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Sculpture Walk to continue for another year
The Red Wing City Council has approved agreements with Red Wing Arts and Sculptures Eau Claire Inc. to continue the Sculpture Walk for another year.
Collectors return to Asia’s biggest art fair despite cooling market
Hong Kong
CNN
—
Picture Vladimir Putin, Angela Merkel and George W. Bush as 7-year-olds. Now set them on a playground.
What would they talk about? Would they take turns to slide? Would the world be in a better place?
It’s a thought-provoking exercise — one generated by Beijing-born artist Lí Wei’s eerie, hyperreal sculptures of six world leaders, on show this week at Art Basel in Hong Kong.
Asia’s largest art fair, which concludes Saturday, has returned to “pre-pandemic scale,” as organizers put it. More than 240 galleries from around the world were invited to participate, up more than a third from last year.
The accompanying uptick in visitors to Hong Kong, along with a slew of satellite exhibitions, public art displays and parties coinciding with the event, have provided a sense of normalcy to a city grappling with new economic and political realities.
Just days before Art Basel opened, the territory’s legislature passed a sweeping new national security law, aligning it more closely with mainland China and raising fresh concerns over Hong Kong’s future as a free and open international hub.
China and Hong Kong’s leaders say the new laws are needed to “plug loopholes” as part of their drive to “restore stability” following large-scale and occasionally violent pro-democracy protests in 2019. They argue their legislation is similar to other national security laws around the world.
But any potential censorship fears among local artists, however, seemed a distant concern at a commercial fair where many galleries are focused on selling imported art to well-heeled overseas collectors.
“A lot of people brought works that are easier to sell,” observed New York-based collector William Leung, an avid fairgoer who had returned to Art Basel Hong Kong for the first time since 2019.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty in the world right now… and it’s an election year in the US. People are wary and carefully spending their money.”
Standing in front of a painting of sensual, anthropomorphic hot dogs by artist Ivy Haldeman, Los Angeles gallerist François Ghebaly said the fair seemed like it was back to normal, although the rate of transactions felt slower.
“It’s not just the region (Asia), it’s a general caution that is happening with the market,” he added. “Things are fine, things are moving, but at a slower pace.
“It’s not an exuberant frenzy that we could have seen prior to the pandemic, and even during, when the market was heating up with all this money pumped into the economy.”
There were, nonetheless, a handful of seven-figure sales during the fair’s opening days. Victoria Miro sold three works by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama for a combined $11 million. Mega-gallery Hauser & Wirth revealed that it had sold a mixed media work by American artist Mark Bradford to a private Asian collection for $3.5 million and a Philip Guston painting (to an undisclosed buyer) for $8.5 million, while a work by abstract expressionist painter Ed Clark was purchased by a foundation in mainland China for $1.1 million.
The biggest single sale disclosed so far is the $9 million paid for Willem de Kooning’s “Untitled III,” also at Hauser & Wirth. But comparisons to previous years point to a slowing market: Back in 2018, another untitled de Kooning masterpiece was sold by another gallery for $35 million within the first hour of the fair.
But having a booth isn’t just about selling.
In the fair’s “Discoveries” section, emerging Japanese artist Fuyuhiko Takata quietly stood to the side of his display watching visitors react to his video installation “Cut Suits.” In a nod to Yoko Ono’s 1965 performance of “Cut Piece” in New York, Takata filmed models dressed like Japanese salarymen gleefully cutting fabric off each other’s suits in a homoerotic play on male masculinity.
The artist said he was nervous but happy to appear at the fair for the first time. “At this moment, I’m not yet known on the international art scene but I’m getting there,” Takata said via a translator. “So, it’s very important to show my work here at Art Basel to (gauge) the response from foreign audiences and find opportunities with overseas art galleries and museums.”
Over at Galerie Lelong & Co., fairgoers circled an outsize sculpture of a woman’s face, by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa, that appeared narrow from one angle but expanded as you walked around it. Plensa’s artworks, which are often found in public spaces, resonate with a wide variety of audiences, according to the gallery’s vice president, Mary Sabbatino. “There’s a huge response where people feel like his work is made for them,” she said.
The New York and Paris-based gallery, once a mainstay at Art Basel Hong Kong, is looking to re-establish its presence in the region after years away, Sabbatino added: “Success, for us, will be to reconnect with our clients, meet new people, reinforce existing relationships and build new ones.”
