Art Industry News: Activists and Artists Unite in a Call for MoMA and Board Member Larry Fink to Divest From Prisons + Other Stories

by admin

Oct 11, 2019

artnet

Art Industry News is a daily digest of the most
consequential developments coming out of the art world and art
market. Here’s what you need to know on this Friday, October
11.

NEED-TO-READ

How Banksy’s Trademark Play Could Backfire – Why is the artist known at Banksy trying to
enforce his trademark by displaying a shopfront
full of merch rather
than by suing for copyright infringement? In the past, the
world-famous street artist has claimed that “copyright is for
losers,” but the real reason may be that if he does take the issue
to court, his real identity could be revealed in the legal
proceedings. Launching a range of Banksy-branded goods to establish
his trademark might backfire, however. Rivals could challenge it
is a token move and argue
that “the trademark is not capable of being perceived as such by
consumers, as the artwork is used so intensively and commonly by a
multitude of entities that sell products reproducing Banksy’s art,”
so it might fail in a British court. (Conversation)

Nan Goldin Scatters Purdue “Blood Money” and Pill Bottles
Outside US Courthouse – The artist Nan
Goldin and fellow
activists from the groups P.A.I.N. and Truth Pharma threw
“blood-soaked” dollar bills outside the court where the
Sackler-owned Purdue Pharma is filing for bankruptcy. They also
scattered pill bottles with a warning label saying: “Side effect:
Death.” Goldin helped stage the protest in upstate New York because
campaigners believe the Sacklers’ lawyers are trying to shield
billions of dollars the family made from the profits of OxyContin.
The pharmaceutical company argues that filing for bankruptcy will
pave the way for a billion-dollar settlement that will help opioid
victims. (The Art Newspaper)

Call for MoMA and Trustee to Stop Investing in Prisons
– MoMA’s critics are
raining on its $400 million reopening parade. More
than 220 artists, curators, and academics have sent a letter to the
museum to protest its financial links to private prisons, and those
of one of a billionaire trustee. The letter from the New Sanctuary
Coalition wants MoMA’s pension fund to divest from the company
Fidelity. It also claims trustee Larry Fink has financial stakes in
prison companies, “the war machine,” and “the destruction of the
global environment.” Signatories to the letter that condemned toxic
philanthropy and unethical museum investments include the artist
and academic Andrea Fraser,
art critic Hal Foster, and the activist group Decolonize This
Place. (Artforum)

Getty Badass Tour Champions Female Artists
– The unofficial
Bad Ass Bitches of the Getty tour
is attracting millennials as well as other visitors interested in
learning about female artists who challenged the patriarchy.
Artemisia Gentileschi’s Judith Beheading Holofernes
(around 1612-13) is a
highlight—but finding works by
other female artists is tricky, however. “Renegade” tour guide Kylie Holloway
estimates there are only two in the sculpture garden and three on
display in the Getty’s galleries. A Getty spokeswoman would not
confirm the statistics, saying the center does not keep track of
artists’ gender. She did note that the photography and archival
collections contain many more works by women than the painting and
sculpture collections. (LA Times)

ART MARKET

New Record for Elizabeth Catlett’s Sculpture
– Swann Auction Galleries
in New York sold the African American sculptor’s
Seated Woman
(1962) for $389,000. The sale is a
new auction record for the late artist. (ARTnews)

FIAC Director on the Fair’s Future – FIAC director Jennifer Flay reveals her
frustration that the Paris fair does not run the week after Frieze
in London to make a European trip for
US collectors more convenient and kinder on the
planet. “I’m not
responsible for any rivalry between FIAC and Frieze. I think we can
coexist, that’s always been my aim,” Flay says. She confirms that
during the Grand Palais’s revamp, the fair will move to a temporary
venue near the Eiffel Tower for its 2021 and 2022 editions.
(Financial Times)

COMINGS & GOINGS

Photographer Jill
Freedman, Who Documented NYC, Has Died – Freedman was
a prolific photographer who dramatically captured the margins of
American life, from circus folk to strippers to gun-toting
children. She passed away at age 79 due to complications with
cancer. (New York Times)

Louvre and Swatch Launch
a Mona Lisa Watch – The French institution is ramping
up its partnerships these days (others of note include Airbnb). The watch company
Swatch will launch four new watches inspired by masterpieces from
the museum’s collections, with Guido’s Reni’s cupid from the 1620s
on one watch face and another with the Mona Lisa herself on the arm
band. (ArtMixSix)

Bertille Bak Wins Mario
Merz Prize – The French artist has been named the
winner of the Mario Merz Prize in Spain, after being selected by a
jury that included artist Lawrence Weiner and New Museum’s
Massimiliano Gioni. The prize comes with a solo exhibition at the
Fondazione Merz in Turin. (Controluce)

FOR ART’S SAKE

Another Review of the
New MoMA Reopening – The major
revamp of the MoMa does not see an end to the architecture of “late
modern corporate ennui” that plagued it, according to a critic in
FT who wishes the architects at Diller Scofidio + Renfro
had pushed boundaries in their expansion as much as the curators
did in their rehang. “From the point of view of
coherence it makes perfect sense, but it also falls back on a
version of architecture that now feels a little too smooth, too
friction free. This is corporate space for big art, offering no
resistance, no grain, no attitude,” writes architecture critic
Edwin Heathcote. (Financial Times)

Mellencamp Meets Rauschenberg – ACA
Galleries in Manhattan will show a selection of works by rocker
John Mellencamp alongside those by his stylistic antecedent, the
late artist Robert Rauschenberg. The show juxtaposes Mellencamp’s
portraits and sculptural assemblages alongside Rauschenberg’s mixed
media collages and paintings. The exhibition “Binding Wires” will
be on view at ACA Galleries from Thursday, October 24 through
Saturday, December 21. (Press release)

Katy Perry Skates (and Bails) at the Milwaukee Art Museum
– The pop star lost her perfect poise while roller-skating
around the entranceway of the Milwaukee Art Museum with fellow
“American Idol” judges Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan on Wednesday.
Perry tripped on a floor sticker before she had another near-crash
that was narrowly prevented by a crew member. The institution was
hosting local auditions this week ahead of the upcoming season of
the singing competition. (Journal
Sentinel)

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Welp, guess you’ll just have to tune back into
@AmericanIdol next year to see if any of us kept our jobs
@lukebryan @lionelrichie ammiright? #season3

A post shared by KATY PERRY (@katyperry) on Oct 9, 2019 at
9:29pm PDT