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Last September, Amy Sherald’s portrait of Breonna Taylor appeared on the front cover of a special Vanity Fair magazine dedicated to activism. Although commissioned by Vanity Fair guest editor Ta-Nehisi Coates, Sherald said she made the portrait for Taylor’s family to keep her “alive forever.” Now, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture of Washington, DC and the Speed Art Museum of Louisville, Kentucky are jointly acquiring the portrait, thanks to a donation from the Ford Foundation and Heathland Foundation, so that it will be available to the public.

The portrait was created in honour of Taylor, a 26-year-old woman who was shot and killed by police who forced entry into her Louisville home where she was sleeping. Taylor’s name and story went on to become a major thread in the Black Lives Matter protests of last summer and has impacted countless lives. The making of the portrait was a process of reverence and Sherald wanted to see it through completely, opting to oversee its sale by orchestrating a unique partnership between museums.

Sherald felt it was crucial that the portrait of Taylor be visible to the public and accessible to the people of Louisville. “I felt like it should live out in the world,” Sherald told The New York Times. “I started to think about her hometown and how maybe this painting could be a Balm in Gilead for Louisville.” Thus, thanks to the artist’s vision, became the joint acquisition of the work by the DC and Louisville museum.

Typically, Sherald’s gallery, Hauser & Wirth, would oversee the sale of her work, but this painting was different for the artist. Sherald wanted to have a hand in each step, bringing together the museums. To do so, Sherald reached out to friend and actress Kate Capshaw who, with her husband director Steven Spielberg, has recently launched the Hearthland Foundation. With Capshaw’s help, the Ford Foundation agreed to work with the Hearthland Foundation to support the acquisition. A joint $1.2 million donation made the purchase possible.

The proceeds from the sale will expand the impact of Taylor’s portrait as Sherald plans to set up a fund seeking to support students entering into higher education with particular interest in social justice. This endeavour will be made with guidance from both foundations.

Seeing the sale through is the final page of the process Sherald embarked on in this commission. Somewhat surprisingly, Taylor’s portrait is only Sherald’s second ever commission – the official portrait of former First Lady Michelle Obama was her first – and it was the first time the artist’s subject was deceased.

To create the portrait, Sherald took the time to get to know Taylor posthumously. She spent time with Tamika Palmer, Taylor’s mother, to better understand Taylor’s personality, character, and sense of style. Sherald had the opportunity to watch videos of Taylor, talk to her friends, and see photos of her, which included images taken by artist LaToya Ruby Frazier.

According to Palmer, Taylor was always put together. “You wouldn’t catch her not together,” she told Sherald, “she definitely took pride in what she looked like and how she carried herself.” So, Sherald worked with Atlanta-based designer Jasmine Elder of JIBRI to create the turquoise gown Taylor is depicted wearing in the portrait. With the permission of her family, Sherald also included the engagement ring Taylor’s boyfriend Kenneth Walker had bought for her in anticipation of proposing.

Sherald’s portrait of Taylor is a cathartic experience and personal interpretation of a life that should still be here. Founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture and now the secretary for the Smithsonian Lonnie G. Bunch III summed up the painting saying it “captures both the joy and the pain of this moment.”

Taylor’s portrait will be included in the Speed Museum’s “Promise, Witness, Remembrance” exhibition focused on Taylor that is to open next month. The exhibition is curated by Allison Glenn, an associate director of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas, and will include works by Sam Gilliam, Lorna Simpson, Kerry James Marshall, and Glenn Ligon. The exhibition will travel to the Smithsonian later this year.

In February, Pompeii announced that Gabriel Zuchtriegel, would become the new director of the one of Italy’s most prized historic sites: Pompeii. While the news did not sit well with everyone, the 39-year-old German archaeologist doesn’t seem too worried about ruffling feathers and already has big plans for the ancient ruins.

According to the Times, Irene Bragantini and Stefano De Caro resigned from their posts on the committee, which acts as a board for Pompeii. In a letter to Massimo Osanna, the outgoing director of Pompeii, the pair stated: “We believe that the minimum conditions for collaborating with [Zuchtriegel] do not exist. […] His CV doesn’t have sufficient depth and it is difficult to see that he has the experience to make decisions and run conservation and restoration where it costs millions and millions but is easy to make mistakes.”

Zuchtriegel was selected out of a pool of more than 40 applicants and comes to Pompeii after working as the director of Paestum, an area of ancient Greek ruins in the Campania region of Italy, since 2015. When the young archaeologist was selected for that post, similar issues arose. He was not only one of the first non-Italians selected to organise a major Italian landmark but he was also the youngest person ever put in charge of such a site. So, Zuchtriegel is somewhat used to rocking the boat.

