Ole Scheeren, Who Designed CCTV Tower, Splits From Koolhaas Firm "Ole Scheeren - who is considered one of the top Asia-based architects for his work on high-profile buildings such as the CCTV tower in Beijing - is stepping down from his role as partner in Rem Koolhaas' Office for Metropolitan Architecture to open his own office." Los Angeles Times 03/08/10

Is The Barnes Really So Dependent On Admissions Income? Christopher Knight: "A 2006 news report showed that, on average, member institutions of the Assn. of Art Museum Directors, the nation's leading professional organization, earn an average of five percent of their revenue from admissions. … Five percent. … [This is not] a horrendous problem unique to the beleaguered Barnes, which therefore required drastic measures." Los Angeles Times 03/08/10

How Do We Protect World Heritage Treasures? "According to the non-governmental organization Heritage Watch, Angkor saw 7600 visitors in 1993; by 2006, the number was 1.6 million; by the time 2010 is up, the complex will likely draw 3 million. Tourists of course bring in money for the developing country, as well as help assure a certain degree of protection for cultural sites. But they also walk everywhere. They touch things." Discovery 03/05/10

On Auction: Vasari Archive Of Renaissance Treasures "On sale will be the archive of the man credited with being the father of Western art history: Giorgio Vasari, whose Lives of the Artists chronicled the lives of the painters and sculptors of the Renaissance. The documents include 17 letters from Vasari's friend, Michelangelo, together with correspondence from five Renaissance popes and the 16th-century ruler of Florence, Cosimo I de' Medici." The Guardian (UK) 03/07/10

Consensus Building? Vancouver Art Gallery Should Stay Put "Moving the Vancouver Art Gallery would empty out the heart of the city, make no economic sense, and do nothing to improve the situation for art, say a chorus of advocates from arts and urban-planning circles." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 03/05/10

The 15 Most-Anticipated New Buildings Of 2010 A slideshow. "Everyone from the most high profile "starchitect" on down has seen their business affected by This New Reality. Here are some of the projects set to open their doors, break ground, or gain attention in 2010." Businessweek 03/01/10

So What's The Future Of Architecture? "America fell out of love with super-tall skyscrapers years ago. Now it faces a commercial-property meltdown that's more about delusional debt than the building frenzy seen in Shenzhen and Dubai." Bloomberg 03/02/10

Photography, Paris And The Genesis Of Surrealism "Looking out at the madness of modern life in the early 20th century, Surrealism said, 'Bring it on.' … There was so much going on. The chaos of traffic and lights and humanity was constantly producing jarring images. Reality seemed to blur into a dream state and then back again. … By grabbing a moment from the flow of experience, [photography] gives it individual meaning. The throbbing life of Paris in the 1920s gets broken down into its bits, its isolated incidents." The Smart Set 03/03/10

The Alabaster Mourners Of Dijon Forty carved figures from the tomb of John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, are currently touring the US. "With faces of portrait-like specificity, gesturing hands, and expressive body language, the mourners mix mystery with candor as they pray, chant, weep, wipe away tears, turn towards their neighbors, bear witness." Obit Mag 03/04/10

Blow To Architectural Tours? Chicago River May Be Closed "As state and federal officials hunt down the elusive Asian carp, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is looking at the financial and environmental costs of closing navigational locks in Chicago waterways and shutting down the Chicago River to boat traffic as many as four days a week." Chicago Tribune 03/01/10

Must NYC's Pedestrian Plazas Be Quite So Unsightly? "Now that the plazas at Times and Herald squares are permanent, the next step is making them look worthy of the part, a process that began somewhat haltingly yesterday. ... [W]hy isn't the DOT taking more assertive steps in making the plazas attractive? Epoxy gravel is hardly the stuff of inspiring design." Wall Street Journal 03/04/10

With DNA Analysis, FBI Seeks Break In 1990 Gardner Heist The robbery of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, "which included three Rembrandts and a Vermeer, remains the world's largest art theft in dollar value." Sources said the evidence to be analyzed "would probably include long strips of duct tape used to tie up the museum's two night watchmen, whom the thieves overpowered to get access to the artwork." Boston Globe 03/04/10

