From the New York Times: When the Camera Takes Over for the Eye The ubiquity of cameras in exhibitions can be dismaying, especially when read as proof that most art has become just another photo op for evidence of Kilroy-was-here passing through. More generously, the camera is a way of connecting, participating and collecting fleeting experiences. For better and for worse, it has become intrinsic to many people’s aesthetic responses. (Judging by the number of pictures Ms. Fremson took of people photographing Urs Fischer’s life-size statue of the artist Rudolf Stingel as a lighted candle, it is one of the more popular pieces at the Biennale, which runs through Nov. 27.) And the camera’s presence in an image can seem part of its strangeness, as with Ms. Fremson’s shot of the gentleman photographing a photo-mural by Cindy Sherman that makes Ms. Sherman, costumed as a circus juggler, appear to be posing just for him. She looks more real than she did in the actual installation. Read the entire article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/05/arts/design/at-the-venice-biennale-art-is-a-photo-op.html
Chinese sculptor Lei Yixin and architect Ed Jackson Jr. are helping Martin Luther King Jr.’s ideas take shape. Literally. This Sunday, August 28th, the 30ft statue of King and the surrounding grounds (including a bookstore, cherry trees, and a wall of King’s quotes) will be dedicated in a ceremony marking the 48th anniversary of King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.  The New York Times describes the statue: “The design gave form to a line from Dr. King’s “Dream” speech — “With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope,” said Mr. Jackson. In the memorial, he noted, Dr. King is seen emerging from the stone of hope. The two towering mounds set slightly behind him, forming a sort of passageway to the statue, are mountains of despair.” Read the entire article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/23/us/23mlk.html?_r=1&ref=arts
The infinitely interesting and inspiring German neo-expressionist, Anselm Kiefer, is the subject of a new film.  From the New York Times: The idea for a film arose when Mr. Kiefer, eager for someone to document the mysterious universe he had created, invited Ms. Fiennes to visit Barjac. “It was a completely kind of mad and disorientating labyrinth,” Ms. Fiennes, 44, said over tea in the living room of a friend’s apartment here. She wandered the grounds, navigating tunnels illuminated with skylights or single bulbs, discovering a crypt and an amphitheater and a patch of land scattered with concrete towers inspired by the biblical story of Lilith that resemble modern ruins. “I was amazed,” she said. “There is an inherent theatricality or cinematic quality to what he’s made there that leant itself to filmmaking.” Follow Kiefer through his labyrinth: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/07/movies/sophie-fienness-over-your-cities-grass-will-grow.html?ref=arts 
UGA Graphic Design alum Elliot Stokes (who also designed ArtUga’s logo!) has an illustration featured in today’s New York Times op-ed! CONGRATULATIONS ELLIOT! http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/20/opinion/l20war.html?_r=1&ref=opinion Check out more of Elliot’s work here: http://elliotstokes.com/
RIP Cy. http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/05/cy-twombly-idiosyncratic-painter-dies-at-83/
From the New York Times: Dissident Chinese Artist Freed on Bail “Ai Weiwei, a prominent Chinese artist and pro-democracy activist arrested by Chinese authorities in April, was released on bail Wednesday after confessing to tax evasion, Chinese state media reported. Mr. Ai, who had been held outside Beijing, was the most high-profile dissident arrested during a widespread crackdown on rights lawyers, bloggers and activists in China this spring, drawing international attention and condemnation. It was unclear whether he was still in the detention facility or had already returned home in Beijing. Days after he disappeared on April 3, Chinese officials had said Mr. Ai had been arrested for committing “economic crimes,” a catchall term frequently employed by the police as legal cover to imprison those who are perceived to pose a political threat to the country’s Communist leadership.” Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/23/world/asia/23artist.html?_r=2&hp
From the New York Times: Pei’s Doha museum reflects splendor of Islamic Art The museum, which houses manuscripts, textiles, ceramics and other works assembled mostly over the last 20 years, has emerged as one of the world’s most encyclopedic collections of Islamic art. The origin of its artifacts ranges from Spain to Egypt to Iran, Iraq, Turkey, India and Central Asia. Taking his cue from the diversity of the collections, Pei sought to create a structure that would embody the “essence of Islamic architecture.” He spent months traveling across the Middle East searching for inspiration. He visited the ninth-century Ahmad ibn Tulun Mosque in Cairo, a sober structure organized around a central court with a temple-like central fountain, as well as ancient fortresses in Tunisia. “Islam was one religion I did not know,” Pei said in an interview. “So I studied the life of Muhammad. I went to Egypt and Tunisia. I became very interested in the architecture of defense, in fortifications. It is a very important piece of Islamic architecture.” “The architecture is very strong and simple,” he added. “There is nothing superfluous.” Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/23/world/africa/23iht-art.1.18063805.html?_r=4&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1282312819-nLfEy7aOLn0irCBuTuBsZw
New York Times: Caravaggio tops Michelangelo as the most popular artist in Italy “Caravaggio, who somehow found time to paint when he wasn’t brawling, scandalizing pooh-bahs, chasing women (and men), murdering a tennis opponent with a dagger to the groin, fleeing police assassins or getting his face mutilated by one of his many enemies, has bumped [Michelangelo] from his perch.” http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/10/arts/design/10abroad.html
RIP Alexander McQueen http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/02/11/world/AP-EU-Britain-Obit-McQueen.html?_r=2&hp
iheartmyart: Meet Mr. Gaga: Nicola Formichetti http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/04/meet-mr-gaga-the-stylist-nicola-formichetti/