— Shia LeBeouf’s “Performance” Hits L.A.: On Tuesday, Defamer visited “not famous anymore” actor Shia LaBeouf during his six-day stint staging a performance titled “#IAMSORRY,” at Cohen Gallery in Los Angeles, where LaBeouf was “in situ” apologizing for his sins. While the writer “had plans to ask him great questions, to make him laugh, hold his hand, take off his bag, and convince him to take a picture with [her],” things turned out differently. “When we locked eyes,” she writes, “I was unnerved.” [Defamer]
— German Parliament to Debate Restitution Law: As news of a new cache of Cornelius Gurlitt artworks comes out this week, the German Parliament is set to debate a law that would eliminate the 30-year statute of limitations to aid in the return of looted art. Originally proposed by Bavaria in January, the law was a reaction to international accusations that Germany wasn’t doing enough to restitute Nazi-looted work. “In principle this draft law is a positive sign,” said Markus Stoetzel, lawyer for the descendants of Alfred Flechtheim, a leading 20th-century German Jewish art dealer. “It shows that the political conscience is in the process of waking up in Germany after lapses in the past. The Gurlitt case has got things moving.” [Global Post]
— Commissioner Levin’s Next Step: Kate D. Levin, New York City’s cultural affairs commissioner from 2002 through 2013, has been appointed the first fellow at Dallas’s Southern Methodist University. In her one-year appointment at the National Center for Arts Research, Levin, who recently also joined Bloomberg Associates, will work with arts organizations across the country, raise awareness of the center, and help guide its research. The New York Times reports: “The data generated by the research center — which was established in 2012 — ‘will help arts organizations operate successfully and sustainably and inform wider audiences about the extraordinary ways this field can impact communities,’ Ms. Levin said in a statement.” [NYT]
— Paris Court Hears Graffiti Fakes Case: A Parisian court case in which graffiti artist JonOne accused a dealer of creating forgeries of his work points to the growth and acceptance of the genre. [TAN]
— Barney at BAM: A look at Matthew Barney’s new five-and-a-half-hour “Mythomaniacal Mailer-Hemingway Mash-Up” at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. [New Republic]
— Marcilhac Collection Up For Grabs: French dealer Felix Marcilhac is set to auction off his collection of Art Deco and Art Nouveau objects at Sotheby’s Paris and Artcurial next month. [TAN]
— A portrait of writer Hilary Mantel by Nick Lord, which will be unveiled on February 24 at the British Library, will be the first portrait of a living author to be displayed at the museum. [NYT]
— Shepard Fairey and RISK have teamed up again to paint a wall in L.A.’s skid row in one installment of a larger plan to put up roughly 30 murals in the area by numerous artists. [LAT]
— The New York Times wrote a great obituary of Nancy Holt, a leader in the Land Art movement of the 1960s and ’70s and the creator of one of its most enduring examples — “Sun Tunnels.” [NYT]
ALSO ON ARTINFO
Review: “Savage Palms, Worn Stones, Moonshine Vision” in Minneapolis
“The Sickest of All Collectors”: What Sets Dealer Alexander Acevedo Apart
A Night of Fevered Bidding on Arte Povera at Christie’s London
Man With a Past: Rodman Primack, Design Miami’s Seasoned New Director
Derek Blasberg to Join Gagosian Gallery
deCordova Sculpture Park Head Dennis Kois Resigns
Check our blog IN THE AIR for breaking news throughout the day.
