hyde or die

Polaroid photos by Lucas Samaras, Chuck Close and Andy Warhol

LONDON. A group led by a former US magistrate judge has launched an 11th hour campaign to prevent the auction of photographs from the Polaroid collection. Judge Sam Joyner and others are working towards filing a motion for a rehearing at the Minnesota bankruptcy court that awarded sale rights to Sotheby’s last August.

The once-mighty Polaroid Corporation (famed for its invention of instant, negative-free photographs, but since eclipsed by digital photography) filed for bankruptcy twice in the past decade—most recently in 2008 in connection with a $3.65bn Ponzi (investment fraud) scheme at parent company Petters Group Worldwide. The Polaroid name and assets—barring the photo­graphy collect­ion—were ac­quired by private equity firm Hilco Consumer Capital and liquidator Gordon Brothers Group, for $88m in 2009. The collection remained behind with the defunct Polaroid Corporation, renamed PBE, and is in the hands of PBE’s liquidators.

more here…

See also: More than a set of prints…

March 09, 2010, 12:02pm  

Yves Klein Relief éponge

This sucker went for over $9 million last night at Christie’s…Now I don’t want to get all picky, but if I was going to spend that kind of dough on a Klein, I would want it to be IKB, you know?

February 12, 2010, 9:05am  

» San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Raises $250 Million for Expansion and Endowment

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Board Chair Charles R. Schwab today announced that the museum has received landmark contributions totaling more than $250 million to expand the museum and grow its endowment. Comprising more than 50 percent of a projected $480 million campaign goal, these pledges from museum leadership will fuel SFMOMA’s plans to triple its gallery and public spaces; offer enhanced exhibitions, educational programs, and services for the public; and showcase the Fisher Collection, one the world’s finest private collections of modern and contemporary art. Of the total raised to date, $100 million will go toward SFMOMA’s endowment—increasing it by 100 percent—to support expanded programming and operations and to ensure the institution’s long-term success. These early commitments, which will enable the museum to move forward confidently with its expansion, are structured as challenge grants in order to catalyze support from other funders.

February 05, 2010, 10:05am  

» L.A. City Council decides against ending guaranteed funding for the arts

The Los Angeles City Council decided Wednesday not to cut off the main funding source for the Department of Cultural Affairs, a 1% tax on hotel charges that has fed municipal spending on the arts since 1989. As they tried to cope with a projected two-year budget deficit of nearly $700 million, council members also showed no inclination to back another proposal decried by arts supporters: eliminating the $4-million-a-year arts grant program starting in the 2010-11 budget year. But the council did authorize staff members to pursue another cost-cutting idea from Miguel Santana, the city administrative officer — seeking private, nonprofit partners to take over running nine or 10 of the city’s community arts centers.

Whew! That was a close one.

February 04, 2010, 9:17am  

» File under: IMPORTANT DON'T FORGET TO ACTUALLY READ

First they came our officers. Then they came after our librarians. And our city planners. Who’s the next proposed victim of our city’s fiscal crisis? Artists, watch your back, because the city is gunning for you. Twitter, Facebook and our inbox has been flooded by news that the Los Angeles City Council is considering eliminating the Transient Occupancy Tax (the TOT), which currently funds much of the Department of Cultural Affairs. According to LA Weekly, the layoffs “may include cutting the Department of Cultural affairs staff by 48%, and eliminating all city arts grants.” Then again, as numerous people have pointed out, the job cuts may never happen. UPDATE: Actually, only 25, not 48 percent may be cut, according to this more recent LA Times story.

February 01, 2010, 5:21pm  

The American Paradox

In a survey of attitudes toward artists in the U.S. a vast majority  of Americans, 96%, said they were greatly inspired by various kinds of art  and highly value art in their lives and communities. But the data suggests  a strange paradox.

While Americans value art, the end product, they do not value what artists do. Only 27% of respondents believe that artists contribute “a lot” to the good of society.

Further interview data from the study reflects a strong sentiment in the cultural community that society does not value art making as legitimate work worthy of compensation. Many perceive the making of art as a frivolous or recreational pursuit.

Other insights further illuminate the depth of the paradox:

• A majority of parents think that teaching the arts is as important as reading, math, science, history, and geography.

• 95% believe that the arts are important in preparing children for the future.

• In the face of a changing global economy, economists increasingly emphasize that the United States will have to rely on innovation, ingenuity, creativity, and analysis for its competitive edge—the very skills that can be enhanced by engagement with the arts.

I am extremely intrigued in this paradox of the value of art/artists. Further exploration is required.

December 21, 2009, 2:55pm  

» Museum attendance rises as the economy tumbles

It may be because of the relative bargain of a museum ticket, an increased popular interest in contemporary art, or just a rainy summer, but admissions at the majority of art museums in the US have been holding steady through the recession—and many are dramatically on the rise. A survey by The Art Newspaper of 20 museums across the country found that two-thirds have experienced a clear increase in visitor numbers over the past three years.

The trend holds for institutions with free and paid admissions alike, and institutions that show contemporary art have seen the most clear-cut increase. New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), one of the nation’s most expensive museums at $20 per ticket, had the best year in its 80-year history, bringing in 2.8 million visitors between 2008 and 2009. The size of its membership rose to a record 120,000. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum’s Frank Lloyd Wright retrospective was its best-attended show yet, attracting 372,000 people. The New York museum has also broken its 2008 attendance record of just over one million.

I’m not surprised by this, museum tickets are often less than a movie ticket and popcorn and can be much more stimulating, but this is exciting news isn’t it? People spending their money on more “quality”* experiences, where one could go off in solitude and think or with friends and start lively discussions about what they are experiencing, is a lovely trend.

*Just my opinion.

December 10, 2009, 1:41pm  

» The going is tough: but stronger sales at all levels than last year

After the bustle, glamour and razzmatazz of Art Basel Miami Beach’s opening day, a picture is emerging of a newly sober, sedate fair that has, in the words of David Juda of Annely Juda Fine Art (C22), “grown up”. “The froth and the partying have gone away,” he said, and many observed that the city certainly felt quieter.

The pace of sales at the fair reflects this new sobriety. For most galleries, business is far better than it was last year, when “it was so dead, we all felt the world would collapse at that point, and that’s an ­understatement”, according to Steven O’Hara at Van de Weghe (B5). But collectors are taking their time. “We’re talking a lot and I think sales will be completed right down to the wire this year,” says ­Edwynn Houk (D37), “and that’s a big difference.”

Good morning, here is some good news.

December 07, 2009, 8:57am