Roundup: Planning L.A.’s NFL stadium, trouble at George Lucas’s museum, a trial rivets the art world
George Lucas’s museum plans face opposition in Chicago. The urban planning around L.A.’s new NFL station is kind of nonexistent. And all art world eyes have been glued to a gallery fraud trial in New York. Plus: The destruction of Yemen’s cultural heritage; Zaha Hadid takes home an architectural medal; and the state of monument design in Washington, D.C. Here’s the Roundup:
— Setback for George Lucas’s Chicago museum: a judge has ruled that a lawsuit by a park preservation group can proceed.
— “Call it the close-but-no-cigar school of regional planning.” Christopher Hawthorne looks at how the new NFL stadium in Inglewood could be yet another example of L.A. building a cultural landmark with little connection to the city around it.
— British street artist Plastic Jesus created an installation in protest of #OscarSoWhite on Melrose Avenue inspired by a famous image of segregated drinking fountains by photographer Elliott Erwitt.
In a courtroom sketch from late January, the prosecuting attorney gives an opening statement in the fraud trial of Manhattan’s now shuttered Knoedler & Co. gallery.
— The Knoedler Gallery trial — the prestigious Manhattan gallery accused of trafficking in fake Abstract Expressionist paintings — has been riveting the New York art world with its testimony about fraud and art dealing. In testimony over the past week, Mark Rothko’s son denied authenticating works, a conservator testified that the gallery may have tried to wheedle him into changing his scientific conclusions about one work, and forensic accountants hired by the prosecution testified that the gallery would not have been profitable without the fakes. On Sunday, former gallery director Ann Freedman, settled her case with two collectors, Domenico and Eleanore De Sole, for an undisclosed amount. But the case against the gallery is set to continue.
— Disgraced British art dealer Robin Symes’s treasure trove has been uncovered in Switzerland. The haul of antiquities, likely looted, includes two Etruscan sarcophagi from the time before Christ.
— And since it seems to be a big week for stories about art dealers: Don’t miss this article about Yves Bouvier in the New Yorker, the Swiss shipper and free port manager, who made a fortune dealing to a Russian mogul — who later sued him.
David Sevenson, left, and Kim Koga, of the Museum of Neon Art, show off a Grauman’s Chinese Theatre sign in 2013.
— L.A.’s Museum of Neon Art has reopened!
— Members of Congress will now have to foot the bill for their own portraits.
— An extensive three-year project has digitized all of Cuban American artist Ana Mendieta’s works. Related: An interesting interview with critic Coco Fusco about Mendieta’s art and legacy tied to an exhibition of her works at Galerie Lelong in New York. Incidentally, there are pieces by Mendieta currently on view at MOCA’s permanent collection exhibition, “The Art of Our Time.”
— The Guardian has a story about a new exhibition in Dallas that looks at work by women from the 1970s inspired by sex and pornography. These were works that were considered hugely controversial then — but seem par for the course now. The link contains images that are NSFW.
— Artist Raquel Gutiérrez has a thoughtful piece on the origins of the Veteranas y Rucas Instagram feed, which chronicles Chicano party crews of the ‘90s.
— A new exhibition at El Museo del Barrio in New York provides a Latin American view of kinetic and Op Art. This looks like a must-see.
— Yemeni cultural heritage is suffering in the conflict between Houthi rebels and a Saudi-led coalition. Forty-seven sites have been destroyed or damaged, the most recent being the National Museum in the city of Taiz.
— Diversifying the content of AP Art History tests.
— Zaha Hadid received the prestigious Gold Medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) last week.
— Another memorial for Washington, D.C.? Philip Kennicott of the Washington Post looks at the less-than-inspiring competition for a World War I memorial in our nation’s capital.
— Manhattan Beach passed a historic preservation law that people can opt out of. It’s more like a historic preservation if-you-feel-like-it law.
— The U.S. Bank Tower in downtown Los Angeles, completed by the architectural firm of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners in 1989, will soon give up its title as the tallest building on the West Coast.
— Cartoonist Dan Clowes, of “Eightball” fame,” has a new comic debuting next month: “Patience,” which has been five years in the making. Its plot involves time travel. California Sunday has an interesting profile featuring art from other prominent cartoonists.
— An intriguing read in Vanity Fair: How Joan Didion the writer became Joan Didion the cultural figure. Lots of L.A. in this story.
— And last but not least, a little ‘90s Super Bowl throwback: “In Living Color’s” “Men on Football.” #HatedIt
Find me on Twitter @cmonstah.
The biggest entertainment stories
Get our big stories about Hollywood, film, television, music, arts, culture and more right in your inbox as soon as they publish.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
