Monday, 14 June 2010

Web muster

I'm always a bit sceptical about reports that scientists have used artworks as evidence (18th century sunsets prove global warming! women in 16th-century Milan had hideously elongated fingers!) so while I'm sure that Meteorologists track down Monet as he painted London bridges in smog is backed by best practice analysis, I do wonder if it's a bit much to rely on a painter being that faithful to reality.

A considered review of Zaha Hadid's building for the Maxxi gallery in Rome, where Rowan Moore notes how easy it is to be seduced by an unfinished space:

Impatient writers, with an immature desire to be the first to cover this or that new monument, like to rush in. It suits architects, too, if critics jump in before their creations are disturbed by the mess of use and occupation. If there are still dustsheets in the corners and men fixing up the last details, it only adds to the aura of promise.

... It looked magnificent and an elegant party was held for dignitaries, beauties and hacks, which showed off its swooping stairs and ramps to perfection. But this museum of art as yet contained no art, and the question remained: would its powerful architecture overwhelm the contents it is supposed to serve?

ArtInfo has sucked the highlights out of the Leo Castelli bio, so you don't have to.

And behind the scenes of the Gap founders' collection, 160 works from which will go on display at SFMOMA hopefully just in time for me to see them at the end of this month. The full collection is scheduled to be handed over to the museum in 2016.

(Spoiler: good for video/installation, smaller 2-D works may struggle)

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