Many international galleries opted out of recent editions of the fair due to Hong Kong’s strict Covid-19 restrictions. The city only lifted mandatory quarantine for travelers in January 2023.
The city’s art scene changed dramatically in the intervening years.
Since an earlier, sweeping national security law was imposed by Beijing on the city in 2020, many politically engaged artists have either self-exiled abroad or stopped creating works that are overtly critical of China. As one local artist at the fair put it, they have “remained silent.”
“Artworks without a political message are welcome,” he added, requesting anonymity for fear of reprisals.
Opportunities for some Hong Kong artists, however, have grown. At the fair’s “Encounters” section, which is dedicated to large-scale works, a dystopian installation by local artist Mak2 features replica paintings of her works placed in a faux booth, flipped upside-down and made to look like they are decaying 200 years into the future.
“When I began as curator for ‘Encounters’ in 2015, I couldn’t get galleries to propose a Hong Kong artist,” said the section’s Australian curator, Alexie Glass-Kantor. “And last year I was able to open with Trevor Yeung and this year Mak2,” she said.
Gallery Exit, which represents mostly emerging or mid-career Hong Kong-based artists including rising star Stephen Wong, meanwhile showcased the works of over two dozen artists. “Because people’s travels were restricted, there was quite a strong interest in local artists, because a lot of our clients are from Hong Kong,” said the gallery’s manager, Hilda Chan.
Hong Kong’s strategic importance to the global art market remains.
Due, in part, to its longstanding favorable tax and regulatory environment (Hong Kong offers tariff-free imports on art), the city still serves as the main Asian hub for Western galleries and auction houses, with both Sotheby’s and Christie’s moving to larger headquarters in the territory later this year. The city’s transport, handling and storage capacity also make it well placed to handle large volumes of art sales, while the opening of M+ in 2021, touted as Asia’s answer to London’s Tate Modern, has set a new standard for museums in the region.
So while Art Basel is a “very international platform,” Chan said, it still provides the chance to showcase homegrown talent.
“Each year, every March, there are a lot of people coming in. We can really show what we are working on to the outside world.”
Outrage as photography firm offers to remove disabled children from school pictures
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Parents were left “devastated” after they were offered a version of a primary school class photo with children with “complex needs” removed.
Those removed from the pictures included a nine-year-old girl with cerebral palsy in a wheelchair and a girl with additional support needs (ASN).
One mother whose daughter had been removed from one set of photos said it felt like having her child “erased from history”.
The offer was given by Cornwall-based firm Tempest Photography – which employs local photographers to take school photos across the UK.
A photographer took two separate photos of a class at Aboyne Primary School in Aberdeenshire – which has a dedicated additional needs hub – with children with ASN reportedly removed from one set.
Parents were then sent a link with both versions to choose from.
Have you been affected by this? Email athena.stavrou@independent.co.uk
Natalie Pinnell, whose daughter Erin was among those excluded, told the Press and Journal: “I am absolutely heartbroken. Furious.”
She added: “To give people the option to erase my daughter from history for the sake of optics is frankly inhumane. One of the cruellest things that I’ve ever experienced.
“Me and the other parents just feel devastated beyond belief.”
She told the MailOnline that while Erin was thankfully unaware of the situation, she is “dreading” having to explain the incident to her sister.
“It has been a hard thing to process as a family. As a mum I want to champion her, and to have people thinking she is erasable is just devastating beyond belief,” she told the paper.
She added: “It’s been the most traumatic experience as a family that we have felt.
“I really wanted to believe there was a different reason. I was trying to look for a reason why someone would have made that decision.
“We have mourned. We have hurt. I feel like I haven’t even hit the bottom of my shock. It’s been absolutely devastating.”
A second parent, Lisa Boyd, also told the newspaper her daughter Lily, a wheelchair user with cerebral palsy, was removed from an alternative photo,
She added that the nine-year-old’s twin sister was “devastated”.
“Her twin sister, Iona, is in a different class and I only got one photo for that class but I got two for Lily’s – one without my kid in it. It’s horrendous,” she told the MailOnline.
Both parents were keen to emphasise the school itself was an inclusive setting and that they were not to blame for the incident.
Aberdeenshire Council has since apologised to parents, stating the decision was not taken by the school and has immediately removed the link to the photos.
A spokesperson said: “We are aware that following Aboyne Primary School’s recent school class photographs, links to purchase the pictures included images with and without complex needs provision pupils.
