– Vermeer's Secret Apprentice: In his new book, "Vermeer's Family Secrets," art historian Benjamin Binstock suggests that Vermeer's daughter Maria— who sports a pearl earring in one of her father's most famous works — served as his studio assistant and eventually his apprentice, with many of her paintings being passed off as those of her father by his widow in order to pay the bills. According to evidence gathered by Binstock, at least seven paintings long deemed the work of Johannes Vermeer may actually be masterpieces by Maria Vermeer. [NPR]
– Ai Weiwei is a Terrible Hairdresser: Last week in Beijing's hip Caochangdi nabe, blogger Anthony Tao found himself on the receiving end of artist and activist Ai Weiwei's clippers, receiving one of the amateur hairstylist's notoriously bad haircuts. "I've given hundreds," Ai said. "The kind that will make you want to cry… I could make a book out of it." [Beijing Cream]
– Crisis-Slammed Countries Still Spend Big in Venice: Despite a worsening global economy and the ongoing financial crisis in the Eurozone, most nations participating in the 2013 Venice Biennale are spending sums equivalent to and greater than their pavilions' 2011 budgets. The Italian pavilion's budget, however, is about half of the €1.5 million curator Vittorio Sgarbi disposed of in 2011, with €600,000 coming from the state and another €140,000 raised through a crowd-funding campaign thus far. Greece's pavilion, meanwhile, has a budget of €350,000, with €250,000 of that coming from the state. "Concerning state funding, there is no change compared to the 54th Venice Biennale. It is exactly the same amount," said Greek pavilion curator Syrago Tsiara. [TAN]
– Mural Goes Grey for Liam Neeson Shoot: Residents of uptown Manhattan are less than taken with Liam Neeson after the crew working on his latest film, "A Walk Among the Tombstones," painted over a much-loved mural because it wasn't in keeping with the movie's gritty early-1990s setting. The colorful mural, which referenced the Beatles's "Abbey Road" album cover and featured the words "All You Need Is Love" atop psychedelic pools of color, was painted four years ago on Fort Washington Avenue. "Unfortunately, because the project is a period piece, we sometimes have to change out signage that may not match the aesthetic of a certain neighborhood during a certain time period," said the film's location scout, David Ginsberg. "We were not aware of how much of an important role this particular mural played in the neighborhood." [DNAinfo]
– France Considers Smartphone Tax for Culture: The French government may charge a tax on sales of smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices with Internet connectivity in order to help fund the arts. President François Hollande called on former television executive Pierre Lescure to come up with ideas on ways to upgrade the country's cultural funding, and among his 75 suggestions, one was to begin charging a one percent tax (to be raised to three or four percent eventually) on sales of such devices, which could raise as much as $113 million per year. [CBC]
– Report Bursts Hirshhorn Bubble: According to a report by the Smithsonian Institution studying the feasibility of its four-years-in-the-making "Seasonal Inflatable Structure," better known as the Bubble, which would rise 145 feet out of the Hirshhorn Museum's rooftop, the project will almost certainly operate at a loss, with its budget ballooning to over $15 million. "We’ve said from the beginning, and the secretary [G. Wayne Clough] has said it, this is a bold project," Smithsonian undersecretary for history, art, and culture Richard Kurin said. "We’ve encouraged this, but it has to be raised by private money. In terms of doing that, we’re still trying to raise money for construction of the Inflatable Structure. We’ve been at this for some years. We hope its time has come now, but if not, we look forward to a better time." [Washington Post]
– Blockbuster Mao Portrait Sale in Beijing: A portrait photograph of late chairman Mao Zedong that was taken by his wife Jiang Qing in 1961 surpassed all expectations in a sale at Beijing's Huachen Auctions on Friday, selling for $55,300, after a pair of telephone bidders drove its price up to 10 times its pre-sale estimate. "The photo was highly sought-after, mainly because its photographer was such a unique figure," said Li Xin, the manager of Huachen's photography department. "It clearly aroused huge interest. It also shows that 'red-classic' photos like this are becoming well recognized by the market. I saw many new faces in the salesroom." [China.org]
– Smithsonian Stretches for Yoga Exhibition: In October the Smithsonian Institution's Arthur M. Sackler Gallery will open the exhibition "Yoga: The Art of Transformation," a show exploring the history of yoga in Hindu, Buddhist, Sufi, and Jain traditions in more than 120 Indian sculptures, manuscripts, films, photographs and paintings on loan from 25 collections all over Europe, India, and the U.S. The show will span the 3rd century CE to the 20th century, and chart yoga's fall from favor during India's colonial era and its subsequent return to widespread popularity. No word yet on whether the Smithsonian will jump on the yoga-in-museums trend as part of the show's programming. [Active Life D.C.]
– German Dealers Block European Art Tax Bump: Germany's national association of art dealers, the Bundesverband Deutscher Galerien und Kunsthändler (or BDGV), with the help of the country's minister of culture Bernd Neumann, has successfully lobbied against the lifting of temporary tax cuts on sales of artworks that would have resulted in the tax rate jumping up 12 percent, from 7 percent to 19 percent. The matter will be up for debate in the federal assembly again next month, but if members can't agree on a new plan the tax will remain at 7 percent for the next year. "We still can’t predict anything concrete," said BDGV member Thea Dymke, "but this is what we are hoping for." [TAN]
– Darren Bader Wins 2013 Calder Prize: The Calder Foundation has selected the U.S. artist Darren Bader as the recipient of the 2013 Calder Prize, which comes with a $50,000 cash prize and a residency at the Atelier Calder. As an added perk, one of Badder's trademark conceptual pieces — which incorporate found and appropriated objects, text, films, music, and more into strange and singular installations and sculptures — will be placed in a marquee public collection. [Press Release]
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