Staff Rebellion At London's ICA "In a blow to the Institute of Contemporary Arts, which has just received an emergency Arts Council bailout of £1.2m, Mark Sladen, its director of exhibitions, has told bosses he would consider a new role in the organisation only if its director, Ekow Eshun, resigned. … The staff have also taken a vote of no confidence in Eshun." The Guardian (UK) 03/02/10

Reflecting Its City, Detroit Institute Opens Islamic Gallery "Sunday's opening [at the Detroit Institute of Arts] comes as several museums worldwide are broadening their collections. ... In Detroit, the gallery of about 170 works of art from the Mediterranean region, the Middle East, Central Asia and India was several years in the making." USA Today (AP) 03/02/10

Banksy-Robbo Battle Highlights Art-World Rift "On one side are old-school graffiti writers who 'tag' or 'bomb' their names in as many places as possible and seldom, if ever, seek compensation for their work. On the other are street artists, who aim for a political or cultural resonance and also create portable pieces they can exhibit and sell." Wall Street Journal 03/03/10

Edinburgh Court Hears Case Of Ransomed Leonardo A 73-year-old tour guide testified that "she saw one of the men with an axe, standing in front of Madonna of the Yarnwinder while the other removed it. ... The evidence emerged as five other men went on trial accused of demanding £4.25 million for the safe return of the painting, estimated to be worth £50 million." The Times (UK) 03/02/10

The Onion On Recession Rise In Museum Attendance (The people interviewed do not, strictly speaking, exist.) The Onion 03/01/10

Might Old Bay Bridge Span Become Art That Makes Energy? "Imagine, for instance, that experimental wind turbines dotted the structure, corkscrews whirling in the stiff afternoon wind. Or a thin-sliced row of photovoltaic solar panels stretched across the top of the span, harvesting the sun on all but the foggiest days." San Francisco Chronicle 03/02/10

What A Lovely Morning To Be Naked At The Opera House "[T]he one thing the 5,200-odd people who posed for the American artist Spencer Tunick at the Sydney Opera House earlier today had in common was that they were all totally naked." The Times (UK) 03/01/10

Architects Envision A NYC Protected From Rising Seas Commissioned by MoMA to design climate-change solutions for the city, five teams of architects "craft a waterfront that's more like a beach than a bulwark: a soft urban edge that welcomes waves, drinks them up and puts them to work, and lets floodwaters ebb without drama." New York Magazine 02/26/10

The Secrets To MAXXI's Success In Rome, where Zaha Hadid's MAXXI awaits its May opening, "any building of such size and exalted cultural purpose must justify its presence in the company of world-famous monuments to imperial and papal glory. Her shrewd solution has been a combination of flamboyant experimentation with implicit respect for the past." Wall Street Journal 03/02/10

Holden And Andy, More Alike Than You'd Have Thought Like Holden Caulfield, Andy Warhol "never felt like 'going into it.' ... Nowhere in his flat, crass and affectless silkscreened pictures of Marilyn, Liz or Jackie lay the slightest hint of what his childhood was like or how his parents were occupied before they had him or any of that David Copperfield kind of crap." ARTicles 03/01/10

Italy Cleans House At Culture Ministry "Not only are nine high-ranking superintendents retiring [superintendents are the officials responsible for the state museums such as the Uffizi, for buildings such as the Coliseum, for archaeology and archives and conservation institutes, not to mention the much abused Italian landscape], but its top civil servant, Giuseppe Proietti, is also leaving." The Art Newspaper 03/10

London ICA Facing Big Cuts "The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London is fighting for its survival following revelations that its operating deficit could soar to more than £1m, on a turnover of around £5m. The jobs of all staff, directors and trustees are on the line, with up to a third of posts at risk." The Art Newspaper 02/25/10

Europe's Top Modern Art Dealer Dies At 88 "Ernst Beyeler (pronounced BY-ler) took over a small antiquarian book and print shop in Basel at 24 and, relying on his discerning eye, refined taste and sharp business sense, became Europe's pre-eminent dealer in modern art." The New York Times 02/28/10