— Airport Refuses Bieber Art: The Indianapolis International Airport has nixed a commissioned art installation that took jailbait pop star Justin Bieber as its subject. The airport expected New York-based artist Tre Reising to create something on the topic of art and hip-hop, but were none too pleased when he installed a painting that depicted the word “belieber” in rainbow-colored letters. Reising will be taking his piece home with him, but the airport promised that it would still pay him his $500 commission. [NY Post]
— Obama Nominates NEA Head: President Obama has nominated Jane Chu, president and CEO of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City, as the next chair of the National Endowment for the Arts. The nomination is a long time coming as Broadway producer Rocco Landesman left the position more than a year ago. “Jane’s lifelong passion for the arts and her background in philanthropy have made her a powerful advocate for artists and arts education in Kansas City,” Obama said in a statement. “She knows firsthand how art can open minds, transform lives and revitalize communities, and believes deeply in the importance of the arts to our national culture.” [Variety]
— Peggy Guggenheim Léger Determined to be Fake: The Institute of Nuclear Physics has determined that a work in the Peggy GuggenheimCollection previously attributed to Fernand Léger is a fake. Art historian Douglas Cooper first suspected the authenticity of the painting, believed to be from the artist’s “Contraste de formes” series of 1913-14, in the 1970s, and consequently the work has never been exhibited or catalogued. Peggy Guggenheim Collection director Philip Rylands, relieved to put the 40-year mystery to rest, said, “Thanks to the application of innovative scientific techniques, the cloud of uncertainty has at last been lifted and Douglas Cooper’s connoisseurship vindicated.” [TAN]
— Artprice Says China is Top Buyer for 2013: With global art sales — of paintings, sculptures, and photographs — at a record high of $12.05 billion in 2013, China retains its position as top buyer, claiming $4.078 billion in sales, according to art market data firm Artprice. [Artdaily]
— German Officials to Discuss Independent Center for Restitution of Nazi-Era Looted Art: Prompted by the widespread criticism related to the handling of recent discoveries of Nazi-era looted art, including the trove found in the Munich apartment of Cornelius Gurlitt, German officials will begin discussing an independent center for managing restitution claims for stolen art. The proposal, by minister of culture Monika Grütters, has been favorably received by culture ministers from several German states. [NYT]
— Google and Saatchi Gallery Team Up to Create Prize for gif Artists: Calling it the Motion Photography Prize, Google and Saatchi Gallery have teamed up to award artists who create gifs — the brief, repetitive animations that are a beloved form of Internet art. High-profile judges, including director Baz Luhrmann and artist Cindy Sherman, will choose winners in six categories. [TAN]
—A giant sinkhole opened under Kentucky’s National Corvette Museum yesterday and swallowed eight cars. [NYT]
— The Frank Gehry-designed Ground Zero performing arts center has hired David Lan, of London’s Young Vic Theatre, as its temporary artistic director. [NYT]
— Actor Jerry O’Connell has set up his own art installation (sponsored by humor site Funny or Die) right next door to Shia LaBeouf’s “performance art” residency in L.A. [LAT]
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