"Mythological Figure: You’re Star"

In Brief

• [Activism/Censorship] Artists Denounce Palestine Censorship at London's Royal Academy

  In July,  Royal Academy of Art removed two artworks from its “Young Artists’ Summer Show” because they spoke to the state of Israel-Gaza. In response, a blog post by Artists for Palestine UK presented an open letter with over 700 signatories and more than 100 being Jewish artists, including Nan Goldin, Jock McFadyen, and Adam Broomberg calling  upon British institutions like the Royal Academy to uphold their ethical and legal duty to freedom and speech and anti-discrimination, and repair the harm done by the removal of the artworks. Read more here. (BO)

• [Armed Conflict] Cultural Institutions At-Risk During Protests in Bangladesh

  Several cultural institutions in Bangladesh, including the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum and the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre (IGCC), were set on fire amid recent protests against prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who was forced to resign after 15 years in power and fled to India. Formerly the home of Hasina’s father and ex-president, Sheik Mujibur Rahman, the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum was converted to a museum following his assaination in 1975. The site has become a significant site for protestors. Protestors are calling for the resignation of Sheikh Hasina and her Cabinet after she deployed military on peaceful student protests for fair access to government jobs, kill 300 people.  Read more here. (BO)

• [Authenticity] Forgery Fiasco: Tasmania’s Mona Museum Admits to Displaying Fake Picasso Paintings

  Tasmania’s Museum of Old and New Art (Mona) admitted that several artworks it claimed were by Pablo Picasso are fakes, created by Kirsha Kaechele, the wife of Mona’s owner, David Walsh. The museum previously faced controversy over its “Ladies Lounge” installation, which initially banned men and was ruled discriminatory. Kaechele curated the exhibition, featuring the forgeries and other inauthentic items, to highlight historical gender exclusions. After suspicions arose, Mona made an announcement confessing to the incident. Kaechele apologized to the Picasso Administration for the forgery. Read more here. (TS)

   

• [Copyright Infringement] Poet Fights for Rights: Translator Sues British Museum Over Unauthorized Use of Work

  In 2023, The British Museum featured translator Yilin Wang’s translations of Qiu Jin’s poetry in their newest exhibition, China’s Hidden Century, without her consent. Initially, the Museum contacted Wang with a permission form but later withdrew all of her works from the exhibition. The Museum claims they removed Wang’s translations at her request, a claim Wang denies. Now, the British Museum refuses to reinstate her translations. Read more here. (TS) 

• [Cultural Heritage] Israeli Legislative Committee Approves Bill Expanding Authority over Antiquities in the West Bank

  In Israel, the Ministerial Committee of Legislative Affairs approved a bill that seeks to expand Israeli civilian control over archaeological sites in the West Bank. The current governmental body that is tasked with managing archaeological sites in the West Bank is managed by the Israeli military, but this bill would increase Israeli civilian involvement. Introduced by Likud Knesset Member Amit Halevi, he contended that archaeological sites there have “no connection” to the Palestinian Authority. 

  Members of the Israeli military have objected to the bill, arguing that because Israel has not annexed the West Bank, the military is the governing body best suited to manage archaeological sites. The left-wing Israeli nonprofit Emek Shaveh believed that the law signaled an intention by right-wing Israelis to further attempt annexation of the West Bank, while right-wing Israelis contend that the transfer of power will prevent antiquities theft. Read more here. (JGS).

