Arts news

• Near-Death Self-Portraits: Edvard Munch, van Gogh, and More Confront Mortality

  12-05-2020 23:34 via artnews.com
  
  In 1889, the year of his death, Vincent van Gogh wrote a letter to his brother Theo. “They say—and I am willing to believe it—that it is difficult to know yourself—but it isn’t easy to paint yourself either,” van Gogh wrote. To know oneself fully through that creative process had been a lifelong goal for the great Post-Impressionist. Over his career, he created 30 self-portraits which, when arranged in chronological order, act as visual autobiography. He was h
  
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• Collectors’ Toolkit: How Does the Coronavirus Affect Artworks’ Insurance Value?

  12-05-2020 23:12 via artnews.com
  
  After the initial coronavirus shutdown, Brad Taylor, who oversees art for the insurance broker HUB International, saw a huge slowdown in activity—and then experienced a flood of questions. Collectors quickly started to realize that art storage facilities would be locked down, and around the world, art shipments weren’t going as planned. Works were stuck on loan to an exhibition, with a packer or shipper, at a gallery on consignment for what was supposed to be a couple days, at a free
  
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• The Best Acrylic Frames for Displaying Your Artworks

  12-05-2020 23:04 via artnews.com
  
  One of the most important and exciting parts of creating art is putting it on view for everyone to see. With so many options for framing photos, prints, and drawings, it can be difficult to choose the right fixture for your work. Here’s a guide to some of the best acrylic frames for walls and tabletops that will enable you to create a great viewing experience for audiences at home and in the gallery. 
  
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• Fauci Hearing: Who Were Those Masked (and Unmasked) Senators?

  12-05-2020 23:04 via nytimes.com
  
  The proceedings, billed as Dr. Anthony Fauci’s high noon, became a surreal pageant of dystopian government and politicized face wear.
  
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• Former Paddle8 CEO Mishandled Funds from Charity Auctions, New Lawsuit Alleges

  12-05-2020 22:47 via artnews.com
  
  Two months after a prominent online auction house filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this year, a new lawsuit has been filed alleging that its former chief executive misappropriated funds from its auctions to cover the company’s operating expenses.
  The suit, which was filed in United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, is brought against Valentine Uhovski, who resigned as CEO in February, on behalf of the company’s unsecured creditors seeking at lea
  
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• The Best Acrylic Gesso to Get Your Canvases Masterpiece Ready

  12-05-2020 22:29 via artnews.com
  
  Acrylic gesso is a key ingredient to any painting. Artists spread the material across their canvases before applying paint to prime the surface and ensure that the work will have a long life. Put simply, gesso makes a canvas more hospitable for acrylic paints. There are white and transparent gesso products, and we’ve got the rundown on the best options available.
  
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• These are the Best Acrylic Craft Paints for Works on Canvas and Beyond

  12-05-2020 22:14 via artnews.com
  
  Acrylic paint is an essential part of most artists’ tool kits, whether they specialize in paintings or other types of painted work. Some of these acrylics are best applied to canvas, while others can also go on wood, ceramic, fabric, metal, plastic, glass, and other materials. No matter what your practice requires, these items will have your painting needs covered.
  
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• The Best Paper Pads for Acrylic Painting and More

  12-05-2020 22:07 via artnews.com
  
  Acrylic pads are an essential tool for any serious or recreational artist who wants to try their hand at works on paper. Acrylic paper is thicker than average drawing paper, and its textured surface is designed as an adherent surface for acrylic paint washes and layers. Perfect for plein-air painting, sketching, and final works, acrylic paint pads can also be used for a variety of media other than acrylic paint. Browse our round-up of the best acrylic pads below to find the best product to suit
  
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• For Bookstore Owners, Reopening Holds Promise and Peril

  12-05-2020 21:59 via nytimes.com
  
  Across the country, booksellers are wrestling with how to safely open their stores. Some are racing ahead. Others feel it’s too risky.
  