“Whilst this was not a decision taken by the school, we absolutely appreciate the distress and hurt this has caused some parents and carers and we are sincerely sorry.
“The issue has been taken up with the photography company directly as this is totally unacceptable.
“Aboyne is an inclusive school and every single child should be included, engaged and involved in their learning and school experiences.”
Tempest Photography also said it had launched an investigation into the matter stating: “We are currently investigating the situation with the school, and have no further comment.”
‘Shame on you’: Devastated mum criticises photography firm for offering class photos without children with complex needs
Aboyne Primary School mum criticises photography firm for offering class photos without children with complex needs
A “devastated” mum has criticised a photography firm for offering to remove children with complex needs from class photos.
Parents and carers at Aboyne Primary School complained after they were sent a link from Tempest Photography offering an alternative choice of class photos with or without the children with additional support needs.
Aberdeenshire Council said as soon as it became aware of the situation it immediately asked the company to remove any images that did not involve the whole class.
The local authority apologised for the incident and acknowledged it would have caused “distress and hurt”.
‘Erasing my child from history’
Natalie Pinnell, whose daughter Erin was among those excluded from a set of photographs, told Sky News: “I actually wanted not to believe it. I opened it several times, and I was like ‘no, no, I must be missing something’.
“And when I couldn’t find any other reason, I reached out to the school and that was the first they had heard of it.
“They got in touch with the photographer, and it was confirmed that two classes were affected.”
Ms Pinnell’s daughter Erin. Pic: Natalie Pinnell
Ms Pinnell said the photographer took the photo without the children with complex needs while the youngsters were making their way to the classroom.
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She said the photographs in the links sent out by the council all had Tempest Photography branding.
Ms Pinnell said: “I’m devastated – words can’t actually it. It’s been one of the most heartbreaking experiences as a mum to watch an adult give other adults the option to erase my child from history basically.
“It’s been an absolutely devastating experience.”
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‘Shame on you’
Ms Pinnell said the school and the local community have been “incredible” in terms of support, but that does not take away “the damage that’s been done”.
Speaking directly about the photo firm, Ms Pinnell said: “Shame on you, that’s the first thing I would want to say. [Erin] is a human being and she’s beautiful.
“And the second thing I would say is, please do some training on diversity and inclusion.
“It cannot be allowed to happen. It’s a very distressing thing to talk about and the only reason I’m doing this is to shine a light on it and make sure that no other family ever experiences that because it’s just not acceptable at all.”
Read more from Sky News:
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Cornwall-based Tempest Photography – which employs local photographers to take school photos across the UK – has been contacted for comment.
‘This is totally unacceptable’
An Aberdeenshire Council spokesperson said: “We are aware that following Aboyne Primary School’s recent school class photographs, links to purchase the pictures included images with and without complex needs provision pupils.
“Whilst this was not a decision taken by the school, we absolutely appreciate the distress and hurt this has caused some parents and carers and we are sincerely sorry.
“The issue has been taken up with the photography company directly as this is totally unacceptable.
“Aboyne is an inclusive school and every single child should be included, engaged and involved in their learning and school experiences.”
Parents’ shock as school photos offered with and without children with complex needs
Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world
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Parents were left “devastated” after they were offered a version of a primary school class photo with children with “complex needs” removed.
Those removed from the pictures included a nine-year-old girl with cerebral palsy in a wheelchair and a girl with additional support needs (ASN).
One mother whose daughter had been removed from one set of photos said it felt like having her child “erased from history”.
The offer was given by Cornwall-based firm Tempest Photography – which employs local photographers to take school photos across the UK.
A photographer took two separate photos of a class at Aboyne Primary School in Aberdeenshire – which has a dedicated additional needs hub – with children with ASN reportedly removed from one set.
Parents were then sent a link with both versions to choose from.
Have you been affected by this? Email athena.stavrou@independent.co.uk
Natalie Pinnell, whose daughter Erin was among those excluded, told the Press and Journal: “I am absolutely heartbroken. Furious.”
She added: “To give people the option to erase my daughter from history for the sake of optics is frankly inhumane. One of the cruellest things that I’ve ever experienced.
“Me and the other parents just feel devastated beyond belief.”
She told the MailOnline that while Erin was thankfully unaware of the situation, she is “dreading” having to explain the incident to her sister.
