Desi Santiago’s mass 2 (2012), image: Aniko Berman for Art Observed

On Saturday, July 28th, the Watermill Center hosted The Big Bang, its 19th Annual Summer Benefit. Held on the performance art center’s expansive Southampton grounds, the event commenced with cocktails for over 1,200 guests, all of whom were invited to explore over twenty site-specific performances and installations scattered throughout the center’s indoor and outdoor spaces, as well as to bid in a silent auction featuring works by Marina Abramovic, Sandro Chia, Shirin Neshat, Dennis Oppenheim, Terry Richardson, Will Ryman, Spencer Tunick, and Aaron Young, among others. A tented dinner for over 650 guests followed, including a live auction led by Simon de Pury, where works by artists such Michelangelo Pistoletto, Anselm Reyle, and Willem de Kooning were offered. Inclement weather threatened the evening, with unwelcome downpours impeding the guests’ ability to view the outdoor works. Nonetheless, the event raised more than $1.5 million for the center, which has actively promoted the creation and dissemination of performance art since its founding by leading “theater artist” Robert Wilson in 1992.

Guests in front of Paul McCarthy‘s Butt Plug (2012)

(more…)

Stephen Colbert interviewed Jeff Koons on the ‘Colbert Report.’ Introduced as the “world’s most expensive birthday clown,” Koons discussed the importance of an arts education, while explaining some of his own art to the late-night host.

(more…)

A missing Roy Lichtenstein painting, estimated at $4 million, was discovered in a Manhattan warehouse. ‘Electric Cord’ was last seen 42 years ago when its owner, Leo Castelli, sent the piece out to be professionally cleaned.

(more…)

Since the early 1990s, Rineke Dijkstra has been creating photographic and cinematic portraits that expose, examine, and celebrate humanity. It is a rare occurrence when one bears witness to the complexities and nuances of life epitomized in a fleeting gesture or facial expression. It is even more rare to capture these gestures or expressions on camera. Dijkstra’s work is devoted to a fascination with these possibilities found within the miracle of physical embodiment.

(more…)

Senior HSBC bank manager Michael Foreman was identified as the man who fell to his death from a Tate Modern balcony last week.

(more…)

ArtInfo released the second part of its “The 50 Most Exciting Art Collectors Under 50.”

(more…)

Courtesy of Pace Gallery, Alexander Calder’s Tripes (1974), a 19 foot tall steel sculpture, will be on display at the St. Pancreas Renaissance Hotel in London. This sculpture coordinates with both the London Olympics and Pace’s expansion to London.

(more…)

Terence Koh, my mother destroyed me and still the tea that is the hope of my ship (2012)

 
This summer, Chinese-Canadian artist Terence Koh brings his unique brand of sculptural performance to The Fireplace Project in the high-society woodlands of Easthampton. Koh’s “yes pleased” will run through August 12 and features the eerie and erotic minimalism that has shaped his career from its beginnings, when the artist moonlighted under the monicker asianpunkboy.

(more…)

Former MOCA Chief Executive Charles E. Young has called for the removal of museum director Jeffrey Deitch following a tumultuous month that included the resignation of long-time curator Paul Schimmel and artists John Baldessari, Catherine Opie, Barbara Kruger and Ed Ruscha. In an email to donor and influential board member Eli Broad, Young concluded that “I will do anything I can to try to right the MOCA ship, but nothing will work, in my mind, without a new Captain/Director.”

(more…)

Martin Creed’s Olympic-specific work, entitled Work No 1197, All the Bells in a Country Rung as Quickly and Loudly as Possible for Three Minutes occurred this morning at 8:12 in the morning to herald the opening of the games.