Despite the concerns raised by Bragantini and De Caro, Zuchtriegel has the support of Osanna and Dario Franceschini, culture minister of Italy. “He did a fantastic job at Paestum, where there was rain leaking into the museum when he got there,” said Osanna. “He focused on maintenance, doubled the visitors, let them inside temples for the first time and drew in local residents.” Franceschini echoed that praise saying that Zuchtriegel “did and incredible job” while working at Paestum and hopes that he’ll produce similar results at Pompeii.

In an interview with The Guardian, Zuchtriegel remarked that the situation was “more or less the same at Paestum.” He continued saying: “I’m relatively young for such a position, especially for Italy. But the way to respond is with results. I’m not one who sees the director as the person who knows and decides everything. My task is to share and develop a vision together with the board and colleagues, and as fast as possible.”

Zuchtriegel, who became an Italian citizen last year, already has big plans for the ancient site, including making it more accessible, navigating the end of the pandemic, and actually putting excavation on hold. “We will not be doing new excavations just for the sake of doing them,” Zuchtriegel said. “For one, what is excavated must also be conserved and protected. Excavation is always a kind of destruction because you excavate layers and context that you can’t redo, it’s a one-time operation that needs to be done very carefully with everything documented. But we can’t exclude that in the future there will be new methods and new possibilities, so we should also leave something for future generations.”

In this week’s Art World Roundup, we cover “Heart of the Matter,” a new online exhibition at the Gillian Jason Gallery in support of International Women’s Day, a Trump executive order that’s been walked back by Biden, and Banksy’s mural that appeared on the wall of Reading Prison. Also, why the Man Ray Trust tried to halt an auction at Christie’s, how the coronavirus is entering the Smithsonian without infecting anyone, and the V&A announces massive job cuts to ensure stability. 

London gallery celebrates International Women’s Day with new exhibition

London’s Gillian Jason Gallery is set to present a new online exhibition titled “Heart of the Matter.” Curated by Mollie E. Barnes, founder of She Curates, the exhibition features paintings and sculptural works by 12 female artists, both established and emerging. “Heart of the Matter” will go live on March 8^th in celebration of International Women’s Day and run through the 15^th of April. In keeping with the 2021 International Women’s Day theme, Choose to Challenge, the gallery and curator have committed to challenging gender inequality within the art world while also providing artists with a platform. The exhibition will bring together new and recent works by Tracey Emin, Bridget Riley, Chantal Joffe, Jasmine Pradissitto, Sikelela Owen, Emma Prempeh, Layla Andrews, Eleanor Johnson, Sarah Jane Moon, Sahara Longe, and Cecily Brown that provide “a snapshot of the present with a powerful and positive look towards the future.” In a press release for the exhibition, Gillian Jason Gallery Director Elli Jason Foster said, “The last twelve months have been tough for many people in the arts. If we are able to take a step towards connecting with the upcoming young collectors and at the same time correcting some of the gender inequalities that have existed for so long in the artworld then we can sincerely see great change within our reach. GJG is committed to this change and the artists that we work with.” Established in 1982 by Gillian Jason, who passed away last year, the Gillian Jason Gallery specialises in modern and contemporary works by women. The gallery is now managed by Jason’s daughter, Elli, and granddaughter, Millie.

Biden walks back Trump’s architecture executive order

One of former President Trump’s final executive orders was aimed at making classical architecture the go-to aesthetic for new government buildings. The order didn’t go as far as banning consideration for new architectural styles, but it did receive backlash from the architecture community. Those who were against the measure are now breathing a sigh of relief after President Biden withdrew that order. Naturally, both decisions have received praise and criticism. Biden’s choice to revoke the executive order was called “disappointing” by Justin Shubow, the Trump appointee who recently became chairman of the fine arts commission and played a major role in the order. Shubow, who is the president of the National Civic Art Society, did say in an interview, though, that the society “intends to work with the Biden administration to promote change that will construct a truly democratic architecture.” Among those who are likely applauding Biden’s decision is New York Times architecture critic Michael Kimmelman, who wrote that “just to have this argument feels demeaning” when the former president dubbed modern architectural styles to be “ugly and inconsistent.” According to Peter Exley, president of the American Institute of Architecture, which was staunchly against the ousted executive order, in revoking the order, Biden’s administration “has restored communities with the freedom of design choice that is essential to designing federal buildings that best serve the public.” He continued saying: “This is fundamental to an architect’s process and to achieving the highest quality buildings possible.”

