Art World
Here Are the 15 Most Popular artnet News Stories of 2018, From Jay Z’s Illuminati Riddles to da Vinci’s Hidden Art
Plus, the future of body modification, Diddy's art-buying extravaganza, Damien Hirst’s fake documentary, and much more.
Plus, the future of body modification, Diddy's art-buying extravaganza, Damien Hirst’s fake documentary, and much more.
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It was a busy year of change in the art world, but some things have remained the same as ever. Not unlike years past, controversy and a splash of fun have driven our most-read stories, proving, once again, that the art world is as much a locus for serious conversation as it is a place to have a chuckle. Sometimes the two are indistinguishable. Should we laugh or cry at the botched restorations carried out this year out by amateur painters in Spain? Whatever we feel, conflict and outlandish situations always draw us in, as our list proves. Below, revisit 15 stories that captured our readers’ attention in 2018 and made the year at once joyful and painfully absurd.
June 14, 2018 — “Make no mistake: Judge Frederic Block is firmly convinced that the graffiti artists of 5Pointz deserve every penny of the $6.75 million in damages he awarded them in his February decision ruling against developer Gerald Wolkoff.” Read more.
June 8, 2018 — “Belinda Neumann Donnelly filed a lawsuit against her father Hubert G. Neumann, alleging that Hubert engaged in a ‘greedy, malevolent, fraudulent, bad-faith and (unfortunately) successful scheme to financially devastate [her mother’s estate, of which she is the agent] and, indirectly, Belinda, by destroying the value of the Estate’s most valuable asset,’ Basquiat’s large painting Flesh and Spirit (1983).” Read more.
June 18, 2018 — “The video begins with the image of a fallen angel… Could it be, Lucifer??” Read more.
September 5, 2018 — “The museum’s models—who, with incredible stamina, hold as still as mannequins—are displayed as if they were for sale, suggesting that such exotic cosmetic enhancements could one day be as commonplace as jewelry or handbags.” Read more.
July 13, 2018 — “The find is especially intriguing because its mortar seal is completely intact, meaning that tomb raiders and treasure seekers haven’t gotten their hands on it over the centuries, leaving the contents untouched.” Read more.
August 15, 2018 — “Upon being told it’s a ticketed exhibition in Moscow, Banksy replied, ‘You know it’s got nothing to do with me right? I don’t charge people to see my art unless there’s a fairground wheel.’” Read more.
June 26, 2018 — “Unfortunately, the 500-year-old artwork now resembles something out of a Disney cartoon: The uniformity of the paint distribution has left Saint George with a pink face, beady eyes, and a garish red and gray suit of armor.” Read more.
February 13, 2018 — “Somewhere, deep down, on the level of subtext and unintended meanings, this strange, strange political portrait ends up being about how the man must be abstracted from the nitty-gritty of his legacy to become the symbol that his followers desire him to be.” Read more.
June 8, 2018 — “‘We were just becoming friends,’” Lurie wrote. “‘One of the few people I have been remotely interested in becoming friends with in years. I am supposed to see him on Wednesday.’” Read more.
September 10, 2018 — “‘I’m not a professional painter but I’ve always liked painting and the statues really needed painting,’” she told El Comercio. “‘I painted them as best I could using what I thought were the right colors. The neighbors liked them too. Ask around here and you’ll find out.’” Read more.
May 18, 2018 — “The result is a world auction record for the artist, and is thought to be the highest price ever paid for an artwork by a living African-American artist.” Read more.
July 30, 2018 — “Initially, the state had paid the farmer just €48,000 (about $55,946) for the head, which was found on his property. But the man, whose name has not been made public, sued the government after reading news reports about the gravity and value of the discovery.” Read more.
February 8, 2018 — “Most striking of all are two blank sheets of paper that are now known to hold invisible studies for hands.” Read more.
May 25, 2018 — “In her appeal, filed earlier this month, Orlan dropped the charge that the singer had counterfeited her work, but maintained that Lady Gaga was guilty of ‘free-riding’—delightfully called ‘parasitisme’ in French—meaning that she purposefully took advantage of Orlan’s ‘notoriety or investments’ without compensating her.” Read more.
January 5, 2018 — “According to the 90-minute mockumentary, the vast Venice spectacle was not the 52-year-old artist’s highly anticipated comeback exhibition, which took 10 years and cost a reported $65 million to produce. Instead, the film suggests the show was the debut presentation of long-lost treasure discovered by a team of archaeologists and divers off the coast of east Africa.” Read more.