• [Labor Law] Artist Accused of Firing Employee for Union Support

  NYC-based Artist Daniel Arsham is accused of violating labor laws, including firing an employee for union activities, per a complaint by the Brooklyn National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Employees at Arsham’s studio voted to join the Wholesale and Chain Store Food Employees Union, Local 338 in November 2023. The complaint alleges Arsham forced employees to attend an anti-union meeting and that a labor consultant threatened stricter policy enforcement and job terminations. One employee was allegedly fired for supporting the union. The NLRB found the allegations credible and seeks a settlement requiring Arsham to acknowledge employee rights, provide manager training, compensate the terminated employee, and issue an apology. If no settlement is reached, a hearing is scheduled with the NLRB Administrative Law Judge for October 15 in Brooklyn. Read more here. (TS)

• [Nazi-era Looted Art Restitution] Lost Legacy: St. Louis Family's Quest to Reclaim Stolen Nazi-Era Art

  A St. Louis-based family continues their search for art once belonging to their family. Vera Emmons and her son, Nathan Emmons, a Chicago lawyer, continue to search for the objects belonging to Vera’s great-great-grandfather, Max Ginsberg (1972-1938). Ginsberg, native of Berlin, and accumulated his wealth as a merchant, amassed an extensive art collection, including an array of Islamic art. More than 380 objects of an estimated 400 were looted under the Nazi rule and sold at auction in London in 1939. Many of Ginsberg family members perished in concentration camps; his surviving heirs continue the search for their art. The Emmons have encountered obstacles in their search for their art, from trouble tracking down family ancestors to difficulty creating an inventory of what Ginsberg once owned. Read more here and here. (TD)

• [Restitution] From US to Thailand in 2024

  The Art Institute of Chicago is returning a fragment of a doorframe from a shrine to Thailand. The carved wood object dates back to the 12th century; it was illegally removed from the Phanom Rung shrine to the Hindu god Shiva in northeast Thailand, and had been on long-term loan to the Art Institute of Chicago since 1996; it was later added to the Institute’s permanent collection in 2017. The recent return of this object to its original home in Thailand reflects the sometimes prolonged process of repatriation, even in 2024. Read more here. (TD)

• [Deaccessioning] To Sell or Not to Sell

  Three prized paintings, permanently loaned to Berlin’s state museums, have gone up for sale at the Gagosian in New York. One painting by Cy Twombly and two by Andy Warhol were bequeathed by collector Erich Marx upon his death in 2020, to the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (SPK). Reports assert that “in 2014, the art collector’s loan agreement with the foundation stated that no works should be removed [from the museum] or sold.” However, the trio of paintings have made their way to New York to be sold, opening a debate about whether or not the foundation’s actions have complied with the wishes of the lenders and the loan agreement. Read more here. (TD)

• [Deaccessioning] What is “Conservative” Art?

  Valparaiso University is petitioning the Porter County Superior Court for approval to sell two paintings from its collection—Georgia O’Keeffe’s Rust Red Hills (1930) and Childe Hassam’s The Silver Veil and the Golden Gate (1914)—to finance dormitory renovations. The university is justifying this sale to the court by arguing that the paintings do not align with one of its donor’s stipulated “conservative art” requirements. Junius R. Sloan’s 1953 donation to the university was reportedly restricted to the university’s acquisition of “conservative” American art, a term now interpreted by the university to exclude modernist works. Richard Brauer, a former professor and the university museum’s namesake, asserts the flexible definition of “conservative,” even referencing O’Keeffe’s high praise from politicians like Ronald Reagan. With the Hassam valued at $1-3.5 million and the O’Keeffe at $15 million, the case hinges on reconciling donor intent with present financial and interpretative challenges. Read more here. (HB)

• [Digital Art] NFT Artists Sue the SEC to Protect Artworks from Regulation Enforcement.

  Law professor and conceptual artist Brian L. Frye, along with his co-plaintiff musician Jonathan Mann, sued the SEC in Louisiana federal court to protect their nonfungible tokens (NFTs) from being subject to SEC enforcement actions. Frye’s work, entitled Cryptographic Tokens of Material Financial Benefit, will be sold by his business entity, Securities Art LLC, in a performance that is “intended to illustrate the absurdity of the SEC’s claim that it has the authority to regulate NFTs that represent ownership of artworks.” Frye previously sent the SEC “no-action” letters on the enforcement of his work as subject to securities law, but the SEC never responded, which he alleges deprived him of a “final agency action” required under the Administrative Procedures Act. The plaintiffs also argued that their NFTs should be treated as collectibles, like traditional artworks, rather than securities (eg. stocks or bonds), under tax law. Read more here. (JGS).