Banksy, Bob Ross, and Reading Prison

Banksy took ownership over a stencil mural that appeared earlier this week on the wall of the former Reading Prison. The mural, which was immediately suspected to be by the artist, depicts a man in a gray and white striped prison uniform repelling down the prison’s wall using bed sheets tied together. It seems that Banksy in paying homage to Oscar Wilde, the famed Irish poet who was imprisoned at Reading Prison between 1895 and 1897, as the man in the artwork resembles Wilde and a typewriter dangles at the end of the makeshift rope. Banksy took to Instagram to lay claim to the artwork, but the post was somewhat unusual to recent Banksy reveals. Set against the words of late American artist Bob Ross, first-hand video shows the mural being painted under the veil of darkness. Many have speculated that the mural is Banksy’s way of publicly supporting a campaign that is seeking to transform the prison, which has been discussed since 2013, into an arts hub as opposed to it being sold for housing. In a statement, the Reading Borough Council said: “We are thrilled that Banksy appears to have thrown his support behind the council’s desire to transform the vacant Reading Gaol into a beacon of arts, heritage and culture with this piece of artwork he has aptly called Create Escape. The council is pushing the Ministry of Justice, who own the site, to make suitable arrangements to protect the image.”

 

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Controversy over recent Christie’s sale of works by Man Ray

The Man Ray Trust claims that nearly 150 artworks by or owned by the late artist included in a recent sale at Christie’s were stolen by the Surrealist’s former assistant, Lucien Treillard. In a statement, the trust, which oversees Man Ray’s estate, questioned the provenance and rightful ownership of 148 of 188 lots that hit the auction floor this week. “Contemporaries of Man Ray and Juliet Man Ray advised the Man Ray Trust that there is significant reason to believe Lucien Treillard stole a substantial number of Man Ray’s works and possessions immediately following his death,” read the statement in part. The trust alleges that the auction house did not gain copyright permission to use photos of works by Man Ray and asked Christie’s to postpone the sale. However, Christie’s moved ahead with the Paris auction, which brought in around €5.9 million (£5.1 million). “We would not offer any work for sale if we had any reason to think that there are any issues with the works or that ownership could not pass freely to our buyers at auction,” a spokesperson for Christie’s said. “We have given very careful consideration to the concerns raised by the Man Ray Trust.”

COVID-19 heads to the Smithsonian, but in a good way

Dr Anthony Fauci, who has become a household name in the USA during the pandemic, has donated a 3D rendering of the coronavirus to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, DC. Fauci, who is the director of the Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health and has served as the chief medical advisor under the Trump and Biden administrations, used the diagram in many of his COVID-19-related briefings. In April, the museum began collecting items related to the pandemic as part of its Rapid Response Collecting Task Force and it has warmly welcomed the model. The orange and blue model will be added to its collection of pandemic ephemera. It depicts the virus in its full infectious form, the SARS-CoV-2 virion, and showcases the spike proteins which allowed the virus to become so contagious. “I wanted to pick something that was really meaningful to me and important because I used it so often,” Fauci told The New York Times. “It’s a really phenomenally graphic way to get people to understand.” In a statement, museum director Anthea Hartig said, “Dr. Fauci has helped save millions of lives and advanced the treatment and our understanding of infectious and immunologic diseases across more than five decades of public service. His humanitarianism and dedication truly exemplify what it means to be a Great American.”

The V&A announces major job cuts across all departments

In order to offset a “mounting deficit,” Tristram Hunt confirmed this week that the Victoria and Albert Museum in London will be cutting 140 jobs across multiple departments as part of the museum’s “recovery strategy.” The plan will see roughly 14 percent of the museum’s staff cut, including 30 curatorial positions, with the hopes of trimming £10 million from its budget by 2023. In order to accommodate a smaller staff, the V&A is restructuring departments. The European and North and South American departments will now be combined while the sub-Saharan African and African diaspora collections will be merged with the Asian collection to form a new department. Also, the V&A Research Institute will absorb the V&A’s Archives and National Art Library. “It’s hollowing out the expertise of the museum,” one critic told the Guardian. “Very experienced conservators are leaving or have left. Some conservators and curators have already left on voluntary terms. The next wave is forced redundancies.” In a statement to Artnet News, a spokesperson for the museums said, “The proposed changes will simplify department structures, retaining curatorial expertise and specialisms across all key material types. Our focus remains on consulting openly and meaningfully on the proposals with our staff and trade union colleagues, and to support our staff community through this difficult process.”

In the midst of the UK’s third national lockdown, the arts sector has received some good news. On Wednesday, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak announced that nearly £400 million of the UK’s 2021 budget will head towards the arts.

The news comes after it was announced that museums across the Britain will remain shuttered until May 17^th, one of the key dates in easing lockdown restrictions announced by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in late February.

