In this week’s Art World Roundup, we bring you a sculpture made of broken glass is installed in DC honouring Vice President Kamala Harris and a new Lego kit featuring Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night. Also, Black Rock Senegal has announced its 2021 cohort of Artists-in-Residence, Sotheby’s offers up a unique pair of Hyperdunks paying tribute to Barack Obama, while the Met began controversial discussions to deaccession art and the Uffizi showcases its newly acquired artwork by London street artist Endless.

A shattered-glass sculpture honours a ceiling-shattering moment

When Kamala Harris was sworn in as Vice President on January 20^th, she made history as the first female, Black, and Asian American to hold the second highest office in the US and helped shatter a little more of the glass ceiling. To commemorate this ceiling-shatter milestone and honour Harris, Swiss artist Simon Berger created a sculpture comprised of shattered glass. Through the artist’s unique shattering technique, he created a portrait of the new VP based on a photograph by Celeste Sloman. The sculpture, aptly titled Glass Ceiling Breaker, was installed in Washington DC in front of the Lincoln Memorial by the National Women’s History Museum and Chief, a women’s leadership network. “Representation matters, especially at the ballot box, and the inauguration of Kamala Harris as the first woman, and first woman of color, to serve as vice president of the United States is a landmark moment in American history,” president and CEO of the NWHM in a press release. “Today’s progress is built on the legacy of the women who came before – the trailblazers, like Kamala, who raised their voices, marched for their rights, and ran for elected office; the women who cracked glass ceilings so that other women could shatter them.”

Lego x Vincent van Gogh

Replicating well-known artworks by masters has long been a way for artists and art enthusiasts to hone their craft, but painting or even drawings isn’t something everyone enjoys. But, if Lego are your thing, you can soon imitate art with a new kit featuring Vincent van Gogh’s famous Starry Night. The kit came about through the Lego Ideas project, which allows anyone to submit their design, and was the creation of Truman Cheng, a 25-year-old PhD student. Unlike most Lego kits, Cheng’s design utilises thin Lego plates to mimic van Gogh’s brushstrokes. It took Cheng several weeks to complete his creation that ultimately required around 1,500 Lego blocks. “It was a good brain tease to come up with tricks and techniques to capture the look of the original painting,” Cheng told Artnet News. “The brushwork goes into many directions in the moon and the swirling cloud, so there was some creative use of bracket and clip elements involved.” Through Lego Ideas, any project that receives 10,000 votes is sent into the Lego reviews process and may then be made into an official Lego set. Once in production, the original designer of the set receives one percent of royalties for the kit. Lego Ideas was launched in 2008 and since then, 41 kits have been taken on by the Danish company. Cheng’s design was one of 35 projects in the most recent cohort of proposed kits and on February 4^th, Lego announced that the Starry Night kit would become a reality, although the release date and price have not yet been disclosed.

Black Rock Senegal inducts next Artists-in-Residence

Artist Kehinde Wiley’s Black Rock Senegal has announced its 2021 cohort of Artists-in-Residence. Wiley established Black Rock Senegal in 2019 to support new artist in their work and foster a collaborative exchange “to incite change in the global discourse about Africa.” Artists selected for the residency programme are chosen by a jury that included architect Sir David Adjaye OBE, artist Amoako Boafo, model and activist Naomi Campbell, artist and 2019 Black Rock Senegal resident Yagazie Emezi, LACMA curator Christine Kim, and Brooklyn Museum director Anne Pasternak. “I am thrilled to invite the next class of artists to join me in Dakar,” Wiley said in a statement. “Each is pushing the possibilities of representation in a unique way, together exploring a range of perspectives that span the globe.” Those chosen for this year’s residency programme are: Tyna Adebowale (Nigeria, Mixed Media), Abbesi Akhamie (Germany, Film), Delali Ayivor (Ghana, Writing), Hilary Balu (DR Congo, Painting), Mbali Dhlamini (South Africa, Mixed Media), Abdi Farah (USA, Painting), Moses Hamborg (USA, Painting), Arinze Ifeakandu (Nigeria, Writing), Cristiano Mangovo (Angola, Painting/ Sculpture/ Installation/ Performance), Esmaa Mohamoud (Canada, Sculpture/ Installation), Katherina Olschbaur (Austria, Painting), Irene Antonia Diane Reece (USA, Photography), Curtis Talwst Santiago (Canada, Mixed Media), Darryl DeAngelo Terrell (USA, Photography), and Stephanie J. Woods (USA, Mixed Media).

