Artist Nests on Rotterdam Tower

Artist Benjamin Verdonck is currently nesting on the Rotterdam Weena Tower. His performance “The Great Swallow” involves a nest, man, and a gaint egg.

Here’s the YouTube video clip:

Art is giving Mickey Mouse a Headache

Pop artist Claes Oldenburg best known for his simple and iconic works of 4 story clothes pins and cherry laden spoons is appearing in court as one of the defendants in a lawsuit placed by the House of Mouse.

Back in 2003 the Disney Co. contracted Mr. Oldenburg, his manufacturers Carlson & Co (a San Fernando art fabrication company best know for building Jeff Koons “Balloon Dog”) and his partner Coosje van Bruggen to build a metal statue of a black bow and tie surrounded by a white wing collar to be placed outside the newly constructed Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles; a building which was designed by friend of the artist Frank Gehry.

Gehry personally promoted the idea of Oldenburg doing the peice and thought that a swanky collar and tie, looking as if they had been tossed on the sidewalk by some colossus, would sound a playfully artful keynote for concert goers and passersby. “Collar and Bow” as it would be called was contracted in May of 2003 for $2.2 million and scheduled to be delivered by Aug. 15, 2004. Donations of $1.85 million from Music Center patrons Richard and Geri Brawerman and $1 million from the J. Paul Getty Trust were expected to cover the cost.

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Does the whole = the sum of it’s parts?

Umanita (or humanity in Italian) is… or was six feet (1.8 meters) high and weighed over 170 pounds (77 kilograms). It stood outside the Newberry Library on the north side of the city of Chicago. That was until it was stolen late Feb. 16 and the afternoon of Feb. 18. Torn from its base and lugged away, Umanita is worth as much as $70,000, said Virginio Ferrari, who created Umanita in 1987 by cutting, shaping and welding stainless steel.

Sadly with steel prices near all time highs there is a real fear that the work is no more and has been melted down into a $300 cube easily sold on the open scrap market.

“The price of steel and metal is very high right now and historically when that happens people remove art,” said Elizabeth Kelly, director of Chicago’s Public Art Program. “Scrappers seize the opportunity.”

Police spokesman Marcel Bright said he can’t recall a work as big as Umanita getting snatched in the city, sometimes called the museum without walls because of its more than 700 pieces of outdoor art.

Tracy Emin Supposed Plagiarizer Opens Library

Tracy Emin has been in the news twice this past week. Emin is currently one of six artists being considered for a £300,000 ($436,717.30) commission for the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square. According to London.gov, “The Fourth Plinth is in the north-west of Trafalgar Square, in central London. Built in 1841, it was originally intended for an equestrian statue but was empty for many years. It is now the location for specially commissioned art works.” Emin’s proposal is for a small cluster of meerkats standing on one side of the plinth.

Steve Henry, who is the creative director of TBWA, claims that Emin’s proposal is totally jocking on an advertisement his company did for E.on which depicts a cluster of meerkats standing on boxes. Emin denies having seen the advertisement: “I haven’t been influenced by any advertising campaign in my life. The fact is that I adore meerkats. I have drawings of meerkats from 12 years ago. I’m completely besotted by the creatures. A plinth is not a box … they have to be standing on a plinth as it’s in Trafalgar Square.”

Other artists being considered are Jeremy Deller, Antony Gormley, Anish Kapoor, Yinka Shonibare, and Bob & Roberta Smith.

In other news Emin will be inaugurating the Tracy Emin Library on February 18th in Uganda. The library will function as a center for adult literacy and computer skills, and will also serve 800 students between the ages of 12 to 18. Emin worked with the charity organization in order to build the library.

New Packard Jennings Kiosks in SF

Walking on San Francisco’s Market Street yesterday, I noticed that the public kiosks that regularly show the work of local artists had been changed. This most recent project is by Oakland-based artists Steve Lambert and Packard Jennings. As many of you may know, Jennings was a BAS interviewee during his residency at Chicago’s Threewalls last Spring.

For the project, Jennings and Lambert worked with a handful of architects, city planners, and transportation engineers to develop radical ideas that would improve the city. The result is a series of humorous 6′ x 4′ posters. One illustrates how the MUNI subway cars might be used to host a farmer’s market, spin class, a bar, or a dog park. I actually saw a few people laughing at them. There’s another poster that suggests that all city traffic be put underground, and one that proposes a roller-coaster-styled cable car.

The project is part of the ongoing Market Street Program, funded by San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery. All of the posters can be viewed here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/slambert/sets/72157602999313143