– Mysterious Moves at Jim Carrey's NYC Art Cave: Big news for those who closely follow the art career of rubber-faced funnyman Jim Carrey (no this is not a joke: He had a show of his paintings at Palm Springs's Heather James Fine Art earlier this year). The comedian-painter has been renting out a single-story, 2,000-square-foot Perry Street space in the West Village (aka his "art cave," in tabloid-speak). Carrey even tagged the exterior last year with the phrase "Church of FFC," which stands for "Freedom From Concern," to symbolize the location's status as his aesthetic refuge. Now, it seems, the landlord has the space listed as for rent, leading some to speculate that Carrey may be hanging up his brushes — though a "source" told the Post that he plans to renew the lease at the end of the year. [Page Six]
– Baroness's Constable at Christie's Branded a "Moral Shame": Baroness Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza's decision to sell John Constable's "The Lock" — which had been housed in Madrid's Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum — at Christie's in London this week has been met with protests and the resignation of one of the museum's trustees. The former Miss Spain's decision to sell the Constable "represents a moral shame on the part of all those concerned, most especially on the part of Tita," wrote former Royal Academy director Sir Norman Rosenthal in his letter of resignation. [Telegraph]
– Stolen Dali Mailed Back: The small, $150,000 Salvador Dali drawing "Cartel de Don Juan Tenorio" (1949) that was stolen from writer and colorful collector Adam Lindemann's new Upper East Side gallery Venus Over Manhattan was intercepted at JFK Airport last week as it was being mailed back from Europe. The culprit included a fake return address and illegible name on the package, and even emailed the gallery a tracking number along with the message "Cartel on its way back to you already." [NYT, ITA]
– An Inaccessible Art History Made Available Online: A cadre of researchers has spent years inside the homes of important figures in the Chinese art scene, counting, scanning, and annotating their archival materials. The fruits of this labor — some 300,000 digital items in various forms — are now online and accessible to the public via the Asia Art Archive's Collection Online. The founders hope to encourage art historians outside of Asia to study the region's contemporary art history. [NYT]
– Feds Sell Off Seized Art: Collectors looking for a bargain would do well to check out today's online auction held by the U.S. Marshals Service, which is offering 245 artworks, including pieces by Chagall, Matisse, and Picasso, at a steep bargain. All the works for sale were used to facilitate or obtained with proceeds from crimes like money laundering and tax fraud. The top bid for a work by Rembrandt is currently $68,000. [CNN]
– Dorothy's the Force Behind Lichtenstein's Retrospective: The massive Roy Lichtenstein retrospective currently on view at the Art Institute of Chicago bears the distinct mark of the artist's wife, Dorothy. Three paintings she salvaged from a group her husband sought to destroy are included in the exhibition, as well as dozens of pieces from her own collection. To encourage collector Agnes Gund to lend a large painting, Dorothy loaned her one of similar size and shape so she wouldn't have a blank wall during the run of the exhibition. [NYT]
– Europe Considers Juicing Culture Spending Amid Crisis: As part of its "Creative Europe" plan, the European Commission is pondering a proposal to increase its cultural funding by 37 percent for seven years beginning in 2014. The boosted budget — totaling €1.8 billion ($2.27 billion) — would cover loans to local, small-scale cultural enterprises and restoration projects, among others, and is considered to be an indirect investment in tourism, 40 percent of which is driven by cultural events in Europe. [TAN]
– Klimt Life Turned Into a (Spectacularly Weird) Rock Opera: As part of the 150th anniversary celebrations of Gustav Klimt in his hometown, a new stage musical based on the beloved painter's will premiere at Vienna's Künstlerhaus on September 2. "Gustav Klimt — Das Musical" turns the Austrian artist's dramatic life into a rock opera with an appropriately colorful multimedia backdrop. (For a taste, see below.) [TAN]
– Hirst to Birth Pregnant Woman Statue: YBA bad boy Damien Hirst is proposing one of his most ambitious public art projects yet for the historic seaside town of Ilfracombe in Devonshire, where he would like to install a 66-foot-tall sculpture of a pregnant allegorical figure of Justice brandishing a sword in one hand and scales in the other while standing atop a stack of bronze legal books. If the proposal is approved by the town — where Hirst also owns a restaurant — the sculpture "Verity" would be loaned to the North Devon council for 20 years. [Telegraph]
– Three Artists to Rep Scotland in Venice: Artists Duncan Campbell, Corin Sworn, and Hayley Tompkins will represent Ireland at the 2013 Venice Biennale. The pavilion — which marks Scotlands 10th anniversary participating in the international event — will be curated by the organization the Common Guild. [ArtReview]
VIDEO OF THE DAY
Trailer for "Gustav Klimt — Das Musical" at Vienna's Künstlerhaus
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