June 29, 2002

- Cataclysm and Challenge, destruction of cultural heritage September 11...
- Water damage temporarily closes Florida Adventure Museum
- eBay still a victim of fraud (eBay? eBay buyers apparently remain the real victims)
- British Museum impoverished, says director
- 9 Sites Added to World Heritage List
- The Art Newspaper: this week's top stories

From: Celine Guisset cguisset@heritagepreservation.org

Subject: Cataclysm and Challenge To:

Cataclysm and Challenge, a report on the destruction of cultural heritage as a result of the September 11 attacks, has just been published by Heritage Preservation. The 26-page report offers the first comprehensive study of what was lost, and also covers findings from a survey of collecting institutions in Lower Manhattan. The survey found that basic emergency response procedures worked well to protect collections in museums and libraries, but that there are significant gaps in preparedness that need to be addressed. The full text of the report is available as a PDF file at http://www.heritagepreservation.org/PDFS/Cataclysm.pdf
Printed copies may be ordered for a modest shipping and handling fee by calling 1-888-388-6789 or by contacting Lucy Kurtz at lkurtz@heritagepreservation.org.

Water damage temporarily closes Florida Adventure Museum

Due to water damage caused by the recent heavy rains, Florida Adventure Museum in Punta Gorda is closed for repairs. Staff and board members regret any inconvenience this closing may cause. The museum plans to reopen July 13 with its new exhibit, "Digging Up the Past," which examines local archaeology and paleontology.
Museum staff can be reached at 639-3777 and will be available periodically during regular business hours. Cash and in-kind donations are needed to help defray repair costs. Contact Lori Tomlinson, executive director, for more information.

eBay still a victim of fraud

By Troy Wolverton
Special to ZDNet News
June 28, 2002, 12:30 PM PT
Joseph D'Amelio thought he'd found a great deal on eBay: a 2000 Porsche 911 for $50,000. After talking to the seller and getting a copy the car's title sent to him in advance, he wired the money to an escrow company--and fell victim to an elaborate scam. But the seller had actually hijacked a legitimate eBay member's account and set up a fake escrow service.
Out the money and angry at eBay, the Atlanta resident is vowing to never shop there again: "This wasn't $50. This was $50,000. But there was no help," said D'Amelio, who said he got form letters back from eBay when he alerted them to the fraud. "They're useless in a bad situation. I tell everybody to stay away from eBay."
Full story at: http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1106-940445.html

British Museum impoverished, says director

Maev Kennedy, arts and heritage correspondent
Wednesday June 26, 2002
The Guardian
The British Museum is so underfunded by government that it is barely able to perform its core functions, and will have to cut even those if the grant is not increased, the outgoing director, Robert Anderson, told MPs yesterday.
Full story at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,744009,00.html

9 Sites Added to World Heritage List

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) -- UNESCO on Thursday added nine cultural sites to its World Heritage List, including the minaret and archaeological ruins in Jam, Afghanistan, and the ancient Maya city of Calakmul in Mexico. Other sites included in the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's World Heritage List were the Saint Catherine Orthodox monastery in Egypt, the Mahabodhi Temple complex in Bodhgaya, India, the historic centers of two German trading towns, Stralsund and Wismar, and the historic inner city of Paramaribo, Suriname. Two sites -- the nine ``sacred mountains'' in Piedmont and Lombardy in northern Italy and six wooden churches in Poland -- were rejected for inclusion this year by the World Heritage Committee.
``They could be considered again later, but now they both lacked a comprehensive management plan,'' said committee president Tamas Fejerdy. The new additions increased to 730 the number of properties in more than 120 countries on the Heritage List. The Minaret of Jam, or the ``victory tower,'' in northwestern Afghanistan, is 213 feet high, the second-highest in the world. An inscription dates the beginning of construction to 1194. Around the minaret are other cultural sites, including ruins of three watchtowers, a castle, a Jewish cemetery and a bazaar. The minaret was also the only new site added by UNESCO this year to its list of ``World Heritage in Danger.'' There are 32 such sites, which are considered to be threatened by pollution, war, excessive tourism or poaching. Other locations considered endangered include the Chan Chan archaeological zone in Peru and the Everglades National Park in the United States. At its annual meeting, the committee also decided to make an inventory of cultural and natural sites in Palestine and ensure their protection until the sites are added to the heritage list. Shimon Samuels from the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Paris criticized that decision for, among other issues, the use of the term ``Palestine'' instead of ``Palestinian Territories.'' ``I am very disappointed because this language in the decision politicizes the issue,'' said Samuels, who was an observer at the committee meeting. Mounir Bouchenaki, UNESCO's Assistant Director-General for Culture, said Samuels' remarks were unfair and were ``playing with words.'' He said UNESCO deals in cultural heritage, not politics. ``UNESCO is not the body which will solve the conflict between the Palestinians and Israel,'' Bouchenaki said. UNESCO's World Heritage seeks to safeguard sites considered to be of outstanding value to humanity. These include cultural landmarks like monuments and buildings, as well as natural areas like the habitats of threatened species of animals and plants. http://library.northernlight.com/

The Art Newspaper.com

This week's top stories:

THE $1 MILLION TYCO TAX DODGE

NEW YORK. The fabulously well paid president and ceo of Tyco International, Ltd. has been indicted for conspiring with executives and employees of art galleries and consultants to avoid paying more than $1 million in tax to New York City and State due on his purchase of costly paintings. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=9695

THE ART NEWSPAPER SURVEYS PAST GREAT TAX DODGES OF THE ART WORLD

NEW YORK. As ex-Tyco executive L. Dennis Kozlowski’s is prosecuted for avoiding New York sales tax on paintings, it is useful to bear in mind that Federal and State governments in the US encourage the wealthy to purchase and donate art to reduce their tax liability as a matter of policy. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=9694

SALE REPORT: IMPRESSIONIST AND MODERN ART, LONDON

LONDON. Buyers shrugged off plunging stock markets and currency jitters in the main Impressionist and Modern art auctions here, sending a Picasso to almost Ł16 million and a Monet to over Ł13.4 million. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=9693

SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION OF OBJECTS WILL CEASE

LONDON. If the cuts planned for the Conservation Department at the British Museum are implemented, it will lose 28% of its staff, that is four experts: its glass specialist, its mining and metal production specialist, its gemmologist and one other. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=9692

GOTHIC REVIVAL PILE SAVED BY Ł17.5 MILLION GRANT

LONDON. Tyntesfield has been saved, thanks to a grant of nearly Ł17.5 million from the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF)—the largest it has ever offered. On 18 June it was announced that the National Trust had bought the Gothic-Revival mansion house, outside Bristol, in order to preserve what is a unique Victorian “time capsule” and open it to the public. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=9691

TO INFINITY AND BEYOND FOR RICHTER’S SKY PAINTING

LONDON. In an evening auction of Contemporary Art held in London on Wednesday 26 June, Sotheby’s earned Ł14.1 million, its highest tally for a dozen years. The catalogue’s most expensive work was Gerhard Richter’s appealing cloud study (lot 12) for which modern art dealer James Roundell paid the remarkable price of Ł1.99 million. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=9690

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