(more…)

 Gardar Eide Einarsson – Sorry If I Got It Wrong, But Something Definitely Isn’t Right (Gallery View)

Currently on view at the Team Gallery’s space on Grand Street New York City is an exhibition of new work by Gardar Eide Einarsson, showcasing the Norwegian’s multidisciplinary scope, and confrontational approach to exhibition.  In this most recent show, Sorry If I Got It Wrong, But Something Definitely Isn’t Right, the artist explores the intricately connected systems of political dissent currently at play on the global stage.

 Gardar Eide Einarsson – Untitled 1969 (2012)

(more…)

Tracey Emin‘s ‘The Central line’ design released as the 16th cover of the London Underground Tube Map.

(more…)

Image courtesy Wien Belvedere

Franz West, the iconic Austrian sculptor who was known for bucking trends, has died at age 65. Mr. West resided in Vienna, and according to his family, had been enduring a long battle with liver disease when he finally succumbed on Wednesday.

Image courtesy the Public Art Fund

(more…)

An unnamed man in a suit plunged 100 feet to his death off the Tate Modern‘s members-only balcony yesterday, leaving hundreds of onlookers shocked.

(more…)

Tino Sehgal via The Independent

Anglo-German artist Tino Sehgal opened ‘These Associations’ in the Tate Modern‘s Turbine Hall yesterday. As the 13th Unilever Commission, the performance art installation is the museum’s first live commission. ‘These Associations’ features shifts of around 50 participants at a time, partaking in different games, dances, and social interactions designed by Sehgal.

Turbine Hall, the venue for ‘These Associations’ via BBC News

(more…)

Unilever‘s sponsorship of the Tate Modern‘s yearly art installation in the Turbine Hall has expired. The decision for renewal will be put on hold, as the venue is set to close for construction in 2013.

(more…)

Banksy releases three Olympic-themed works in anticipation of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

(more…)

ArtInfo published a list of “The 50 Most Exciting Art Collectors Under 50, part 1.”

(more…)

In a strongly titled article, “A Los Angeles Museum on Life-Support” The New York Times analyzes the recent fall-out and standing of LA’s Museum of Contemporary Art, examining director Jeffrey Deitch‘s role in the recent happenings.

(more…)

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer‘s ‘Open Air,’ featuring 24 searchlights controlled by a mobile app and the voices of the visitors, will open at the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia on September 20th of this year.

(more…)

Ellsworth Kelly’s Dartmouth Panels, a large external wall piece, commissioned by Leon Black, the recent buyer of Edvard Munch’s ‘The Scream’, has been installed on Dartmouth’s Hopkins Center for the Arts, preceding the opening of the Black Visual Arts Center in September.

(more…)

The New York Times reports on the strange case of Robert Rauschenberg‘s Canyon and the legal dispute involving the heirs of Ileana Sonnabend, the famed art dealer and previous owner. Because Canyon features a dead bald eagle, the current owners are unable to sell the Rauschenberg due to the 1940 Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. Although, due to its selling restriction, the work has been appraised at zero dollars, the IRS insists on taxing the family $29 million.

(more…)

Gabriel Orozco, Sandstars (2012)

Exploring qualities of taxonomic classification, Mexican-born artist Gabriel Orozco frequently picks his subjects apart, examining numerous elements before assembling or arranging them in the gallery context.  His pieces have explored the interaction between nature and culture on micro and macro levels, using scientific forms to classify and categorize these encounters.

Gabriel Orozco, Astroturf Constellation (2012)

(more…)

Katie Koti, The Pull (2011). All photos taken on site for Art Observed by Ryann Donnelly

Yale’s Photography MFA thesis show, presented by Wirth Art Advisory is on view at Ana Tzarev gallery in New York City through July 21. Curated by Sabrina Wirth, the show entitled Group Portrait features 9 emerging photographers: Peter Baker, Richard Choi, Felix R. Cid, Thomas Gardiner, Pao Houa Her, Katie Koti, Kate A. T. Merrill, Sarah Muehlbauer, and Maayan Strauss.

Opening of Group Portrait Yale Photography MFA Thesis Show

(more…)