#ArtScandal

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#Art & #inspiration | All artists use other artist’s work, but few are as candid about it as Alvaro Barrington.

•“Artists I Steal From” is the frank title of the show that he has put together at Thaddaeus Ropac, which brings together 49 artists who have been a key influence on the Caracas-born artist. His starting point is the statement supposedly made by Picasso that “good artists copy, great artists steal”. 

•Barrington’s relationship with the show's artists—who range from Andy Warhol, Louise Bourgeois and Philip Guston through to contemporaries such as Lisa Brice and Chris Martin—is based on close examination, analysis and unexpected discovery rather than simple theft. 

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#Art & #Controversy | Loretta Lizzio's memorial image of Jacinda Ardern unveiled in Melbourne divides public opinion. 

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•A large-scale image of New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern embracing a Muslim woman - created by the artist Loretta Lizzio - unveiled in Melbourne earlier this week has sparked controversy. The image of Ardern in a hijab hugging a mourner became a symbol worldwide of her solidarity with the Muslim community, after the terrorist attack of two mosques in Christchurch in March in New Zealand. 

•But more than 14,000 people have so far signed a petition protesting the mural, which was initiated by a man named Antonio Giuliani stating that it shouldn't be in Melbourne for the attack happened in New Zealand. 

•Lizzio responds to negative comments that “hate crimes are a global issue… this particular project is about love and acceptance of all that call Australia home, no matter your background.” 

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by GARETH HARRIS in The Art Newspaper 

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#ArtMarket & #Scandal | US dealer Gary Snell and Paris-based Robert Crouzet found guilty in French court of making and selling copies of works by the French sculptor. 

•The case is considered exceptional because of the sheer number (around 1,700) of works that Snell had cast in Vicenza, Northern Italy. According to the prosecution, each cast was offered for sale for an average of €40,000, the total being valued at €68m.

•On 17 April, the Parisian art dealer Robert Crouzet was also condemned by the court for having sold 16 of Rodin’s moulds to Snell. He bought to produce his copies, claiming that it was free to do so now that the artist’s work is no longer under copyright.

•Snell, who accused the Musée Rodin of “protecting its monopoly“, says that the word “reproduction“ would have prevented him from selling the works on the US market. His lawyer, Christian Beer, pleaded that the French rules do not apply abroad and that his client never sold his pieces in France. •However, the legal expert Gilles Perrault also explained in court that the very low quality bronze copies “betrayed” the spirit of Rodin.

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by VINCENT NOCE in The Art Newspaper.

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#ArtMarket & #Debate | London case surrounding Brueghel painting raises questions over whether a work's full sales history should be listed—even when that shows a big markup.

• Gary Klesch, a US investor, is suing Richard Green gallery over 2 works of art: a Jan Brueghel the Elder and a Salomon van Ruysdael that he bought at Tefaf Maastricht last year for €3m and €2m respectively. Klesch discovered afterwards that, a year earlier, the Brueghel had been bought at auction for €1.45m and the Ruysdael for $882,500. Klesch now claims he would not have bought the works based on information, including prices, that he says was a deliberate “omission”.

•Bendor Grosvenor, who is also an expert in the market, points out that a “less than three-second” Google search brings up the Brueghel auction price. Not everything can be found on Google; not everyone knows about the subscription-only Artnet database, and private sales are, well, private.

•The situation raises some interesting questions. For example, why should previous prices—made publicly or privately—not be a part of a work’s provenance? 

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by MELANIE GERLIS in The Art Newspaper

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ART SCANDAL

Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen [...] stated that Trump set up a fake buyer to bid on his portrait by the artist William Quigley at the Art Hamptons auction so that it would garner the highest price among all of the works in the sale. As the last lot, the portrait ultimately went for $60,000, and the Trump Foundation then repaid the straw bidder. Cohen also testified that the portrait is now displayed in a country club owned by Trump.[...]

The Trump Foundation dissolved under judicial supervision, the state Attorney General Barbara Underwood referred to the “shocking illegality” of the Trump Foundation’s activities.[...]

These included payments to his 2016 presidential campaign, a $130,000 payment to the pornographic film actress Stephanie Clifford (aka Stormy Daniels) in hush money over an extra-marital sexual encounter between Clifford and Trump.

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by VICTORIA STAPLEY-BROWN in The Art Newspaper. 

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#ContemporaryArt & #MusicIndustry | Dave Meyers, whose previous videos have caused singers Ariana Grande and Kendrick Lemar to be sued for copyright infringement, is now being criticised for appropriating images by the artists Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari in his video for Billie Eilish’s pop hit Bad Guy.

•Commentators on a Reddit thread have highlighted similarities between scenes in the video and a photographic series that Cattelan and Ferrari created for Toiletpaper Magazine, founded by the pair in 2010. The striking resemblances include images of severed heads in water-filled plastic bags and a man lying down with milk and cereal being poured into his mouth.

•Toiletpaper Magazine through its Instagram replier to a Reddit user: “Actually we didn’t know about that video… and nobody from that project tried to contact us. Surely we will check how and why it happened.”

•This is not the first instance of the Grammy-winning director being accused of appropriation in his works! There were Vladimir Kush for God is a woman (Ariana Grande) and Lina Aris Viktor for All the Stars by Kendrick Lamar.

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#Louvre & #Visitors | In a tweet, Louvre officials said that “due to a recent increase in visitor numbers, members of the Musée du Louvre’s reception and security staff are exercising their right to strike. The museum will therefore remain closed all day today (27 May).”

• Staff must deal with “angry visitors” unhappy with conditions while emergency evacuation procedures are inadequate, they say.  the Sud Culture Solidaires Union says the Louvre management is failing to address the issue of overcrowding, and that they are “dismayed" by “the shameful image we give of our establishment”. They want the museum to employ the right number of staff

•A spokeswoman for the Louvre confirmed that “Visitor numbers are expected to remain high in the coming days. Only visitors with tickets purchased via the Louvre’s official website are guaranteed admission. For this reason, we strongly recommend booking online.”

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by GARETH HARRIS in The Artnewspaper