Arts news

• The Observer view: Selling a piece of fruit for £4m isn’t bananas, it’s decadent. Art is better than this

  23-11-2024 20:30
  
  The sale of Maurizio Cattelan’s work, Comedian, to a crypto entrepreneur is a grim concept that has little to do with disruptionPaulina Brandberg, the Swedish minister for gender equality and work life, has a phobia of bananas so severe, her aides check rooms for the fruit before she’s due to enter them. Like other sufferers of this most unlikely of conditions, she is triggered by the merest traces of banana: a skin mouldering in a far-off wastepaper basket; a lingering smell; the se
  
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• Trick of the light: the enduring appeal of René Magritte’s big tease

  23-11-2024 18:00
  
  The record $121m sale of his most famous painting last week sealed the Belgian surrealist’s place in art’s hall of fame. What does it mean for his legacy?René Magritte painted brain-teasers – an air force of uniformed bureaucrats raining down on to a faceless city, a reverse mermaid with a sardine for her head and human legs, a pair of boots that sport real toes – but even he might have scratched his head if he’d known that last week, after a frenetic bidding
  
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• Charlie Ortiz shares the vision behind their new $44 million home

  23-11-2024 16:45 via artsjournal.com
  Charlie Ortiz, Executive Director of the WHIN Music Community Charter School, shares the vision and process behind their new $44 million home.
  
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• On my radar: Mathew Baynton’s cultural highlights

  23-11-2024 16:00
  
  The Horrible Histories and Ghosts star on the joy of dissecting popular songs, class-driven comic novels and the scarcity of vegan treatsBorn in Southend, Essex, in 1980, Mathew Baynton is the co-creator and star of award-winning television shows including Horrible Histories and Ghosts, in which he played lovestruck Regency poet Thomas Thorne. His television roles include Gavin & Stacey, Peep Show and Vanity Fair, and he has starred in films such as The Falling and Wonka. He lives in north L
  
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• ‘The very thought of it repelled me’: how a skiing accident left me unable to read

  23-11-2024 12:00
  
  After suffering a head injury, I found I was unable to read without headaches, eye strain and wild mood swings – and that my condition was far from rareIn the Palazzo Pitti in Florence hangs a painting by Raphael of the Renaissance humanist, poet, scholar, orator and prelate Tommaso Inghirami. He’s pictured at his desk, garbed almost entirely in red, in a typical pose of contemplation, gazing upwards, but look closely at his right eye and you will notice something amiss: there i
  
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• Unseen Barbara Hepworth letters reveal ‘recipes’ for sculptures – and her high standards

  23-11-2024 11:00
  
  A cache of notes that will be auctioned this week include the artist’s instructions to her bronze foundry and show how deeply involved she was with the casting process Barbara Hepworth’s stone and bronze sculptures are recognised around the world for their distinct, curved forms. The oval alabasters and gleaming bronzes, punctured with holes and lozenge-like gaps, were all made in contrasting tones and surfaces, creating a new aesthetic.Now, Hepworth’s unseen letters to the Lon
  
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• ‘The rising smoke and setting sun made a magical backdrop’: Jurica Galić’s best phone shot

  23-11-2024 11:00
  
  On assignment in South Sudan, the Croatian photographer used a natural framing device for this award-winning imageBefore he arrived for his three-day stay, Jurica Galić knew that the South Sudanese Mundari people set fire to dried cow dung before sunset to repel mosquitoes. What the Croatian photographer and travel journalist didn’t know was the depth of harmony between the tribe and their cattle, nor how he would capture it.“Ankole are breeds of domestic cattle originating from
  
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• Michigan Maritime Museum – Executive Director

  23-11-2024 07:50 via artsjournal.com
  Michigan Maritime Museum is looking for an entrepreneurial and data-driven Executive Director who is excited about the opportunity to capitalize on its 50-year legacy and expand its impact.The Museum recently completed a strategic plan and a major capital expansion and is well positioned to expand programming and reach its next level of engagement and sustainability. It benefits from a highly engaged Board and a legacy of exceptional community support. Its operating budget is ~ $1.8 million (75%
  
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• From Wicked to Kim Deal: a complete guide to the week’s entertainment

  23-11-2024 07:00
  
  The stage musical smash received the big-screen treatment, and the alt-rock Pixies and Breeders queen releases her first ever solo LPWickedOut nowThis long-gestating big-screen version of the Broadway musical is finally here, with a star-studded cast including Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo and Jeff Goldblum. A revisionist take on L Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz, it’s one of those “what if they weren’t always that evil” deals. Continue reading...
  
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