touch for Documenta 13；

MUSEUM SALARIES WITHHELD UNLESS QUOTAS MET

There’s a new pressure to perform for the directors of municipal museums in Hamburg. As the Süddeutsche Zeitung’s Till Briegleb reports, the next work contracts will tie the salaries of museum directors to goals set by the city’s cultural authority. Hubertus Gaßner, the director of Hamburg Kunsthalle, is cited as an example. Under the terms of the next work contract beginning in 2011, a full 20 percent of Gaßner’s salary will be withheld unless the director meets the preset goals of the municipal cultural authority. In this case, the goal is to reduce

2010.06.19

International News Digest

New Director for 104; Pinacoteca di brera to Expand; Milan Debates Cattelan Sculptures; Growing Opposition to Milan’s Mac

NEW DIRECTOR FOR 104

José-Manuel Gonçalves has been chosen as the new director of the 104 space in Paris. As Le Monde’s Clarisse Fabre reports, the 131,000 square-foot complex in the Nineteenth has suffered from financial and managerial difficulties since its opening in October 2008. Gonçalvès, who has headed the arts and cultural center Ferme du Buisson in Marne-la-Vallée since 1999, replaces Robert Cantarella and Frédéric Fisbach, who decided not to prolong their contract after just one year at the helm of 104. Gonçalvès has also piloted the company Made in Productions and chairs the Rosny

2010.06.09

International News Digest

Exhibition Closed Before Opening； Spoerri’s Déjeuner Unearthed after going Underground Twenty-seven Years ago； Private Collections Legalized in Bulgaria； Private Collections: a Trend； Subtitle Conflict: Museum still Closed； Hamburg Gallery not Closing； from Russia with Love: a Church and Cultural center for Paris?

EXHIBITION CLOSED BEFORE OPENING

An exhibition of erotic art never even got the chance to open at the exhibition space of the Bibliothèque départementale de la Somme in Amiens, France. As Le Monde’s Michel Guerrin reports, “Pour Adultes Seulement” (For Adults Only) was canned just a few days before its opening. The show featured about sixty drawings, paintings, and prints by twenty-six international artists, including Tomi Ungerer, André François, Jean Claverie, and Nicole Claveloux. Curator Janine Kotwica’s proposal for the exhibition was accepted over a year ago and welcomed by the regional

2010.05.29

International News Digest

Richter Criticizes German Pavilion； Paris’s Musée d’art Moderne Remains Closed； “ars homo erotica” in Warsaw； Squatting Ban Bad for Culture

RICHTER CRITICIZES GERMAN PAVILION

Gerhard Richter is not at all amused with the choice of Christoph Schlingensief to represent Germany at the next Venice Biennale in 2011. “That’s a scandal,” said Richter, quoted by the Berliner Zeitung. “They’re taking a performer although we have thousands of artists.” Moreover, the painter associates the selection of the multitasking director Schlingensief with “the decline of painting.”

Curator Susanne Gaensheimer who made the choice has reacted with a written statement, published by Art magazine. While honoring Richter’s role as “the most important

2010.05.19

International News Digest

Legal Action Against Mayor’s Office for Closing an Exhibition；North Korea Exhibition Causing a Stir in Vienna；Expansion for Berlin’s Jewish Museum； Museums at Night: from Paris to Moscow

LEGAL ACTION AGAINST MAYOR’S OFFICE FOR CLOSING AN EXHIBITION

As reported earlier on Artforum.com, the French artist Zineb Sedira’s exhibition at the Musée National Pablo-Picasso in Vallauris, France, was closed down prematurely after the subtitles had offended former Algerian Muslim soldiers loyal to the French during the Algerian War. The initial report from Le Monde––that the museum reopened after the artist corrected the subtitles––proved to be incorrect. As Le Monde’s Michel Guerrin reports in an update to the story, the French state is taking legal action against the office of the mayor

2010.05.12

International News Digest

Dakar Biennial Opens； More than 4,000 Protest cultural Cuts in France；Brussels’s Kunstenfestivaldesarts: Bicultural haven in Belgian Storm； Oldest Photography Laboratory Found in France； Keïta’s Trunk: Lost and Found

DAKAR BIENNIAL OPENS

Dak’Art––the biennial of African contemporary art––has opened in the Senegalese capital. As Agence France-Presse reports, this year’s edition features twenty-eight artists from sixteen countries who are presenting works on the theme of “retrospective and perspectives.” Created in 1992, Dak’Art aims to support not only young artists but also emerging critics and curators. Another goal is to develop artist residencies and professional contacts with other biennials, since artists across the continent suffer from a general lack of financing and institutional infrastructures

2010.05.10

International News Digest

Christoph Schlingensief Chosen for German Pavilion at Venice； No Rock Concert at the Louvre； Exhibition Temporarily Closed due to Subtitles

CHRISTOPH SCHLINGENSIEF CHOSEN FOR GERMAN PAVILION AT VENICE

The artist and director Christoph Schlingensief has been selected to represent Germany at the next Venice Biennale in 2011. As the Süddeutsche Zeitung reports, the curator for the German pavilion Susanne Gaensheimer confirmed the choice with the newspaper. Schlingensief is no stranger to Venice, where he staged his Church of Fear in 2003. The director is currently rehearsing Via Intolleranza II, which will

be presented in Brussels, Hamburg, and Vienna, as part of his opera village project in Burkina Faso. Via Intolleranza II takes

2010.04.29

International News Digest

University of London Starving the Warburg Institute?； the Failures of Paris's “104” Space； Belgian Statue Castrator

UNIVERSITY OF LONDON STARVING THE WARBURG INSTITUTE?

