http://museum-security.org/
securma@xs4all.nl
OCTOBER 12 - 18, 1997
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CONTENTS:
- Gallery attack by Sydney man (51), Serrano Photo
- Serrano show axed (two youths destroyed Piss Christ with a hammer; National Gallery of Victoria last night cancelled its controversial exhibition by Andres Serrano)
- Historical society halts bid to sell art, artifacts
- Child killer painting back on display in Britain (restorers repaired damage caused by angry viewers)
- Ellis Island: Armenian photos too gory for exhibit (Armenian-American groups accuse the National Park Service of censorship)
- question about provenance of 16th century decorated helmet
- 60% of Art Collectors Would Buy More Art If It Were Accompanied By An Irrevocable Authenticity Guarantee (OmniGuard International Art Registry establishes clear provenance, or ownership record, for pieces covered in the program, potentially stabilizing and enhancing the future value of a piece and aiding in its recovery, if ever stolen)
EDITORIALS AND ADDITIONAL REPORTS ABOUT DESTRUCTION SERRANO PICTURE:
- Fragility in Assisi (report published before the latest quake of October 14)
- Vandals splotched paint on statues of Christopher Columbus in both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia
- Medieval clock tower near Assisi brought down by latest tremor
- Drying frozen books (3 messages)
- Disaster preparedness and management priorities (2 messages)
- Latest additions Museum Security Website
- Basques believed to target Guggenheim Museum in Spain
- Police arrest three in connection with Guggenheim attack
- Two more arrested after Spain's Guggenheim attack
- Pissant art (Editorial about Serrano affair)
- Safety Information Management
- JOSHUA TREE SUPERINTENDENT RECEIVES NATIONAL AWARD: Ernie Quintana Recognized for Efforts to Protect Park from Eagle Mountain Landfill Project
- Leonardo bike 'was 1960s doodle'
- Rome frescoes damaged as quakes spread
- Alleged Attack on Guggenheim Foiled (The Basque separatists who planned to attack the new Guggenheim Museum during its opening this weekend were prepared to blow up 12 grenades during ceremonies attended by the king, authorities said Wednesday.)
- Stolen Rembrandt May Be Returned
- Disaster preparedness and management priorities (2 messages)
- Russia upper house appeals to court on ``booty'' art
- Art historians urge caution on results of paint examination
- Kennett urges Serrano to go home
- Rembrandt return may be closer (Paint chip analysis encourages
officials)
- Death Mars Museum Opening
- Rembrandt painting is now behind bulletproof glass
- Country house 'copy' is Velazquez masterpiece, says Spanish expert
- Statue stolen as art attacks spread to Sydney
- ART ATTACK (Drawing the moral line)
- Allegedly fake JFK papers subject of federal probe
- Spain bolsters security for museum opening
- Assisi basilica restoration to be finished by 2000
- New to the Museum Security Mailinglist
--------------------------------------------------
(The Age, Melbourne)
Gallery attack by Sydney man (51), Serrano Photo
By DARREN GRAY, GEOFF STRONG , and PATRICK CARLYON of the Sunday Age
THE photograph at the centre of one of Australia's biggest art rows
was removed from its wall at the National Gallery of Victoria and
damaged yesterday in an attempt to disrupt its controversial public
showing. The incident happened about midday, two hours after the
exhibition, featuring the work of American photographer Andres
Serrano was opened to the public. Witnesses said a man walked through
the gallery and into the Serrano exhibition, and lifted the `Piss
Christ' photograph off the wall. Police said the photograph suffered
scuff marks to the perspex cover and some damage to its frame. A
Sydney man, 51, appeared in an out-of-sessions hearing charged with
one count each of criminal damage and burglary. John Allen Haywood,
of Mt Druitt, Sydney,, was remanded in custody to appear in the
Melbourne Magistrates court tomorrow. After the incident, the
photograph was left on its side near the door to the Serrano
exhibition and guarded closely by security staff. It was later
removed for assessment and repair. The photograph, which depicts a
crucifix immersed in Serrano's urine, has outraged church and family
groups and was the subject of legal action last week. Witnesses said
the man grabbed the photograph from the wall and tried to walk out of
the exhibition with it. They said a struggle with three security
guards followed and `Piss Christ' was eventually taken from the man's
grasp a few metres from where it hung. Two eyewitnesses said the man
abused security guards before leaving the Serrano exhibition. The
eyewitnesses said the man had kicked at the photograph during the
struggle, swore at security guards and threatened to return and
cause trouble. They said he then moved a few metres away from
Serrano's works before he was confronted by another gallery worker.
