Our most-talked-about stories in Art, Design & Fashion, and Performing Arts, March 12-16, 2012:
ART
— In a four-part series, ART+AUCTION asked an esteemed group of collectors and gallerists — including Tim Blum, Lucy Mitchell-Innes, and Marc Glimcher — for their thoughts on the current state of the art market, and where they think it's headed. Check out part one, part two, part three, and part four.
— The lavish European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF) got underway in Maastricht. We previewed selections from the fair's 25th edition, while Paul Laster reported from the opening that it was off to a strong start.
— The 340-ton boulder for Michael Heizer's "Levitated Mass" installation at LACMA finally touched down last weekend. ARTINFO Los Angeles correspondent Holly Myers spoke to museum director Michael Govan about why nothing comparable could be done in New York, as well as offering some reflections of her own on what the whole thing meant.
— After the Armory Week dust settled, we recalled some of the lessons we took away from the Armory Show's heated art finance panel.
— It may have grabbed headlines with an online exhibition curated by Marina Abramovic and a James Franco performance, but Shane Ferro figured out what art site Paddle8 is really up to.
DESIGN & FASHION
— Janelle Zara reviewed the new renderings for the third and final section of New York's High Line park, and then compared them to five projects for similar post-industrial parks around the world.
— Ann Binlot used economist George Taylor's historically semi-accurate Hemline Index to prognosticate about the trajectory of global financial markets based on five fashion houses' Fall 2012 collections.
— Detroit-based painter Hernan Bas explained the inspiration behind the luxury bindles he designed for Louis Vuitton.
— French automaker Peugeot unveilved its new DL 122 bicycle, which comes equipped with a laptop-sized cargo space that will prove useful for "nerds on the go."
— Online music site SoundCloud and 3-D printing site Shapeways debuted The Vibe, a collaboration that lets music lovers get their favorite songs transformed into iPhone cases.
PERFORMING ARTS
— ARTINFO film correspondent J. Hoberman reported from SXSW, where he was shoved by cops outside the "21 Jump Street" premiere, but still managed to enjoy the indie heist comedy "Gimme the Loot."
— Reviewing the new documentary "Gerhard Richter Painting" by Corinna Belz, which opened in New York this week, Graham Fuller wrote: "This is good, as far as it goes, but watching an artist paint is like, well, watching paint dry, no matter how great he or she is or how worthy of study."
— Stage veteran Linda Emond talked about working with director Mike Nichols — and a cast of screen stars that includes Philip Seymour Hoffman and Andrew Garfield — on a new Broadway production of Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman."
— With renewed focus on silent cinema following an Oscar sweep by "The Artist," a restored version of Abel Gance’s legendary 1927 silent film "Napoleon" — all 330 minutes of it — will screen later this month at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.
— Ann Binlot concludes that NBC's new show "Fashion Star" provides what the world of high-style reality television has been sorely lacking since the very first episode of Bravo's "Project Runway."
OTHER
— ARTINFO provided artists with a helpful resource listing the 20 best artist residencies and retreats in the United States.
VIDEO
— Video editor Tom Chen offered a glimpse at the upcoming Asia Week exhibitions in New York: