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Bizarre mix of art and FBI / David looking
good (Thursday 27 May 2004 #1)
compiled by Susan Hunt
Artist abducted by the FBI - for real?
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| Steve Kurtz; image held here |
Steve Kurtz does exist and is an Associate
Professor in the Department of Art at New York's University of
Buffalo. Whilst I'm a bit skeptical as to whether the rest of
this story is a hoax, it seems that it might in fact be true!!
Here's the information that has been doing the rounds on the web,
make of it what you will.
A report was circulated yesterday which
stated that in the early hours of the 11 May Kurtz made a call
to 911 when he discovered that his wife had suffered a cardiac
arrest and subsequently died. When the police arrived to answer
his call they became suspicious of his art and related supplies.
They called in the FBI. (Kurtz's art by the way explores the interrelationship
between art, technology, radical politics and critical theory.)
The FBI proceeded to abduct Kurtz without charge and impounded
many of his belongings including his wife's body. Though he has
now been released from custody his belongings have yet to be returned.
Seems a little far fetched, but if you have any info on this story
please let us know!!
More here
(the apparent involvement of rtmark would seem to suggest the
story is indeed true).
David cleans up nicely
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| A newly cleaned David; image
held here |
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We reported some time
back (see here) that Michelangelo's
David was being spruced up for his 500th anniversary.
Now, after his nine-month 'bath' - his first - David's
marble body emerged looking brighter and cleaner when
it was unveiled a few days ago. Though the transformation
was not very dramatic, it did result it a more uniform colour
to the sculpture. David's
makeover began with a full body 'mudpack' applied by restorer
Cinzia Parnigoni. This 'wet cleaning' technique, and in fact
the whole cleaning process itself, proved very controversial.
Professor James Beck, president of ArtWatch International,
led the protests against the cleaning of the David. |
Preservation vs restoration
Beck believed that David's
restoration would result in a sculpture that was not how Michelangelo
intended. The statue was designed for an outdoor location and,
though it now stands inside the walls of the Galleria dell'Academia,
Beck felt that it would be wrong to remove the dirt and grime
which attaches itself to any public sculpture exposed to the elements.
David's last restoration
in 1973 proved to have quite disastrous consequences, when the
solution used left the sculpture with a number of black oxidisation
patches. The present restoration, however, went ahead as planned
and even Beck himself has conceded that the restoration has been
really moderate. David has
now said good-bye to many of his grey streaks, oxidisation marks
and ugly patches of wax which had accumulated on his body over
time. Improvements are clear in certain areas such as David's
upper right arm where veins can now been seen quite clearly on
the marble surface.
Protests of other varieties
Throughout his lifetime David
has been the focal point of many attacks and protests, though
perhaps this most recent example can be seen as peaceful compared
to early instances. In 1504 (the year of his erection) David
was subjected to political protests as part of which stones were
continually hurlled at this defenseless warrior. Eight years later
he was the victim of a natural attack when he was struck by a
thunderbolt. The year 1527 saw his left arm being snapped off
as part of an anti-Medici uprising. In more recent times David's
left foot was attacked with a hammer by
a dissatisfied Italian artist in 1991. This resulted in a damaged
toe and his left ankle has also displayed signs of damage in recent
years.
More here.
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