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• Laguna Beach Cancels Pageant of the Masters, Festival of the Arts - VoiceofOC

  12-05-2020 21:58 via voiceofoc.org
  
  Laguna Beach Cancels Pageant of the Masters, Festival of the Arts  VoiceofOC
  
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• The Best Acrylic Paint Sets to Bring Your Canvases to Life

  12-05-2020 21:46 via artnews.com
  
  Acrylic is a favored painting medium for both beginners and professionals alike for its easy setup, quick-drying properties, and malleable nature. Made out of pigments suspended in acrylic polymer, acrylic paint is water soluble but becomes water resistant when dry. A highly flexible paint medium, acrylic will provide a crisp, graphic paint edge that can be easily used to create thick paint strokes or thin washes, and it is suitable for use on a wide range of surfaces. Depending on your project
  
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• 2020 Des Moines Arts Festival Canceled - WHO TV Des Moines

  12-05-2020 21:36 via whotv.com
  2020 Des Moines Arts Festival Canceled  WHO TV Des Moines
  
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• The Best Acrylic Gouache Paints for a Rich Matte Finish

  12-05-2020 21:32 via artnews.com
  
  Artists often turn to gouache paints when they seek an opaque, matte finish in their work. Acrylic gouaches are like traditional gouaches, but are water-resistant when dry. Some of these paints are best for application to canvas and paper, while others can be used on surfaces as varied as wood, glass, and fabric. Whether you’re primarily a painter or a restlessly experimental installation artist, these are the gouache paints you should have on your radar. 
  
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• Can Physical Comedy Work on Zoom? Bill Irwin Wants to Find Out

  12-05-2020 21:30 via nytimes.com
  
  His 10-minute, two-character play will test the possibilities of a new form that puts faces, more than bodies, at the center of the action.
  
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• For Adding Dynamic Designs to Different Surfaces, Here are the Best Airbrush Paint Sets

  12-05-2020 21:23 via artnews.com
  
  Airbrush painting is extremely versatile, enabling you to easily and cleanly apply paint to a variety of surfaces such as paper, canvas, wood, fabric, leather, ceramic, metal, and plastic. These professional, high-quality paints can even be mixed and diluted to create the perfect shade and consistency. Look for specific instructions pertaining to your intended use; some surfaces will need to be coated before or after paint application. Let your imagination run wild while you review these five re
  
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• Still Life With Fly Swatter, or Hourglass, or Lemons

  12-05-2020 21:12 via nytimes.com
  
  Five housebound photographers used everyday items to create images that speak to both their inner lives and the world beyond their walls.
  
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• Allan Schwartzman to Transition Out of Sotheby’s in Advisory Reorganization

  12-05-2020 21:05 via artnews.com
  
  On Tuesday, Sotheby’s announced the departure of Allan Schwartzman, the principal at Art Agency, Partners, Sotheby’s advisory firm. Schwartzman will take on a new role as a strategic consultant as Sotheby’s announced plans to expand advisory services under the direction of Nina del Rio, Sotheby’s vice chairman of Americas and head of museum, private, and corporate art services.
  In a statement regarding the shift, Sotheby’s noted the chairman’s departure coinci
  
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• Titilayo Mabogunje's recipe for a better society: meld medicine and arts - Yale News

  12-05-2020 21:02 via news.yale.edu
  
  Titilayo Mabogunje's recipe for a better society: meld medicine and arts  Yale News
  
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• Ailey, Balanchine and a Lesson in Mourning

  12-05-2020 20:50 via nytimes.com
  
  A guide to the best dance online this week, with a class to get your heart pumping (“dress cute, and stay on mute”).
  
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• What Do We Lose When Cannes Is Canceled?

  12-05-2020 20:43 via nytimes.com
  
  With no Riviera red carpets to trip over, our film writers discuss what the festival means to movies, moviegoers and especially Hollywood at this pivotal moment.
  
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• ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’: The Oral History of a Modern Action Classic

  12-05-2020 20:20 via nytimes.com
  
  Production was shut down three times, the stars often clashed, and studio executives were baffled. Here’s how a difficult shoot led to an Oscar-winning masterpiece.
  
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• To Create Glowing Stained Glass or Decorate Your Dishware, Here are the Best Window Paints

  12-05-2020 19:42 via artnews.com
  
  Have you ever been gazing out a window when, suddenly, inspiration strikes? Window paints provide an opportunity to execute your ideas immediately. Whether you’re looking for a bit of lighthearted fun or are ready to make an ornate work mimicking stained glass, these paints provide plenty of opportunities to get those creative juices flowing. Easy to apply and to clean up, window paints can provide a bit of variety to your art practice, craft routines, or your child’s playtime activi
  
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• The 7 Biggest Reveals from a New Warhol Biography, from Potential Tax Dodges to Legal Battles

  12-05-2020 19:33 via artnews.com
  
  Andy Warhol has been the subject of major retrospectives, a bevy of books, and a slew of scholarly studies. Is there anything left to be learned? Warhol, Blake Gopnik’s definitive new biography, suggests that there are in fact still revelations to contended with. Below are seven of the book’s biggest reveals.
  Artist Philip Pearlstein may have inspired the “15 minutes” aphorism.Gopnik’s book puts forward a possible origin story for one of Warhol’s most famous o
  
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• The Best Origami Papers for Beginners and Experts Alike

  12-05-2020 19:27 via artnews.com
  
  The art of origami, or paper folding, has been around for over 2,000 years. These days origami papers are available in a multitude of vibrant colors and patterns. Most packs come with the standard 6-inch-square sized paper, ideal for even folding. These papers are designed to fold cleanly, hold creases precisely and have strength to last. Origami is a great idea for a party, school or rainy day activity for kids and adults alike. Check out our top 5 options below.
  
