Thinking of spending a nice day taking selfies with a selfie stick at the National Gallery in London, or the Palace of Versailles in Paris? Think again! Selfie sticks are banned from the storied institutions, following a worldwide trend of restricting art patrons from bringing selfie-enhancing implements into museums. And plus, they make you look ridiculous. I mean, look at Diddy with a selfie stick. He looks terrible. Don’t do this. [U.S. News & World Report]
Art Basel Hong Kong is about to be in full swing, so here’s a report on the city’s claim to be Asia’s main art hub. [WSJ]
It’s Paris Fashion Week, which means Hedi Slimane will choose a conceptual artist from California to act as muse for his most recent ready-to-wear collection for Saint Laurent. To Hedi’s credit, he legitimately loves the great California artists, and gives them full credit when his chic frocks bear some resemblance to their work. And he’s legitimately tight with John Baldessari, as every profile of Hedi Slimane will inform you. This year, the artist mentioned as the inspiration for Slimane’s newest line for Saint Laurent is Jim Shaw. [NYT]
There’s a new director of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and it’s Julia M. Stasch. Some context: “Stasch should have a pretty good idea of what her new job holds in store; after all, she’s served as interim president for the past eight months. Prior to that, she’d worked as vice president for MacArthur’s US Programs for thirteen years, leading projects in public, private, and philanthropic sectors.” [Artforum]
If you’re lacking in power lists related to Art Basel Hong Kong, here’s a handy explainer regarding the top China-based collectors. [Art Daily]
And if you have children, and you want to talk to your children about art, best of luck—this story entitled “How To Talk To Kids About Art” won’t help much, beyond offering the most toothless bit of advice: the most important thing is to have fun. [Time]