The #44 Nikes you might not expect

You wanna be like Mike Barack? Heading to virtual saleroom floor on February 12^th is a pair of US men’s size 12.5 Nike Hyperdunks designed to commemorate former US President Barack Obama. Created in 2009, the pair of basketball shoes are in “incredible condition” and hold a price tag of $25,000. The Hyperdunk was created by Nike in 2008 for the USA basketball team to wear while playing in the Beijing Summer Olympic Games, so they were a fitting tribute for the president known for his love of the game. Sporting a white and navy color combo, the shoes carry the presidential seal on their tongues with “44” inscribed on the instep while the insole bears “1776” (the year the US was founded) alongside a bald eagle graphic. As a kid, Obama played basketball for his high school in Hawaii where he wore Nike Blazers and his passion for and skills in basketball continue to be prevalent today. Although Obama never wore the sneakers coming to Sotheby’s, himself, Brahm Wachter, director of e-commerce development for Sotheby’s quipped that it’s hoped that the sale will be a “slam dunk.” The sale of the shoes will kick off President’s Day Weekend, a US holiday weekend, and just to drive home the point, will go on sale at 4:44pm EST.

“Shameful and misguided”: the Met talks to auction houses

After a year of lessened foot fall due to the pandemic coupled with the Association of Art Museum Directors’ loosening of guidelines, museums across the US have controversially considered selling artworks to help cover their costs. Deaccessioning has historically been frowned upon, so when it was reported that the Met had begun discussions with auction houses to possibly part ways with some of their collection, there was immediate pushback. The news comes as the New York museum is facing a potential deficit of $150 million. “This is a time when we need to keep our options open,” director of the Met Max Hollein told The New York Times. “None of us have a full perspective on how the pandemic will play out. It would be inappropriate for us not to consider it, when we’re still in this foggy situation.” The Met is not the only museum that has considered deaccessioning works of art to help cover the costs of operations; however, the biggest concern is the precedent it would set if such a large, well-funded museum, that has billionaires who sit on its board, used these tactics. George Golden, former curator for the Met who retired in 2015 summed up frustrations with the idea saying: “I would consider it shameful if the museum sold anything that is not a duplicate print. There is no such thing as a duplicate painting or duplicate sculpture or embroidery. I would consider it shameful and misguided, and a poor example to the field and completely unnecessary to sell works of art from the collection.”

London street artist’s work makes its way to the Uffizi

The Uffizi, known for its vast collection of Renaissance artworks, has acquired a new artwork that, to some, might seem a little left field. On Monday, the museum unveiled its newest donation: a self-portrait by London street artist Endless. The artist, who started working as a street artist a decade ago after training as a fine artist, appears in the canvas as a double self-portrait of sorts, wearing a hat and characteristically obscuring his face. In the painting, Endless peers at a magazine painted over with a stylized interpretation of the Calvin Klein advertisement featuring Mark Wahlberg and what’s dubbed as the “crotch grab,” the trademark of the street artist. Artist duo Gilbert and George flank Endless in the painting that is an overall commentary on advertising and consumerism. The Uffizi got in contact with Endless in 2018 to discuss a donation, which according to the artist, was a bit of a surprise but an honour nonetheless. The self-portrait is on canvas so some might argue whether or not is technically street art, but it received praise as “an original fusion between punk and pop” from Uffizi director Eike Schmidt. He vowed that the Uffizi will expand its collection of street art in the coming years and in a statement said: “The Medici, always at the cutting edge, would be happy to see Endless’ work enter the collection.” For Endless, being included in the halls of the Florence gallery is a way of “pushing things forward,” that while “some street artists would never touch a gallery […] most street artists are artists in their own right and a lot would want to do gallery shows.”

Adapting to the landscape of the pandemic, the Mike Kelley Foundation for the Arts (MKFA) has announced 18 organisations that will be the first beneficiaries of its Organizational Support Grants, a slight revision of their annual Artist Project Grants. The grants will provide the selected organisations with up to $30,000 in unrestricted funds to help support the continuation of their work.

