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Roundup: Calling a culture strike, the ‘Hollyweed’ artist, the art market and Trump

The Hollywood sign is altered to read "Hollyweed" on New Year's Day.
The Hollywood sign is altered to read “Hollyweed” on New Year’s Day.
(Gene Blevins / AFP/Getty Images)
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Some artists are calling for an inauguration day strike. But the art market seems OK with the advent of Trump. Plus: Preserving Middle Eastern photographic history, the “Hollyweed” artist, and the little red panda that is filled with rage.

— A group of artists and critics — including Cindy Sherman, Joan Jonas and Richard Serra — has called for a culture strike on inauguration day. New York Times

— A drop in tourism in Egypt has resulted in a drop in revenues for arts organizations managing excavation, preservation and exhibitions. Artnet

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— An interview with JesusHands, the artist who turned the Hollywood sign into “Hollyweed” on New Year’s Day with a sum total of $35 in supplies. This isn’t the first time the sign has been altered in the name of a pot joke, incidentally. That was in 1976. Buzzfeed, Cannabist

A 1976 image shows the time the Hollywood sign was altered by then-Cal State Northridge student Daniel Finegood as his project for an art class assignment on working with scale. (He earned an A.)
A 1976 image shows the time the Hollywood sign was altered by then-Cal State Northridge student Daniel Finegood as his project for an art class assignment on working with scale. (He earned an A.)
(File Photo / Los Angeles Times )

— What can we expect from the new Marciano Art Museum? William Poundstone parses. Los Angeles County Museum on Fire

Smithsonian museums received more than 30 million visitors last year, a 7% increase. Washington Post

Ed Ruscha’s made a major donation to the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art at the University of Oklahoma. Hyperallergic

— How the arts may be affected by Donald Trump’s incoming administration: The market may be OK, but if tax benefits are reduced for charitable giving, that could affect art donations to museums. New York Times

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Petzel Gallery in New York has issued an open call for post-election videos. You have until Jan. 31. ARTnews

— Inspiration: civil rights mugshots. American Suburb X

— Plus, John Scalzi’s 10-point plan for getting creative work done in the age of Trump. Los Angeles Times

— How the Arab Image Foundation has preserved historic photography from the Middle East. Affidavit

Hal Foster has a good year-ender about L.A. painter Jim Shaw’s 2015-16 show at the New Museum — noting that Shaw’s interest in colloquial religious drawings highlights “images that reprocess the Bible through the idioms of comic books, blockbuster movies and album covers.” Artforum

— What Charlie Hebdo taught writer Jacob Hamburger about freedom of speech. Los Angeles Review of Books

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— A Navajo Nation library is trying to preserve thousands of hours of oral histories on reel-to-reel tape. Smithsonian Magazine

— How the queen emerged as the all-important piece in chess in medieval Europe — with some very sculptural examples. The Met

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg wants to tour the country to get to know the U.S. better. Urbanism writer Kriston Capps says he might want to start with San Francisco. Citylab

— Pop culture’s metaphysical moment — or the reality of inhabiting many realities at once. The Atlantic

— Work of art: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar writing about “The Bachelor.” Hollywood Reporter

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Sanrio’s new character is a little red panda filled with rage. I think I just found my alter-ego. io9

— And last but not least, your moment of conceptual sweaters. Sam Barsky is now officially my muse. Mashable

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carolina.miranda@latimes.com

@cmonstah

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