“It has been a hard thing to process as a family. As a mum I want to champion her, and to have people thinking she is erasable is just devastating beyond belief,” she told the paper.
She added: “It’s been the most traumatic experience as a family that we have felt.
“I really wanted to believe there was a different reason. I was trying to look for a reason why someone would have made that decision.
“We have mourned. We have hurt. I feel like I haven’t even hit the bottom of my shock. It’s been absolutely devastating.”
A second parent, Lisa Boyd, also told the newspaper her daughter Lily, a wheelchair user with cerebral palsy, was removed from an alternative photo,
She added that the nine-year-old’s twin sister was “devastated”.
“Her twin sister, Iona, is in a different class and I only got one photo for that class but I got two for Lily’s – one without my kid in it. It’s horrendous,” she told the MailOnline.
Both parents were keen to emphasise the school itself was an inclusive setting and that they were not to blame for the incident.
Aberdeenshire Council has since apologised to parents, stating the decision was not taken by the school and has immediately removed the link to the photos.
A spokesperson said: “We are aware that following Aboyne Primary School’s recent school class photographs, links to purchase the pictures included images with and without complex needs provision pupils.
“Whilst this was not a decision taken by the school, we absolutely appreciate the distress and hurt this has caused some parents and carers and we are sincerely sorry.
“The issue has been taken up with the photography company directly as this is totally unacceptable.
“Aboyne is an inclusive school and every single child should be included, engaged and involved in their learning and school experiences.”
Tempest Photography also said it had launched an investigation into the matter stating: “We are currently investigating the situation with the school, and have no further comment.”
Art shows to leave the house for this April 2024
Courtesy of @raven_row
SOME MAY WORK AS SYMBOLS: ART MADE IN BRAZIL, 1950S–70S
In Brazil’s mid-twentieth-century art scene, new, diverse artistic approaches emerged after its first Modernist wave. Curated by Pablo Lafuente and Thiago de Paula Souza, the group exhibition Some May Work As Symbols highlights the interactions between abstraction, symbolism, and figuration, addressing exclusions in Brazilian art history by showcasing works by 30 artists. Celebrated internationally now, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro Concretists like Judith Lauand, Lygia Clark, Hélio Oiticica, and Lygia Pape crafted abstract geometries. Simultaneously, Afro-Brazilian symbology, developed by Mestre Didi, Abdias Nascimento, and Rubem Valentim, referenced spiritual practices like Candomblé. Street scenes, domestic life, and agricultural labour also find space through artists like Silvia de Leon Chalreo, Heitor dos Prazeres, and Madalena Santos Reinbolt.
Showing until May 5, 2024, Raven Row, London
World Nature Photography Awards 2024: Spectacular images of wildlife
Editor’s Note: Call to Earth is a CNN editorial series committed to reporting on the environmental challenges facing our planet, together with the solutions. Rolex’s Perpetual Planet initiative has partnered with CNN to drive awareness and education around key sustainability issues and to inspire positive action.
London
CNN
—
A dramatic photo of two gannets fighting for a fish in the waters off Scotland’s Shetland Islands has won first prize at the World Nature Photography Awards.
The image by Tracey Lund, from the United Kingdom, was selected from thousands of submissions to receive the $1,000 prize. It was taken from a boat while she was on holiday, using a DSLR camera in waterproof housing that was lowered into the sea
“Thousands of gannets were in the sky above us and then started to dive into the sea after locally caught fish. An unbelievable spectacle to witness, let alone photograph,” she said in a statement. “I took 1,800 images on that day but only had two that I could use.”
Other categories for this year’s awards included animal portraits, plants and fungi, and invertebrate, amphibian and reptile, and mammal behavior.
Ivan Pedretti, from Italy, won the Planet Earth’s landscapes and environments category with a magical photo of winter in Stokksnes, Iceland, showing “The beach with its black sand and the majestic mountain called Vestrahorn.”
“I love the contrast in colors between the white mountains and the black dunes with yellow grass,” he said in a statement.
Launched in 2020, the World Nature Photography Awards (WNPA) were set up to promote photography and help the planet, planting a tree for each entry to the competition. The organization notes on its website that, “Photography can go a long way in influencing people to see the world from a different perspective and change their own habits for the good of the planet.”
Adrian Dinsdale, co-founder of the WNPAs, said of the 2024 awards: “Our winners never fail to take our breath away with their stunning images. As always, it’s such a joy to see the amazing caliber of entries into the awards.”
