Indiana Museum puts out a call to local artists to paint Mike Pence’s official portrait. Indiana’s State Museum in Indianapolis is looking for an artist who hails from the “Hoosier State” to paint the current governor and Republican vice presidential candidate’s likeness.
Facebook censors Holbein’s classical study of a hand. Genitals and sexual acts we can sort of understand not being welcome on the social media site, but a drawing of a hand? The Guardian’s Jonathan Jones breaks down the absurdity of Facebook’s decision to ban the artwork by saying, “It would be more reassuring if computer error were to blame, yet according to Facebook this is no algorithmic accident. An actual conscious human brain honestly thought a Renaissance drawing of a hand was obscene.”
Mystery of the Scream’s white smudge revealed. Edvard Munch’s world famous portrait of a figure screaming is riveting and perplexing for many reasons, among them an unidentified white mark smack in the center of the canvas. Now, scientists think they’ve figured out what the substance on the painting is comprised of: candle wax. Sorry it didn’t turn out to be bird poop, as some have suspected.
European Union arts funding slowed following Brexit vote. Cultural organizations in the U.K. are experiencing delays and blocks from EU funding sources following Great Britain’s vote to leave.
Italy successfully fights for Venice to be excluded from UNESCO’s list of at-risk heritage sites. The Italian government lobbied for UNESCO to postpone its decision to add the historic city to the list until 2017.
Miami’s Faena arts district to open just in time for Art Basel Miami beach mania. Real estate developer Alan Faena’s massive Forum complex (which is set to feature a performance space and retail market) will open in November, just ahead of the annual bacchanalia that is Art Basel.
