Art

‘Like witnessing my own funeral’: Michael Landy on destroying everything he owned

Twenty years and an epoch ago, Michael Landy destroyed his worldly goods, all 7,227 of them, in the just-closed flagship branch of C&A on Oxford Street in London. It was a wildly theatrical event. The mise en scène involved a snaking conveyor belt bearing tubs full of carefully catalogued objects, with a team of blue-boilersuit-clad…

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US Capitol’s works of art survive amid right-wing rampage in Washington

The US Capitol’s works of art were subjected to tear gas and pepper spray during the intrusion of right-wing marauders incited by President Donald Trump on Wednesday and will require cleaning and conservation, a spokeswoman for the Architect of the Capitol reported today. Yet the works in the 1826 Neo-Classical building appear to have survived…

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Rector at Danish art academy steps down over royal bust drowned by artist protesting school’s colonial legacy

The controversy engulfing the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, Denmark’s most prestigious art school, over a dumped royal bust took a new turn last week when the college rector was forced to step down. Kirsten Langkilde resigned after the Danish culture ministry said “new powers” are needed at the academy. The move…

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UK’s £120m post-Brexit festival selects teams—including art organizations—for next step of controversial initiative

Festival UK*2022, the controversial UK wide-event championing the country’s innovation and creativity in the wake of coronavirus and Brexit, has moved a step closer with the announcement of 30 teams that will develop preliminary projects for the new festival. The shortlisted candidates, which will receive “up to £100,000 of investment” each, include high-profile cultural institutions such as…

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Art patrons seek new ways to keep culture alive in a pandemic

During a chance conversation with staff from London’s St Paul’s Cathedral in the teeth of the pandemic in April, businessman Lloyd Dorfman (pictured above) realised he could help them solve a serious problem. As the coronavirus toll mounted, curbs were imposed on funeral gatherings and memorial events. The public aspect of grief — the celebration…

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Art therapy: This is how the arts can sharpen mental health research

Engagement with the arts takes on a higher significance during unsettled times, helping with mental strain and unleashing the imagination to escape, innovate and create new ways of being. The established contribution of creative industries to the field of global health combined with the shock of COVID-19 provides an opportunity to reinvent the social role…

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I returned to the National Gallery seeking comfort. But art no longer feels like an escape.

Most of the crises I’ve lived through during my more than 50 years on this planet haven’t really ended. The AIDS pandemic of the 1980s and ’90s continues, especially among populations without access to expensive, lifesaving treatments. The moral rot of the Vietnam War and the reckless corruption of the Nixon years now seem mere…

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Protests in paint: Student uses art to fight for social justice

“COVID this way,” read a faux road sign across from Sky Bar and Southeastern on Aug. 28, with an arrow pointing toward the two establishments. While some students returning to Auburn in August took to downtown bars to party, some of their peers were dismayed. The mind behind the sign, Rose Williams, junior in theatre, was…

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How Technology Is Reshaping Art to Make Us Rethink Our World

As the CEO of Silicon Valley’s leading art studio Drue Kataoka Studios, artist-technologist-activist Drue Kataoka is leading the way into the future. Her commissioned artwork, which spans genres from steel sculpture and painting to virtual reality and EEG brainwaves, is at the forefront of democratizing art and, in the process, creating massive social impact. For Kataoka, creating…

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Black Lives Matter muralists reflect on art, social justice

For eight artists who contributed to Palo Alto’s Black Lives Matter mural this summer, the project was one example of the power public art has in bringing communities together, fostering conversations and amplifying racial equity initiatives. The creatives from all over the Bay Area came together for a virtual panel discussion hosted by Palo Alto’s…

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