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.

Read Full Post »

Bravo TV Announces Work of Art Winner

The show we’ve all loved to hate has finally come to a close. Work of Art: The Next Great Artist announced Abdi as the winner of the televised artist competition series, and the recipient of a $100,000 prize and a solo show at the Brooklyn Museum. Abdi played the game right. He was earnest, kind and sincere; he took the judges guidance from his critiques and transformed his work in a steady progression. In the end, he earned his place in the finals but I’m not sure that Abdi’s work was more compelling than the other two finalists – Peregrine and Miles. His graphite pieces and tightly rendered paintings were some of his strongest work throughout the competition, but his minimal presentation at the final challenge didn’t impress me.

The truth is, all three finalists are remarkably talented and equally deserving of a solo show at the Brooklyn Museum.  Miles seemed like a strong contender and my overall favorite throughout the competition. Perhaps the dialogue he was creating through the work was just a bit too cold and conceptual for the museum as compared to Abdi’s more urban themes. And who doesn’t want to see more from Peregrine? But perhaps her final exhibition could have used a little editing. Abdi did present a refined and well-edited collection of work that was focused and had a clear point of view – curators love that. Let’s see what the future holds for him…

Read Full Post »

Work of Art Recap: Erik vs. Everyone

Few episodes of Bravo TV’s latest competition series, “Work of Art”, are hardly worth writing about but last night’s was so fascinating I actually recommend trying to catch a rerun. It was a battle of ego in an episode that exhibited the most fundamental and perhaps centuries-old disagreement between artists: Does art school make you better? The self-trained artist and the art school grad – and their respective emotional baggage – are so familiar in the art world as to become almost archetyped and last night’s show brought those composites to light.

In this episode of WOA, the contestants drew red or blue paint tubes to split them into two groups for a team challenge. Erik, a self-trained artist, winds up on a team with Jaclyn and Miles, both of whom he’s had previous disagreements with. Feeling alienated by his fellow teammates and undervalued, Erik decides to let them all have it. While coming from a place of insecurity, Erik’s feelings about art school grads having their heads stuck up their ass are certainly valid.

It’s interesting to consider how art that’s heavy on concept and light on aesthetics manages to communicate to the average viewer. Art is a reflection of class and appeals to a sense of status. Feeling alienated by the art speak and the heavy concept one learns in art school seems a natural reaction on Erik’s part. In the end though, not being a team player just leaves Erik alone, angry, and eliminated. Watch the video for a glimpse at this age-old battle as interpreted by the present, and for more insightful commentary on this episode,  read Jerry Saltz’s recap here, or Ken Tucker’s lighter review here.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Work of Art – Videos – Dealing with a Fourth Gr…, posted with vodpod

Read Full Post »