– On the Catwalk: On Sunday, the Whitney Museum will host a full-blown fashion show conceived of by former stylist, queer art dynamo, and current Biennial star K8 Hardy, whose lumpy creations featuring found and recycled items are also included in the museum's biennial. Professional models will strut their stuff on a catwalk designed by fellow Biennial star Oscar Tuazon, and though the production will have all the trappings of a bona-fide fashion show, Hardy promises there will be no front row. [NYT, Whitney]
– Credit Card Fraudsters Fleece Auction Houses: A criminal network using fake credit cards at UK auction houses purloined an untold amount of art from big-name businesses. The theft ring, first uncovered last year, was originally thought to have targeted some 30 regional auction houses — but is now suspected of having stolen works from both Bonhams and Christie's, in what is surely a major PR black eye. “As a result of this incident [Christie’s] had to take a long, hard look at itself and what was being done to regulate payments,” says a former employe. "There was no real policy in place to deal with suspicious transactions." [TAN]
– Gehry Submits Stands by Eisenhower Child: After months of heavy criticism, Frank Gehry submitted revisions for the forthcoming Washington D.C. Eisenhower Memorial. He agreed to incorporate nine-foot-tall statues depicting the former president in wartime, but refused to give up the life-size sculpture of Eisenhower as a boy, which remains at the center of the memorial despite the family's contention that it was too "Horatio Alger." [Object Lessons]
– More Repatriation Requests from Turkey: The Turkish government's latest target in its widening repatriation initiative? Harvard University. Turkey asked the Dumbarton Oaks Museum to return 40 Byzantine relics were allegedly looted and smuggled out of the country in 1963. [Chasing Aphrodite]
– Thomas Houseago Comes to the High Line: The beloved elevated park recently mounted an exhibition of tiny sculptures, but now, it seems, it's time to go big. Thomas Houseago's 15 foot-long headless sculpture "Lying Figure" will be installed this Friday on the High Line, underneath the Standard Hotel. [Press Release]
– Tate Raises Millions for Refurb: Thanks to donations from members, charities, and the British lottery, Tate Britain has reached its fundraising target of £45 million ($71 million) for a major refurbishment of its galleries. Improvements, which will be completed a year from now, include reinforced floors to facilitate the display large-scale sculpture, and a rehang that will includes works by William Blake and David Hockney. [Telegraph]
– Quay Brothers Bringing Underworld to Leeds: As part of the UK's 2012 Cultural Olympiad, the American filmmaking duo Stephen and Timothy Quay are creating a large-scale, free, three day-long public art installation in central Leeds. "OverWorlds & UnderWorlds" features a circuit through the center city along which spectators will encounter performances by the Northern Ballet, Opera North, and other local arts groups, as well as darkly surreal installations by the brothers themselves. [Guardian]
– Making Murals Last: Outdoor murals present some inherent conservation challenges, but a growing number of organizations around the U.S. have sprung up around the country to meet them. In Los Angeles, Heritage Preservation received funds from the Getty and NEA to restore a six-story 1932 mural by Mexican artist David Alfaro Siqueiros, while Philadelphia Mural Arts has restored a Meg Saligman mural and secured it by applying an ultraviolet ray prohibitor to its surface. [WSJ]
– Surrealist Music Covers: Here's your interesting art-historical factoid for the day: René Magritte was designing album covers before albums even existed. The famed Belgian surrealist created cover art for some 40 books of sheet music during the 1920s. Hints of his later aesthetic can be discerned from the vintage-style covers, several of which were offered at auction this month at New York's Swann Auction Galleries. [Brain Pickings]
– El Anatsui Gets Denver Retrospective This Fall: The Denver Art Museum is mounting a major retrospective of the Ghana-born, Nigeria-based sculptor this fall, which will feature some 65 works spanning four decades. "El Anatsui: When I Last Wrote to You About Africa" opens September 9 and continues through December 30. [Press Release]
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