Kiefer scrap / Warhols not so Brillo / one place not so many people are willing to pay for art (Friday 8 February 2008)
Artworks prey to scrap-metal dealers
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Example of one of Kiefer 's book; image held here |
We've reported before on the theft of large sculptors for the value of their construction materials - see here. Now comes a report that Anselm Kiefer has suffered a similar theft. Based in the south of France more than fifteen years now, the sculptor has created thirty monumentals pieces representing books. Twenty-two of them have apparently been attacked, but only for their lead content: the thieves left behind the parts in glass and cement - at least according to some reports. Others suggest that in all, 7.5 tons of sculpture were stolen. The damage suffered is estimated at 3.5m euro.
Three men have been apprehended, and apparently admitted to having given the material to metal recycler in exchange for 7,000 euro.Kiefer has got back his pieces, but unfortunatelly in very bad condition...
Fakes Warhol...real polemic
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Warhol's Brillo Boxes; image held here |
From thievery to fakery: Warhol's Brillo Boxes are apparently not always what they seem, though it must be hard to tell.
Moderna Museet in Stockholm has revealed that 105 Brillo Boxes in circulation are pure imitation, and that they themselves possess six of these (that they will take out of their collection). It seems the Boxes may have been created three years after the death of the king of Pop Art, on the occasion of an exhibition in Saint Petersburg in 1990.
A prime mover in the affair is Pontus Hulten, a Swedish art expert and former director of Moderna Museet. Unfortunatelly, he is dead since 2006. This affair has stirred up debate in the Swedish art world, about how well the role of experts is played. During these last 18 years, 105 falses Boxes have been exhibited and sold. When we know the price of each one -about $100 000 - it gets somewhat important know if it's an authentic piece or just a pale copy...
The pros and cons of being free
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Robert Rauschenberg: Monogram, 1955-59, Moderna Museet, Stockholm; image held here |
Sticking with Moderna Museet... The museum is the 'victim' of a new political dispensation, put in place by the the Swedish center-right government. Once free, nineteen museums in Sweden are now pay-in from 1 January 2007. The result: a drop in visitor numbers, most especially at Moderna Museet, who have announced a 50 percent decline versus the year before. The news raises once again issues around the democratisation of culture. Is there a relation between the fact that a museum is pay-in and its audience? Given the Moderna's experience, it seems likely.
However, Marcus Hartmann, press speaker for the Swedish Minister of Culture, demurs: "The sole mission of museums is not to attract visitors."
Most recent news items:
• Ard Bia #2 / Warhol fashions / banana in the sky (Wednesday 30 January 2008)
• Last chance at NCAD / balls in Rome (Tuesday 22 January 2008)
• Second Life: a new way for your art to be recognised? (Thursday 17 January 2008)
• Crawford Open winner (Monday 7 January 2008)
For a full list of news items, click here.
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