Of the £390 million, £300 million is earmarked for the Culture Recovery Fund, a grants programme established by the UK government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Fund was created in July of last year as part of a £1.57 billion package to help save struggling cultural and heritage organisations, including museums, galleries, theatres, and heritage sites.

The remaining £90 million will go directly towards national museums to support them as they reopen in the coming months.

Alongside the £390 million stimulus directed towards national cultural and heritage organisation, Sunak announced that an additional £18.8 million would be used for cultural projects local to Hartlepool, Carlisle, Wakefield and Yeovil.

“The arts in this country are vitally important to our sense of identity, and will play a key role in the way we come out of this crisis,” Caroline Douglas, director of Contemporary Art Society, told Artnet News. Douglas isn’t certain, though, that the budget has allotted enough to support struggling institutions calling the last year a “financial car crash.” She continued: “It is not just a question of surviving until the reopening, because we know that life is not just going to snap back to pre-pandemic levels of activity this summer.”

Unsurprisingly, efforts to reach the end of the pandemic were among the most funded by the government. The 2021 UK budget has committed £1.65 billion to ensuring that the roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccination continues to operate smoothly across England.

The UK economy has taken one of its biggest hits in centuries having shrunk by a staggering 10 percent. However, in a statement made by Sunak on the budget, the Office for Budget Responsibility believes that the economy is “expected to recover more quickly.” According to Sunak, it is forecasted that 2021 will see overall growth of four percent and that by mid-2022, the economy could be back to pre-COVID levels.

700,000 people have lost their jobs due to the pandemic, an estimated 55,000 of those were in the arts according to December 2020 reports. News of jobs lost due to the pandemic comes as the Victoria and Albert Museum has announced plans to decrease staff by about 14 percent across all departments in an attempt to reduce £10 million in spending by 2023.

Writing a letter isn’t the most common of activities these days, but when you do put pen to paper, the envelope is perhaps the least tedious part of the process. That wasn’t always the case, though. Before the days of envelopes, letterlocking was the go-to method to ensure your letter arrived at its destination without any tampering. These locking techniques have withstood the test of time, preventing contemporary researchers from opening letters, now sealed for centuries. However, a team of MIT researchers have developed a way to virtually unfold locked letters, revealing their secrets.

A letter is “locked,” so to speak, through a series of folds that would deter messengers – or anyone who intercepted a letter – from peeking at its contents. With this process, the letter itself become its own envelope, not dissimilar to the rudimentary ways you might have folded notes to pass in class a child. For centuries, letterlocking was a common, daily practice right up until mass-produced envelopes became popular in the 1830s.

Thousands of letters kept in museums and collections around the world remain locked, as it would be too dangerous to unfold them. So, researchers have had to guess at the contents of letter or commit to destroying a letter by cutting it open.

That was until a recently published report in Nature Communications revealed that a team of MIT researchers, led by MIT Libraries conservator Jana Dambrogio, have found a way to virtually unlock letters through x-ray microtomography.

While x-ray technology to study historical documents, like scrolls or documents only folded once or twice, is relatively common, locked letters have remained less studied due to their difficult nature. But with the help of a medical scanner, which can produce a three-dimensional x-ray image, researchers created algorithms to virtually flatten a locked letter. Through this process, researchers can not only know the secrets held in sealed letters but also better understand the various techniques used to lock letters.

Over the course of a few years, researchers studied 250,000 letters to create the “first systematization of letterlocking techniques.”

Of particular interest to researchers in this process was a trove of more than 3,000 300-year-old letters that were collected by a European postmaster. Known as the Brienne Collection, the letters were undeliverable and collected by the postmaster. Of its letters, 2,571 were opened while 577 were sealed providing researchers with excellent specimens to study. In examining this collection and other letters, researchers were able to categorize folding techniques allowing them to more quickly unfold the letters using their algorithms.

Research laid out in the report has the ability to accelerate a research process that previously could take years. For instance, it took researchers and scholars a decade to understand the intricate spiral locking technique Mary, Queen of Scots employed to send a secure letter to her brother-in-law Henry III, King of France in 1587 just hours before she was beheaded. Armed with their new virtual unfolding technology, it took MIT researchers just days to unfold the letter and reveal its secrets.

“Sometimes the past resists scrutiny,” said the MIT team. “We could simply have cut these letters open, but instead we took the time to study them for their hidden, secret, and inaccessible qualities. We’ve learned that letters can be a lot more revealing when they are left unopened. Using virtual unfolding to read an intimate story that has never seen the light of day—and never even reached its recipient—is truly extraordinary.”