The Guardian reports that London’s National Gallery will be showing the work Hoerengracht, by Ed and Nancy Kienholz, in November next year. The walk-in installation recreates, in meticulous detail, the “whores’ canal” of Amsterdam’s (in)famous red light district.
This highly polemical tableau explores a theme that has been investigated by artists over many centuries and echoes visual traditions well established within European art. It will cast light on the gallery’s 17th-century Dutch paintings, many of which depict prostitutes and brothels, including works by Jan Steen and De Gelder.
The Hoerengracht from 1983-1988 (detail) by Ed and Nancy Kienholz (left) and A Man offering an Oyster to a Woman (1660-5) by Jan Steen (right). In the 17th century oysters (traditionally a symbol of lust) were thought to be an aphrodisiac and the man’s offer can be interpreted as a sexual advance. There are several discarded oyster shells scattered around the woman’s chair, perhaps an allusion to her occupation as a prostitute.
The gallery is also planning to make a film in Amsterdam’s red-light district. The district is being cleaned up, and artists are starting to establish studios there. Nonetheless, the National Gallery has been offered a police escort while it films.
Rome may not have been built in a day, but a new Google Earth feature will soon allow you to take in a 3-D representation of the ancient city (circa A.D. 320) in a matter of minutes.
Of the 7,000 buildings in the 1.0 version, around 250 are extremely detailed. The others are sketchier and derived from a 3-D scan of data collected from a plaster model of ancient Rome at the Museum of Roman Civilization.
The Google Earth feature could gratify tourists who are disappointed to find that the city’s ancient monuments are in ruins. Information bubbles in the Google Earth feature provide details for more than 250 buildings.
Watch this video to take a short trip to ancient Rome in Google Earth:
To experience Ancient Rome 3D, install the Google Earth software, open Google Earth and select the Gallery folder on the left side of the screen and then click on “Ancient Rome 3D.”
Israeli Arabs clean and repair graves at an old Muslim cemetery in downtown Jerusalem (Photo: AFP)
The Lebanese-based organization Hezbollah has denounced an Israeli project to build a museum on the site of a Muslim cemetery in west Jerusalem. Last week, the Supreme Court of Israel decided to give the Museum of Tolerance the go-ahead. The court found that the cemetery dates back 300 to 400 years but fell into disuse after Israel gained statehood in 1948. The court said that since there had been no objections in 1960, when the city built a parking lot over part of the cemetery, it would not block construction of the museum on the same property.
According to Agence France-Presse, Hezbollah spoke against “the profanation of a historical Muslim cemetery in occupied Jerusalem, a profanation authorized by the [Israeli] enemy, which has allowed an American company to build a museum on the site.” The Palestinian mufti of Jerusalem, Sheikh Mohammad Hussein, also denounced “a serious decision” by the Israeli Supreme Court and noted that the building will destroy a Muslim holy site.
Ironically, the Center for Human Dignity - Museum of Tolerance, which has been designed by Frank Gehry, is to be dedicated to promoting tolerance among peoples. The official website calls it “a place that will remind us that greater than any external threat is the internal divide that separates us”. The 3-acre campus will include two museums, a library-education center, a conference center and a 500-seat performing arts theater. The estimated cost of the project is $250 million
Artist’s rendering of Frank Gehry-designed Center for Human Dignity-Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem
In conjunction with the annual Museumnacht (Museum Night) the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam celebrated the world premier of the first exhibition outside the UK of Damien Hirst’s diamond covered ’skull’ (aka ‘For the Love of God‘). It has been a mixed blessing for the Dutch ‘mother of all museums’, generating an unprecedented media hype and record visitor numbers, but also causing Soviet-era waiting lines and CIA-style security measurements.
Vanitas Still Life (1650) by Aelbert Jansz van der Schoor is one of Damien Hirst’s personal picks from the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
To accompany the exhibition Hirst has chosen a personal selection from the Rijksmuseum’s collection of 17th-century art, including a haunting vanitas still life. Each painting is accompanied by a personal commentary by Hirst explaining the reasons for his choices. Themes in the exhibition range from the quest for immortality to the inevitability of death, all of which are frequently reflected in the art of the Dutch Golden Age and in Hirst’s own work.
In an attempt to collect the widely differing opinions of those who have actually seen the exhibition, the Rijksmuseum has launched a special website. On their way out, visitors are invited to leave a video message by speaking into a camera. The website shows Hirst’s skull as the shining center of a solar system and a cloud of mug shots of visitors which is orbiting the skull like little stars. Clicking on one of the faces enlarges it and automatically starts the video message.
Van Gogh Museum director Axel Rüger responding to the exhibition on the website of the Rijksmuseum.
Among the ‘talking heads’ are actors, tv celebs, artists and other VIPs, including the director of the neighbouring Van Gogh Museum. In his message (in Dutch) he praises the Rijksmuseum and stresses the historical relevance of Hirst’s work, but he also seizes the opportunity to urge people to visit the other museums in Amsterdam.
Obviously, he is reffering to the Van Gogh Museum itself where they have various depictions of skulls and skeletons on permanent display, including Van Gogh’s hilarious ‘Skeleton with Burning Cigarette‘. On the website of the museum they jokely invite you to come and see ‘their’ skull. That is a clever move, because morbid humor always sells..
Selection of works by Vincent van Gogh from the Van Gogh Museum Collection, including ‘Skeleton with Burning Cigarette’ (1886) in the center.
For the Love of God opened to the public on 1 November and remains at the Rijksmuseum for six weeks.
Edward Kienholz and Nancy Redin, ‘The Hoerengracht (detail)’, 1984-8. Private collection © Kienholz Estate, courtesy of L.A. Louver, Venice CA
The Hoerengracht from 1983-1988 (detail) by Ed and Nancy Kienholz (left) and A Man offering an Oyster to a Woman (1660-5) by Jan Steen (right). In the 17th century oysters (traditionally a symbol of lust) were thought to be an aphrodisiac and the man’s offer can be interpreted as a sexual advance. There are several discarded oyster shells scattered around the woman’s chair, perhaps an allusion to her occupation as a prostitute.
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Posted by Michiel van Iersel