• [Vandalism] Statue Beheaded

  An 18-foot-tall bronze statue in celebration of women and justice was beheaded in July in Texas. The Shahzia Sikander statue, which was previously on display in NYC’s Madison Square Park, situated on the University of Houston’s campus, was vandalized following protests. The vandalism is believed to have been intentional. Rather than repair the work, the artist has opted to leave the statue on display damaged. Sikander hopes that the statue standing without its head testifies to the crime rather than covering it up. Read more about the incident here. (TD)

• [Expression] Controversial Artwork Depicting Jesus Removed by Council in Sydney, Australia

  A council in Sydney decided to remove the artwork, Jesus Speaks to the Daughters of Jerusalem by Philjames, after the artwork was met with threats of violence and online protests. Formerly exhibited at the Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre, the artwork was reportedly a “playful” scene of Jesus Christ represented through Looney Tunes characters. Online protestors claimed that the piece mocked Christianity, with some threatening the museum and its staff with violence. The Mayor of Liverpool, Ned Mannoun, had also called for the removal of the painting. Read more here. (BO)

• [Vandalism/Activism] Stop Right There! “Just Stop Oil” Activists Found Guilty After Throwing Soup on van Gogh’s Sunflowers

  In the UK, two “Just Stop Oil” activists were found guilty of criminal damage after throwing soup at Vincent van Gogh’s, Sunflowers, in October 2022. The 22-year-olds, Phoebe Plummer and Anna Holland tossed two tins of tomato soup onto the painting at the National Gallery in central London, then glued their hands to the wall beneath it. They reportedly intended their act of protest to draw attention to the environmental crisis caused by increased fossil fuel licensing and subsidies being offered to corporations by former UK Prime Minister, Liz Truss. Prosecutors stated that the frame of the glass-covered painting was left damaged after the incident. Under the orders of Judge Chistopher Hehir, the activists are prohibited from carrying glue, paint, or visiting any museums or galleries. Their sentencing is scheduled for September 27th. Read more here. (BO)

• [Nazi-era Looted Art Restitution] Another Egon Schiele Painting Looted by the Nazis Returns to Heirs of Holocaust Victim

  On Friday, July 27, 2024, Timothy Reif accepted another Egon Schiele painting that the Nazis looted from his ancestors. What was notable about this return, however, was that the painting was given up voluntarily by its current possessors. The painting, entitled Seated Nude Woman, front view (1918), had recently been hanging in the home of a Jewish economist Gustav Fritz Papanek, who did not know the work had been stolen. The painting was originally seized by the Nazis for a collection of art deemed “degenerate,” and it was later sold by Hitler’s personal curator to a Swiss auction house. That auction house sold the painting to Otto Kallir, an art dealer in New York. When an appraisal process uncovered provenance of the work in 2022, Papanek stated that it was the “right thing” to return the work to Reif. The painting will be auctioned at Christie’s, and the proceeds will go to charities that support young artists. Read more here. (JGS).

• [Museum Issues] Theft as Performance: Artist Swaps Coin from the British Museum Display with Fake and Drops It in a Donation Box to Highlight “Hidden” Nature of Museum Collections.

  Brazilian artist Ilê Sartuzi allegedly removed a historical coin from its display case in the British Museum as part of his MFA thesis presentation. In his performance, entitled Sleight of Hand, Sartuzi removed the coin from its display case, replaced it with a replica, and dropped the original in a donation box within the British Museum. The performance was devised by Sartuzi after a year spent observing museum workers handling the display cases. To ensure that he would not face criminal liability for theft, Sartuzi consulted with his lawyer on key aspects of the performance. Sartuzi stated that the performance was meant to call attention to Western museums’ collections derived from imperialism and colonialism. Read more here. (JGS).