Top 10 Art World Announcements of 2010

What a year. Time for A&O to reflect on all that was, and look forward to all that will be in 2011. Here’s our pick of the litter, our top ten art world announcements from 2010. What are yours?

2010 Marked the Death of the Following 20th century Luminaries:

Dennis Hopper

Louise Bourgeois

Harvey Pekar

Frank Frezetta

JD Salinger

Howard Zinn

Alexander McQueen

Censorship Infuriates the Art World

Controversy blazes over the Smithsonian’s censorship of the David Wojnarowicz video piece “A Fire in My Belly” from the Hide/Seek exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery.

Deitch Goes West

Deitch gives up the private sector and moves to the public realm as Director of MOCA in Los Angeles.  As anticipated by detractors and fans alike, he causes quite a stir.

Chaos and Classicism at The Guggenheim

The Guggenheim delivers a curatorial gem.  Chaos and Classicism focuses in on a seldom talked about moment in interwar European art, when a renewed interest in Classical aesthetics reigned.

Despite Economic Factors, Sales at Miami Art Basel Were Strong

Art Sales in Miami challenge, as they have in the past, the state of a globally jeopardized economy.

Bravo TV airs “Work of Art: The Next Great Artist”

Art world heavyweights huddled on couches and crammed into bars to watch and weigh in on the first art-based reality TV show, “Work of Art: The Next Great Artist”.

Scott Campbell Burns Art Over a Dispute with Vice Mexico gallery

After a dispute with Mexico’s Vice Gallery, Scott Campbell took the work from his sold- out show and burned it in the street.

An Art Mogul, the CEO of an Empire, and an Heiress Walk Into a Bar…

Larry Gagosian, Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Russain heiress Dasha Zhukova, Wendi Murdoch (Rupert Murdoch’s wife), and others are teaming up to launch art.sy, an online art sales site that could very well be a game changer.

The First Online Art Fair

New York dealer James Cohan and internet entrepreneur Jonas Almgren announced the impending launch of the first online art fair.

$120 Million Dollar Art Fraud

The art world is hit by a financial schemer, Lawrence Salander, who defrauded his clients out of a total of 120 million dollars.

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Museum Censorship Continues

MOCA decided to whitewash the Blu mural it commissioned for the much anticipated street art retrospective the museum is planning for April.  It went up for a couple of hours, and then it came right back down.  Apparently the painting’s close proximity to a Japanese-American soldier monument as well as the LA Veteran’s home is rumored to have sparked a problematic situation.  Right on the heels of the David Wojnarowicz controversy, this act of censorship becomes especially interesting. While no wounded party has come forth with objections at this point, I trust that there is more to this story than currently meets the eye.  For a little more, check out the the New York Times Arts Beat or just visit any street art blog in the world.

 

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Deitch Being Deitch

The press releases haven’t been written up yet, but the buzz begins; Jeffrey Deitch’s first 2011 show will be a graffiti and street art one.  Surprise! Deitch continues to champion the genre, and MOCA will no doubt benefit from a huge turnout thanks to a whole new demographic.  The show will be large in both artist representation and historical scope, por ejemplo– a special nod to LA with the inclusion of 1970s Chicano mural art.  Read more.

Fasten your seat belts because next week I will be talking about literary arts.

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