The MFKA, based in Los Angeles, was founded in 2007 to support the “spirit of critical thinking, risk taking, and provocation in the arts” by artist Mike Kelley, who passed away in 2012. In 2016, the foundation offered its first Artist Project Grants, an initiative that has supported the work of dozens of artists since.

However, 2020 presented a new set of issues to the arts community. The MFKA contributed to Artist Relief, but, in the wake of a tumultuous year, it recognised the continued needs of arts organisations within the LA community. So, the foundation chose to pivot the model of their Artist Project Grants to aid small to midsize arts organisations.

The 18 organisations selected for the 2021 grants vary in disciplines ranging from poetry to experimental music to performance art to multimedia works.

“We are struck by the resilience and flexibility of so many arts organizations and artists during this devastating time,” executive director of the MKFA Mary Clare Stevens said in a press release. “Each one of these organizations has helped shape the unique arts landscape in Los Angeles. In the face of cancelled and delayed exhibitions, performances, and fundraising events, we hope that this support will help the grantees navigate this next chapter.”

The 2021 Organizational Support Grant recipients are:

the Center for Land Use Interpretation
Center for the Study of Political Graphics
Coaxial Arts Foundation
Clockshop
Echo Park Film Center
Future Roots Inc. DBA dublab
Human Resources LA
Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (ICA LA)
Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions
Los Angeles Filmforum
Los Angeles Poverty Department
Museum of Jurassic Technology
Pieter Performance Space
Poetic Research Bureau
Side Street Projects
Society for the Activation of Social Spaces through Art and Sound
Vincent Price Art Museum Foundation
Women’s Center for Creative Work

Sarah Williams, co-founder and executive director of the Women’s Center for Creative Work described the past year as a “very destabilizing period.” Williams continued saying: “This kind of overarching support is desperately needed to keep people employed and to help small arts organizations weather the months to come. [… and] to ensure a meaningful arts landscape on the other side of the pandemic”

The grantees were selected by an independent panel that reviewed applications. That panel included Erin Christovale, Associate Curator at the Hammer Museum; artist Todd Gray; artist Tala Madani; Sohrab Mohebbi, Kathe and Jim Patrinos Curator of the 58th edition of the Carnegie International and Curator at Large at Sculpture Center; and Diana Nawi, Co-Artistic Director of Prospect.5, New Orleans.

What do Angelina Jolie, Winston Churchill, and Franklin D. Roosevelt have in common? To the surprise of many, the answer is a painting.

The actor, director and philanthropist is now selling the only painting created by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill during the second world war, and the work is expected to fetch up to £2.5 million at Christie’s in a few weeks.

Adding to its powerful provenance and celebrity status, “Tower of the Koutoubia Mosque” (1943) was the only work that the then prime minister painted during the second world war, and was gifted by him to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. They had visited Marrakesh together after the 10-day Casablanca Conference in 1943, which is what inspired Churchill to create the work.

“It is the only work that Churchill painted during the war, perhaps encouraged by the recent progress made by the Allies in what he considered to be one of the most beautiful countries he had encountered,” Nick Orchard, head of modern British art at auction house Christie’s, said in a statement.

The painting, which depicts the 12th-century mosque against the backdrop of the Atlas Mountains, has a rather complicated provenance, which warrants its current estimate. It was passed on to Roosevelt’s son when he died and it was then sold in 1950 to a Nebraska collector. The collector then sold it to the author, producer, financier and collector Norman G. Hickman, who had served as associate producer of the Churchill-themed film The Finest Hours in 1964. While it was in his possession, it was exhibited at the New York Daily News building and later at the Churchill Memorial in Fulton, Missouri during 1970. Upon Hickman’s death, it was passed to his second wife and then to her daughter, where it was stored in a closet for fifteen years. It was eventually acquired by the New Orleans dealer MS Rau and was put up for sale with a guide price of just under $3 million, which was when the Jolie Family Collection bought the work in 2011.

Churchill famously took up painting in 1915, when he was 40. In his writings, the wartime prime minister references the influence of the painter Henri Matisse, who had also spent time in Morocco earlier in the 20th century.