The man then threatened the worker before being detained, the
witnesses said. Serrano went straight to the gallery yesterday after
hearing of the attack. He told `The Sunday Age' that "such an extreme
reaction is unfortunate". Serrano said he knew few details of the
incident. "But I think this is an extremist act," he said. "It's not
the first time a work of art has been destroyed or damaged." Despite
the furore the photograph caused last week and the presence of a
sizeable group of protesters, Serrano walked calmly among them
yesterday and through the front door of the gallery to assess the
damage to his photograph. The doors of the National Gallery were
closed for about 30 minutes soon after the attack. A crowd of more
than 100 people wanting to see the exhibition milled outside the
front door seeking admission and an explanation. National Gallery of
Victoria management refused to speak to `The Sunday Age' yesterday
afternoon, despite repeated requests. Police sources expressed
frustration at what they believed was a lack of co-operation by the
gallery and a perceived unwillingness by gallery management to
discuss the incident with the media. "If they had been more open
about the whole thing it would have been easier for them," a police
source said. Police were called to the gallery at 12.10pm yesterday
after security staff detained the Sydney man. It was confirmed that
police had not been attending the morning's protest outside the
gallery because it was believed a prayer vigil was unlikely to lead
to violence. Opponents of `Piss Christ' held an hour-long prayer
meeting outside the gallery at lunch time yesterday. One of the
organisers of the meeting, Mr Ben O'Brien, said he was unaware of the
attack on the photograph and that their gathering was a peaceful
protest attended by 200 to 300 people. "We did not come here to do
anything like that," he said. "Our focus is on prayer." Mr O'Brien
promised there would be further protests against the `Piss Christ'
photograph. "I did not realise myself the depth of feeling about
this," he said. Catholics and other Christians of all ages attended
the meeting. They carried placards with slogans such as "Serrano's a
pervert like those who enter", "Christ will have the last word
Serrano" and "This exhibition offends Christians". A spokesman for the
Catholic church was unavailable for comment last night. The church
launched Supreme Court action last week in a bid to have `Piss
Christ' removed from public exhibition. Justice David Harper said the
photograph was "disgustingly entitled" and a "very ordinary piece of
art." But he said that while it was clear English law recognised
blasphemous libel, which originated from the unity of church and
state, such unity did not survive the journey to Australia. The
Archbishop of Melbourne, Dr George Pell, said that while the legal
action had been unsuccessful, the church's stance had heightened
awareness "of the necessity for public standards . . . and useful
discussion on just where the limit should be set". The last attack on
a work of art in Melbourne took place in 1986 when a group calling
itself the `Australian Cultural Terrorists' stole Picasso's `Weeping
Woman' from the National Gallery. The painting was eventually found,
undamaged, in a Spencer Street railways station locker.
------------------------------------------
(The Age Melbourne)
Serrano show axed (two youths destroyed Piss Christ with a hammer)
By JANE FAULKNER
The National Gallery of Victoria last night cancelled its
controversial exhibition by Andres Serrano after two youths
destroyed Piss Christ with a hammer. The gallery director, Dr Timothy
Potts, said after a meeting of the trustees and authorities: "There
have been two incidents in the Serrano exhibition on the weekend
involving damage to a work of art and injury to two members of
security staff. "After consultation with relevant authorities, the
trustees and director have with great reluctance taken the decision
to close the exhibition immediately." Yesterday's attack, the second
in as many days, took only a few seconds. One youth distracted
security guards by kicking another exhibit, and the second smashed
the perspex covering of Piss Christ with the hammer about eight
times, ruining the photograph, valued at $25,000. Late last night,
Melbourne police charged an 18-year-old from Oakleigh with one count
each of criminal damage and burglary. He was released on bail to
appear at the Melbourne Magistrates Court on 24 October. A
16-year-old from Clayton faces with the same offences and was
released on bail to appear in the Children's Court on 8 December. Dr
Potts said: "The gallery felt in all the current circumstances, it
could no longer guarantee the security of the visitors and staff of
the gallery or of the works of art." He said it was a great shame the
exhibition had been cancelled but the decision was unanimous. "I
think there are some really serious consequences or issues of us
having to make this decision." Dr Potts said he would discuss the
broader issues about the decision today, which would include artistic
issues and the ramifications of freedom of speech. He did not want to
comment further. The Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, Dr George
Pell, who last week unsuccessfully tried to have the photograph
banned, said after the attack: "I understand the sense of outrage