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• ‘Double Rainbow Guy’ Paul Vasquez Is Dead at 57

  12-05-2020 19:20 via nytimes.com
  
  His unbridled joy at the sight of two concentric rainbows made him a YouTube star.
  
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• The Best Paint Palettes for Unleashing Your Full Creative Potential

  12-05-2020 19:19 via artnews.com
  
  Where would a painter be without a paint palette? These seemingly simple objects are essential to help artists envision the colors and compositions that make up their artworks. Paint palettes come in a wide variety of materials, with some made from glass or plastic and others created in wood or ceramic; here, we focus on those made from plastic. Painters depend on their paint palettes to organize their materials and blend colors, and they look for a durable, reliable, and washable piece to take
  
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• Josh Trank on ‘Capone,’ and What Really Happened With ‘Fantastic Four’

  12-05-2020 19:16 via nytimes.com
  
  The director, who’s back with a new biopic, recalls his time on the superhero bomb and a meeting with Kathleen Kennedy that led to his exit from a “Star Wars” film.
  
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• The Best Palette Knives for Painterly Experimentation

  12-05-2020 19:12 via artnews.com
  
  Essential to any oil or acrylic painter’s practice is a great palette knife. With such a tool, artists can combine colors, pastes, and other materials in the process of creating their works. Palette knives can also be used to apply paint to canvas, with different sizes and shapes producing different effects. Even watercolorists can use them to scratch back into a work. Usually featuring wooden handles, palette knives are most often equipped with either metal or plastic blades. The blades&r
  
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• Shop the Best Tracing Paper for Design and Preparatory Work

  12-05-2020 19:06 via artnews.com
  
  Originally used for architectural and engineering drawings, tracing paper finds favor with artists for general practice and for drawing, copying, layering, and calligraphy. Lightweight and translucent, tracing paper allows for experimentation with layering of images and tracing of all kinds. This paper is ideal for the fast and accurate tracing of an image. As well as for calligraphy, it’s excellent for designing hand-drawn typography, and perfect for designing wedding invitations, illustr
  
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• Jodeci’s Unplugged ‘Lately’ Was Its Pinnacle. Andre Harrell Made It Happen.

  12-05-2020 18:11 via nytimes.com
  
  In 1993, the R&B group performed on an “MTV Unplugged” devoted to Harrell’s Uptown Records. “Lately” was a master class.
  
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• Netflix Has Some Great Music Documentaries. Here Are 11 of Them.

  12-05-2020 17:58 via nytimes.com
  
  No hagiographies to be found here, with looks at the lives and careers of Amy Winehouse, Quincy Jones, Nina Simone and Taylor Swift, among others.
  
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• Europe’s Museums Begin Reopening, Cautiously, With New Rules

  12-05-2020 17:34 via nytimes.com
  
  Compulsory face masks, hand-sanitizer stations and one-way routes are common features as institutions reinvent themselves for the Covid-19 era.
  
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• Broadway Will Remain Shut Through at Least Labor Day

  12-05-2020 17:33 via nytimes.com
  
  The Broadway League canceled performances through Sept. 6 and said it did not know when they might resume.
  
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• Want a Show That Goes Places? Try ‘Travel Man’

  12-05-2020 16:00 via nytimes.com
  
  Our television critic answers your questions and offers guidance on what to watch next.
  
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• The Daily Call That 200 Arts Groups Hope Will Help Them Survive

  12-05-2020 16:00 via nytimes.com
  
  In a sign of the pandemic’s toll, New York’s cultural institutions, large and small, feel compelled to share their woes and tactics in strategy sessions.
  
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• Amandla Stenberg Sees Beauty Underwater, and Strength in Maya Angelou

  12-05-2020 16:00 via nytimes.com
  
  “The Hunger Games” and “The Hate U Give” actress also lists Tierra Whack’s music and her grandfather’s violin among the 10 things she can’t live without.
  