The Warburg Institute of the University of London is facing an uncertain future. As the Süddeutsche Zeitung’s Alexander Menden reports, the source of the problem is the original foundational agreement between the institute and the university. The institute’s library, which was created by the German art historian Aby Warburg, became part of the University of London in 1944 with the stipulation that the university maintain the institute as an independent entity while providing it with adequate furnishings and personnel. That clause has put a

2010.04.18

International News Digest

Daniel Hug and Michael Neff on the Crisis； “Revolution” in French Art Academies；Cairo Calls upon Countries to Fight for Art Restitutions； East Islanders Vote against Sculpture Loan

DANIEL HUG AND MICHAEL NEFF ON THE CRISIS

How is contemporary art faring in our hard times? To get an opinion on the state of contemporary art markets, the Süddeutsche Zeitung’s Catrin Lorch talked with Art Cologne artistic director Daniel Hug and Michael Neff, who is involved in the organizational side of this year’s Gallery Weekend in Berlin. “The past year does not even have to have been the hardest,” Neff said. “Now the crisis is really hitting art. Even the Americans prefer to buy an overpriced Gerhard Richter than a short-term fashionable young star, or to jump on the ZERO [group]

2010.04.09

International News Digest

New Geography of Parisian Galleries；Bedding for Culture；Eyedea Collection in Peril

NEW GEOGRAPHY OF PARISIAN GALLERIES

Le Monde’s Harry Bellet takes a stroll through Paris’s shifting gallery scene. He identifies three sites of tectonic shifts in the City of Lights. While heavyweights are clustering near the swanky Champs-Elysées, younger dealers are still flocking to the funkier Belleville, and some dealers that set up shop on rue Louise-Weiss in the Thirteenth arrondissement are migrating across the Seine to the Marais in the Fourth arrondissement.

In the Champs-Elysées area, both Christie’s and Sotheby’s have arrived in the neighborhood, along with a branch of the Italian

2010.03.24

International News Digest

Kasper König’s Contract Extended；Bomb Threat at Centre Pompidou； Guernica to Stay Put； most French “Curious” about Contemporary Art； Agence France-presse ends Dispatches on Museums and Exhibitions； More Diversity behind Louvre Exhibitions?； Porn-for-one is not Culture-for-all

Kasper König’s Contract Extended；Bomb Threat at Centre Pompidou； Guernica to Stay Put； most French “Curious” about Contemporary Art； Agence France-presse ends Dispatches on Museums and Exhibitions； More Diversity behind Louvre Exhibitions?； Porn-for-one is not Culture-for-all

KASPER KÖNIG’S CONTRACT EXTENDED

Kasper König will continue to direct the museum Ludwig in Cologne for another two years. As the Süddeutsche Zeitung reports, the city of Cologne extended its contract with the curator until November 2012. König’s original contract was due to end November 30, 2010.

BOMB THREAT AT CENTRE POMPIDOU

The Centre Pompidou in Paris was evacuated on Sunday after a bomb threat. As Agence France-Presse reports, the national museum evacuated visitors and personnel at noon after an anonymous caller alerted the police from a public telephone booth. “Bomb experts came and

2010.03.18

International News Digest

Rebecca Horn Honored; Valencia Museum Director Steps Down After Censorship; Caspar David Friedrich: 350,000 Percent Mark-up; Spectacular Polaroid Auction Put on Hold?; Artist Hangs Own Work Next to Boltanski; Leipzig Painter to Make Papal Portrait.

REBECCA HORN HONORED

Rebecca Horn has been awarded the Hessian Cultural Prize for 2010 in Germany. As the Süddeutsche Zeitung reports, the sixty-five-year-old was praised as “one of the outstanding visual artists” in the country. Among her many accomplishments, the multitalented Horn was the first woman to be awarded Goslar’s Kaiserring prize in 1992. The prize is accompanied by approximately $63,000.

VALENCIA MUSEUM DIRECTOR STEPS DOWN AFTER CENSORSHIP

The director of Museum Valencian of Enlightenment and Modernity (MUVIM), Ramâ de la Calle, has resigned to protest an act of censorship from

2010.03.13

International News Digest

Prizes for Calle and Hatoum; Tàpies Foundation Reopens; Stalin Portrait Causes Uproar.

PRIZES FOR CALLE AND HATOUM

Sophie Calle and Mona Hatoum have been recognized for their work with awards. As the Süddeutsche Zeitung reports, Calle has won the Swedish Hasselblad Prize for Photography for 2010 from the Hasselblad Foundation in Gothenburg, while Hatoum was awarded the German Käthe-Kollwitz-Preis for 2010 from Berlin’s Akademie der Künste.

In Calle’s case, the jurors praised the “groundbreaking” and “original” work of the fifty-six-year-old French artist, who has explored the relation between text and photography for three decades. The Hasselblad prize, which comes with a $

Jennifer Allen