that has prompted these attacks on the image and I repeat my support
of peaceful and legal protest only." The first attack, which did not
seriously damage the work, came a few hours after the exhibition was
officially opened on Saturday, when a middle-aged Sydney man tried to
remove the photograph that depicts a crucifix immersed in the
artist's urine. The two teenagers succeeded. The attack began at
3.30pm when they walked through the entrance of the exhibition,
restricted to people over 18. One youth remained at the photograph
while the other kicked off a print on the opposite side to divert
guards. While the guards rushed to subdue the decoy, the other
destroyed Piss Christ. A police spokesman, Inspector Garry Schipper,
said when the guards realised what was happening, they overpowered
the teenager. The hammer fell, bounced and hit a security guard in
the knee. A witness to the attack, who wanted to remain anonymous,
said: "Suddenly there was this bang. I looked around and there was
this guy kicking one of the photographs, I think the Klu Klux Klan
one . . . everyone's attention was to that and the security guard
started to move in and suddenly we heard all these other noises,
bangs. I thought it was a gun, and we all froze. "Then I saw this
person and I suddenly thought: `There is a person with a hammer
bashing this picture' . . . people just froze, there was stunned
silence." She said a very white-faced "important-looking person" came
into the exhibition and said "oh my God", then asked peple to leave.
In Saturday's incident, a 51-year-old Sydney man simply walked up to
the photograph he believed was offensive and removed it. The
photograph was slightly damaged but was rehung in time for
yesterday's viewing. Late on Saturday, John Allen Haywood, of Mount
Druitt, Sydney, appeared in an out-of-sessions hearing charged with
one count each of driminal damage and burglary. He was remanded to
appear in the Melbourne Magistrates Court today.
------------------------------------------
(Philadelphia Inquirer)
Historical society halts bid to sell art, artifacts
Faced with unanticipated public alarm over plans to shed virtually
all of its museum holdings, the board of the Historical Society of
Pennsylvania last week decided to delay any action and take a closer
look at the idea. Society officials announced Tuesday that they would
withdraw an Orphans Court petition requesting approval for the sale
of art and artifacts to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and to the
Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation in Virginia. The court has
jurisdiction over nonprofit institutions. The petition also asked the
court's blessing on a plan to disperse, shortly after 2000, nearly
10,000 historical artifacts and art objects assembled by the society
over the course of nearly two centuries. Shortly after filing the
petition last summer, society officials said their decision to
reposition the society as a scholarly research library had forced
them to eliminate the museum holdings. A $7.5 million renovation
project is to refashion the society building at 13th and Locust
Streets purely as a library. Part of the funds raised by the art
sales will help finance the construction, according to board chairman
Howard Lewis. But the plans to disperse the collection, which is to
be placed in storage for three years, caused considerable
controversy. And that apparently surprised society officials. The
officials and board members now say they will review what can be done
to keep the collection intact and in Philadelphia. At the same time,
efforts are continuing to sell a $4 million portrait by John
Singleton Copley to the Art Museum and the Jefferson items to the
foundation that owns and operates Monticello. -- Stephan Salisbury
--------------------------
Child killer painting back on display in Britain
LONDON (Reuter) - A portrait of Britain's infamous ``Moors
Murderess'' Myra Hindley went back on public display Friday after
restorers repaired damage caused by angry viewers who had splattered
it with ink and an egg. The painting is now under a clear plastic
cover ``to give it the protection it needs,'' a spokeswoman at the
Royal Academy in London said. The portrait of Hindley, jailed for
life in 1966 for the murders of five children, was created by artist
Marcus Harvey out of hundreds of imprints of children's hands. It
caused an uproar when it was first displayed three weeks ago as part
of a show of controversial artworks. There were pleas for its removal
from the mother of one of Hindley's victims. One man lobbed ink at
the painting and another threw an egg, forcing the Academy to take
the picture down for repairs. Restoration work was difficult but
successful, the Academy spokeswoman said. Asked whether security at
the show had been stepped up now that the painting was back, she
would say only that ``appropriate'' security had been provided. The
``Moors Murders'' carried out by Hindley and her lover Ian Brady
horrified Britain in the 1960s. The children were tortured and their
agonies taped by the couple. Some of the bodies were found buried on
a lonely moor in northern England. The current show of controversial
works owned by advertising mogul Charles Saatchi has proven to be one
of the most divisive in the Academy's 229-year history.