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• The Spanish Influenza Transformed Everyday Life. But Artists Struggled to Visualize Its Impact

  12-05-2020 15:47 via artnews.com
  
  Arthur Comfort’s reproduction of John Maler Collier’s painting The Plague, ca. 1902, published in The Graphic in December 20, 1902.
  On October 6, 1918, a newspaper spread appeared in cities across the United States that conflated science, painting, nationalism, and war. The layout mingled scientific diagrams of the human respiratory system with a reproduction of a ca.-1900 painting of a bubonic plague victim by the British artist John Maler Collier, a late follower of the Pre-Raphael
  
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• ‘Hamilton’ Movie Will Stream on Disney Plus on July 3

  12-05-2020 15:22 via nytimes.com
  
  In a surprise move, the film of the original Broadway production is being released 15 months early.
  
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• Expo Chicago Postpones September Fair to 2021 Over Coronavirus Concerns

  12-05-2020 15:00 via artnews.com
  
  As the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases climbs worldwide and projections remain bleak, art fairs taking place in the fall may soon have to make another tough call: cancel, pivot to online, or postpone. Expo Chicago, the annual art fair that was scheduled to open at the end of September, has chosen the latter option, saying that it has pushed its upcoming edition to April 2021.
  Citing both the health risks a large gathering pose, and the financial turmoil currently roiling the art industry, Exp
  
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• Drive-By Art Thrives, David Lynch Reports on the Weather, and More: Morning Links from May 12, 2020

  12-05-2020 15:00 via artnews.com
  
  To receive Morning Links in your inbox every weekday, sign up for our Breakfast with ARTnews newsletter.
  News
  Bangladeshi collectors Nadia and Rajeeb Samdani—designees on the ARTnews Top 200 Collectors list—opened up their home to Robb Report to show some of their 2,000 works of modern and contemporary art. “You don’t want art to sit in a warehouse,” Nadia Samdani said. [Robb Report]
  “Drive-By-Art (Public Art in This Moment of Social D
  
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• Citing Health and Financial Concerns, Expo Chicago Postpones September Fair to 2021

  12-05-2020 15:00 via artnews.com
  
  As the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases climbs worldwide and projections remain bleak, art fairs taking place in the fall may soon have to make another tough call: cancel, pivot to online, or postpone. Expo Chicago, the annual art fair that was scheduled to open at the end of September, has chosen the latter option, saying that it has pushed its upcoming edition to April 2021.
  Citing both the health risks a large gathering pose, and the financial turmoil currently roiling the art industry, Exp
  
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• ‘Capone’ Review: The Gangster as Unhygienic Hero

  12-05-2020 15:00 via nytimes.com
  
  Tom Hardy plays Al Capone as a boogeyman bloated with body fluids.
  
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• How Walking Changes Us

  12-05-2020 13:36 via nytimes.com
  
  “In Praise of Walking” and “In Praise of Paths” offer two very different approaches to the benefits of taking regular strolls.
  
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• Coronavirus forces closure of arts center in Gold Rush town - Los Angeles Times

  12-05-2020 13:14 via latimes.com
  
  Coronavirus forces closure of arts center in Gold Rush town  Los Angeles Times
  
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• Would You Trust a Snake-Wielding Preacher, if He Were Your Dad?

  12-05-2020 11:00 via nytimes.com
  
  The heroine of Amy Jo Burns’s debut novel, “Shiner,” comes of age amid the patriarchy of contemporary Appalachia.
  
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• Why We’re Obsessed With Celebrities’ Bookcases

  12-05-2020 11:00 via nytimes.com
  
  Now that the expert class is stuck at home, the bookcase has become the preferred background for applying a patina of authority to an amateurish video feed. Amanda Hess looks at why scrutinizing a celebrity’s bookcase has become a pandemic parlor game.
  
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• ‘What Pea Disrupts Your Sleep, Princess?’

  12-05-2020 11:00 via nytimes.com
  
  In “The Shapeless Unease,” the British novelist Samantha Harvey ponders her struggles with insomnia.
  
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• Tragedy in the Middle East

  12-05-2020 11:00 via nytimes.com
  
  Noah Feldman’s “The Arab Winter” tries to find hope in a grim turn of events.
  
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• The Spy Who Handed America’s Nuclear Secrets to the Soviets

  12-05-2020 11:00 via nytimes.com
  
  Nancy Thorndike Greenspan’s “Atomic Spy” offers new material on Klaus Fuchs, the notorious Manhattan Project physicist.
  
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• The Pirates’ Booty That Changed the Course of History

  12-05-2020 11:00 via nytimes.com
  
  In “Enemy of All Mankind,” Steven Johnson argues that a 1695 showdown on the high seas was a crucial turning point in the rise of the British Empire.
  
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