Bizarre mix of art and FBI / David looking good (Thursday 27 May 2004 #1)

compiled by Susan Hunt

Artist abducted by the FBI - for real?

Steve Kurtz; image held here

Steve Kurtz does exist and is an Associate Professor in the Department of Art at New York's University of Buffalo. Whilst I'm a bit skeptical as to whether the rest of this story is a hoax, it seems that it might in fact be true!! Here's the information that has been doing the rounds on the web, make of it what you will.

A report was circulated yesterday which stated that in the early hours of the 11 May Kurtz made a call to 911 when he discovered that his wife had suffered a cardiac arrest and subsequently died. When the police arrived to answer his call they became suspicious of his art and related supplies. They called in the FBI. (Kurtz's art by the way explores the interrelationship between art, technology, radical politics and critical theory.) The FBI proceeded to abduct Kurtz without charge and impounded many of his belongings including his wife's body. Though he has now been released from custody his belongings have yet to be returned. Seems a little far fetched, but if you have any info on this story please let us know!!

More here (the apparent involvement of rtmark would seem to suggest the story is indeed true).

David cleans up nicely

A newly cleaned David; image held here

We reported some time back (see here) that Michelangelo's David was being spruced up for his 500th anniversary. Now, after his nine-month 'bath' - his first - David's marble body emerged looking brighter and cleaner when it was unveiled a few days ago. Though the transformation was not very dramatic, it did result it a more uniform colour to the sculpture. David's makeover began with a full body 'mudpack' applied by restorer Cinzia Parnigoni. This 'wet cleaning' technique, and in fact the whole cleaning process itself, proved very controversial. Professor James Beck, president of ArtWatch International, led the protests against the cleaning of the David.

Preservation vs restoration

Beck believed that David's restoration would result in a sculpture that was not how Michelangelo intended. The statue was designed for an outdoor location and, though it now stands inside the walls of the Galleria dell'Academia, Beck felt that it would be wrong to remove the dirt and grime which attaches itself to any public sculpture exposed to the elements. David's last restoration in 1973 proved to have quite disastrous consequences, when the solution used left the sculpture with a number of black oxidisation patches. The present restoration, however, went ahead as planned and even Beck himself has conceded that the restoration has been really moderate. David has now said good-bye to many of his grey streaks, oxidisation marks and ugly patches of wax which had accumulated on his body over time. Improvements are clear in certain areas such as David's upper right arm where veins can now been seen quite clearly on the marble surface.

Protests of other varieties

Throughout his lifetime David has been the focal point of many attacks and protests, though perhaps this most recent example can be seen as peaceful compared to early instances. In 1504 (the year of his erection) David was subjected to political protests as part of which stones were continually hurlled at this defenseless warrior. Eight years later he was the victim of a natural attack when he was struck by a thunderbolt. The year 1527 saw his left arm being snapped off as part of an anti-Medici uprising. In more recent times David's left foot was attacked with a hammer by a dissatisfied Italian artist in 1991. This resulted in a damaged toe and his left ankle has also displayed signs of damage in recent years.

More here.

Most recent news items:
• O'Donnell + Tuomey for Venice Architecture Biennale 2004 (Wednesday May 26 2004)
• Two important art launches: Triarc and Iris (Tuesday May 25 2004)
• New art stamps / our Google ranking (Thursday May 20 2004)
• Yawn – it's Turner Art Prize time... / Revealing Objects winner revealed (Wednesday 19 May 2004)

For a full list of news items, click here.

Latest reader feedback:
News item 603  I have to say I agree with Circa. I have been working on a projec...
News item 624  The idea of exhibiting a group of objects bought on eBay, though ...
News item 617  It'd be interesting to see how many visitors attended the gallery...
News item 603  re. Comment 2 - most people who get turned down for grants have t...
News item 603  'sour grapes aside, what are culture ireland up to?' i think we n...
News item 606  hang on a minute... surely the feller who won the prize at art st...
News item 603  As someone who received a grant from Culture Ireland this year, f...
News item 602  try and make work that doesn't topple over in future!...

(For fuller feedback list, click here.)