Churchill’s works can now command considerable sale prices, particularly if they have impeccable provenance (as in the case of Jolie’s Marrakesh, as well as Truman’s). In 2007, a painting of a view from Churchill’s home, “Chartwell Landscape with Sheep”, set a record for one of his works when it sold for £1m.

The Paris Opera Ballet is the oldest national ballet company in the world and is steeped in tradition. For all its grandeur and prestige, the ballet is notably lacking in diversity and, until recently, was among the ballet companies with a repertoire that even included blackface. However, a 66-page report released Monday shed light on just how much work the Paris Opera will need to put in to right its lack of diversity.

Compiled by historian Pap Ndiaye and rights advocate Constance Rivière, the report was commissioned by Alexander Neef, artistic director of the Paris Opera. It was created in response to a 2020 open letter written by five Black members of the ballet company who were frustrated by the persistent discriminatory environment of the Opera. Released in January, the report found that the Paris Opera is in dire need for diversity.

Taking on board the report’s critique, the Opera is initiating efforts that will create a more progressive ballet for the future. Neef announced that the Paris Opera will now employ a “diversity and inclusion officer,” following the example of the Metropolitan Opera in New York which created its first such posting in January. The Opera will also form a consulting body of experts, both from within the Opera and outside of the institution, that will weigh in on the ballet’s repertoire in relation to the report’s findings.

The report also urged that an overhaul of the admissions process for the Paris Opera Ballet School, where the company trains a majority of the its dancers, be carried out to allow for a more diverse selection pool. “The objective is not that the school recruits less talented students to meet diversity objectives,” the writers of the report said, “but to search for great students wherever they can be found.”

The report didn’t stop with the ballet itself, either, as it pointed out the need for diversity amongst the Paris Opera’s 1,800-member staff, including technical and administrative personnel, musicians, and librettists.

Neef stated that the Opera will continue to include The Nutcracker and La Bayadère in its repertoire, although there will be careful consideration in future productions to change choreography and costumes perpetuating racist caricatures found within a number of classical works. After all, The Nutcracker continues to feature the “Chinese Dance” and until 2015, La Bayadère utilised blackface.

Specific “aesthetic choices” of Russian ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev, who led the Paris Opera Ballet as director during the 1980s and whose ballets are still performed by the company, were discussed in the report as well. Neef has ensured that Nureyev’s works will not be banned from the Opera, but that the use of blackface and yellowface, both of which were in Nureyev works, will certainly be banned. The report also specifically weighed in on ballet blanc, or white ballet. The ballet blanc tradition is that which shows a ballet corps in identical white tutus; it is found in a number of ballets, but those of Swan Lake are perhaps the most iconic. According to the report, at times, Black ballet dancers have been explicitly excluded from such scenes performed by the ballet.

“I expect the far right and the most conservative politicians and intellectuals to protest, and say it’s, once again, about the Americanization of French culture,” Ndiaye said, and he was right. The report has already drawn criticism from some. Neef’s statement that “some works will no doubt disappear from the repertoire” incited particular outcry, although Neef said his words were taken out of context. Among detractors is the leader of the far-right National Rally party, Marine Le Pen who took to Twitter to call the actions “antiracism gone mad.” In response to such rebukes, Neef was not phased, saying: “We’re not here promoting a climate of censorship, or dictatorial actions from the leadership. The whole point of this initiative is we want to put on opera and ballet by 21^st-century artists for 21^st-century audiences.”

Of course, the Paris Opera Ballet is not the only company to face these issues. Misty Copeland, principal dancer for the American Ballet Theatre, has been vocal on the perpetuation of racism and the lack of diversity within the ballet community. Copeland was the first African American female to become a principal dancer for the ABT and in 2019, called out the Bolshoi Ballet for their use of blackface. Chloé Lopes Gomes, the first Black ballet dancer to enter the Staatsballett in Berlin, accused the organisation of racism.

“This is not the end, it’s the beginning,” Neef said of Paris Opera plans to diversity, emphasizing that the changes will take time. As it is a force to be reckoned with within the ballet world, if the Opera makes the changes recommended and continues to progress as an institution, it could set a standard for ballet companies around the world.