Category: Subject Areas

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American Modern - Contemporary News Photography

The Polaroid Collection Sold, in Part

On June 21st and 22nd, more than one thousand works from The Polaroid Collection were sold. Via Photo District News:

The court-ordered auction of portions of The Polaroid Collection, which took place Monday and Tuesday at Sotheby’s, raised nearly $12.5 million for the company formerly known as Polaroid Corp. The funds raised in the sale will be used to settle debts with the bankrupt company’s creditors.

…PBE Corp. became a victim of a $3.7 billion Ponzi scheme by Minnesota businessman Tom Petters, whose Petters Group Worldwide bought it in 2005. Petters was convicted last year of fraud and money laundering, a sentence he is appealing while serving a 50-year prison term.

In the auction’s first session Monday evening, a buyer paid $722,500 for Ansel Adams’ “Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite National Park,” which outstripped the previous record sale of $609,000 for an Adams photograph.

High profile artists including Chuck Close reached last-minute agreements with PBE Corporation (formerly Polaroid Corp.) to have their works (including the one above) removed from the sale. Some artists claimed that the auction violated the original terms of their donation agreements.

The Netherlands-based company The Impossible Project is close to a deal to purchase a portion of the collection which has been housed at the Musée de l’Elysée in Switzerland since 1990. The Impossible Project previously made news for saving one of the last Polaroid instant film production plants.

Hear more about the history of The Polaroid Collection on NPR’s Weekend Edition.

Categories
News Renaissance - Baroque

Caravaggio’s Bones

According to a recent BBC News article:

Human remains found in a church in Tuscany almost certainly belong to Renaissance artist Caravaggio, Italian researchers said… Researchers used DNA and carbon dating to make their findings.

Scientists now hope a proper burial will be provided for the Italian Baroque painter, but first the remains will be put on display. 2010 marks the 400th anniversary of Caravaggio’s death.

Categories
Architecture Images on the Web Islamic

Aga Khan Award for Architecture

The Aga Khan Award for Architecture was established in 1977 to enhance the understanding and appreciation of Islamic culture as expressed through architecture. The 19 nominees for the 11th cycle have been announced. The nominees, which include a textile factory in Turkey, a school built on a bridge in China and a wetlands project in Saudi Arabia, will be competing for the prestigious award. Visit the Award’s website for more information about the 19 nominees. You can also download high resolution images of each nominated building.

Categories
Aesthetics Architecture Design

Couch Cushion Architecture

After finals are complete, you might consider taking a break and some inspiration from these couch cushion architects (critiqued by authors of the BUILDblog).

A brilliant synergy between the weighted foundation and the light tensile structure, this project impressed us with its attenuation of structure and bright interior spaces. The courtyard and formal entry are also well thought-out and provide a clear means of way-finding. Grade A+


Categories
American Moving Images

Early Silent Films Return to America for Preservation

Early silent films recently discovered in the New Zealand Film Archive are returning to the United States for preservation under the guidance of the National Film Preservation Foundation. About seventy-five films were chosen because of their historical significance, including John Ford’s Upstream and a Clara Bow period drama. Shipment and preservation of the films has been difficult and time-consuming; most are printed on highly-flammable nitrate film and are already in advanced stages of deterioration. Preserved films will eventually be made public as streaming videos on the foundation’s website. For more information, see this article from the New York Times.

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American Images on the Web Photography

Public Domain Images: Dorothea Lange

Happy Birthday, Dorothea Lange! Farm Security Administration photographer Dorothea Lange was born on May 26, 1895. Because she worked for the government, some of her images are in the public domain including those available from the National Archives.

Categories
American Modern - Contemporary Moving Images

Shirin Neshat Featured on NPR’s All Things Considered

Neshat uses various visual mediums to create artwork that, at its core, represents the resilient and rebellious spirit of women.

Iranian-American visual artist Shirin Neshat was featured on yesterday’s National Public Radio broadcast of All Things Considered. Neshat’s new film, Zanan-e bedun-e mardan (Women Without Men) is now in theaters across the United States, and the artist’s eponymous new book was also recently released with a foreword by Marina Abramovic.

Categories
Innovative Technology Modern - Contemporary

Take a Virtual Tour of Donald Judd’s Library

Donald Judd’s library houses 13,000 books spanning a range of subjects as broad as the artist’s thinking. Judd’s arrangement of the library reflects his sensitivity to geography and understanding of the development of the arts, languages and sciences across different cultures.

The Donald Judd Foundation provides a unique virtual tour through the artist’s personal library. It includes an interactive map of the space, which visitors can click to browse by shelf. A hyperlinked photograph of each shelf appears; next, visitors may click on individual books to see a brief description. Book-level records also supply links to a WorldCat database search for the material so that interested parties can find the nearest lending library for each book.

Categories
Architecture Images on the Web Innovative Technology Renaissance - Baroque

QuickTime Virtual Reality: The Sistine Chapel

Now you can (virtually) tour the Sistine Chapel via your computer screen, thanks to a project from Villanova University of Pennsylvania. Created in consultation with the Vatican, this QuickTime Virtual Reality (QTVR) tour of the Sistine Chapel facilitates study of the frescoes and architecture in a new way.

“Villanova students and faculty from the University’s communication and computing science departments spent five nights in a closed Sistine Chapel, gathering images from every corner of the chapel, including Michelangelo’s famous artwork on the chapel ceiling and large fresco, The Last Judgment, on the sanctuary wall. This was the most extensive access ever granted by the Vatican to an outside group.” For more information, see the press release from Villanova University.

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Architecture ARTstor Images by Subscription

New in ARTstor: Architecture by Le Corbusier

ARTstor has collaborated with the School of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and Planning at Dalhousie University to make available approximately 250 images of architecture by Le Corbusier in the Digital Library. The images have been selected from a collection of slides donated to Dalhousie University by the family of Paul Jobin, which are housed in the School of Architecture’s Slide Library.

To view the Corbusier (Dalhousie University) collection, go to the ARTstor Digital Library (select on or off-campus here), browse by collection, and click on “Corbusier (Dalhousie University);” or search the keywords: corbusier dalhousie.

For more detailed information about this collection, visit the Le Corbusier (Dalhousie University) collection page.