Copyright 1997 Reuters Limited.
------------------------------------
(Miami Herald)
Ellis Island: Armenian photos too gory for exhibit (Armenian-American
groups accuse the National Park Service of censorship)
By RICHARD PYLE Associated Press
NEW YORK -- Armenian-American groups have accused the National Park
Service of censorship for removing from an Ellis Island exhibit a
series of photographs depicting their ancestors' slaughter at the
hands of Ottoman Turks. The 15 photographs show hangings and Turkish
soldiers holding up severed heads of executed officials. Armenian
Americans say the photos are testimony to this century's first
genocide, in which about 1.5 million people were massacred between
1915 and 1923. Margaret Tellalian Kyrkostas, a Queens College
professor who mounted the exhibit on Armenian immigration, said she
was stunned by the decision, and accused the Park Service of
censorship. ``I don't understand it,'' she said. ``These are just
facts. We're simply trying to tell the story of the Armenians, and
that is a part of it.'' Armenians believe that the slaughter was part
of the Turkish government's attempt to deport the country's large
Armenian population. The tragedy created a global diaspora of
Armenians, and Armenian Americans now number about one million.
Turkey denies that any such genocide took place. Many Armenians are
among the 40 million Americans who can trace their ancestry to the 16
million immigrants who passed through Ellis Island between 1892 and
1954. Larry Steeler, deputy superintendent of the Ellis Island
Immigration Museum, reportedly deemed the pictures ``too gory and
gruesome'' for Ellis Island tourists. The photos were returned to
Kyrkostas last week. She said the decision was puzzling because the
exhibit had been displayed at Queens College, because the Park
Service knew its content in advance and one of the graphic photos
already appears in a permanent display at Ellis Island, which draws
more than a million visitors a year. ``It's the same picture, of
people being hanged,'' she said. ``They [Park Service officials] said
they didn't want to add to it.'' Park Service spokesman Manny Strumpf
said the dispute was being exaggerated. Exhibitors were asked only to
leave out some photos and condense the accompanying text, but the
result ``still covers the subject of the massacre in detail,'' he
said. ``Suppose you took your small children to the exhibit and they
saw somebody holding up the head of a decapitated man,'' Strumpf
said. ``That's the only issue here. We asked them not to put up
photos that would affect the sensibilities of the public.'' Outcries
have forced other museums to revise other historical exhibits. The
Smithsonian Institution revised a 1995 display marking the 50th
anniversary of World War II after veterans groups charged that it
distorted history and was anti-American. ``No matter what you do,
you're going to offend somebody's sensibilities,'' Strumpf said. ``We
had a Turkish exhibit that offended Armenians, and we had an exhibit
on the medical profession that offended doctors. You really can't
win.''
---------------------
From: Joslin Hall Rare Books <jhall@tiac.net>
question about provenance of 16th century decorated helmet.
last night on the American version of "The Antiques Roadshow" a
lady brought in what turned out to be a 16th century Milanese (I
think) ceremonial iron helmet decorated with very fine and elaborate
chased scenes and gold decorations, in superb condition, which the
expert appraised at about $250,000. The lady said she found it
stuffed under a beam in her attic. She seemed a good deal less
exuberant at the news that the piece was worth a quarter-million
dollars than one might think she should have been, which led us to
speculate that she was siting there thinking "Oh my God, so *that's*
what Papa brought home from WWII, how am I ever going to sell it,
because it's obviously looted from a museum" -or something along
those lines. It was, after all, exactly the sort of thing that is
sometimes turning up in American attics these days as our World War
Two vets begin to die and the "souvenirs" they brought back from a
ruined Europe begin to surface.
What I was wondering is if there has been anything further about this
helmet circulating in museum circles?
Forrest Proper
Joslin Hall Rare Books
ABAA, ILAB
PO Box 516
Concord, MA 01742 USA
(781) 860-0665
jhall@tiac.net
http://www.joslinhall.com
--------------------------------------------
(L.A.Times)
60% of Art Collectors Would Buy More Art If It Were Accompanied By An
Irrevocable Authenticity Guarantee
NEW YORK---- Results of ArtExpo '97 Survey Show that Authenticity
Concerns Are Impacting All Collectors' Purchase Decisions -- OmniGuard
Corporation today released the results of a comprehensive survey of
attendees at the ArtExpo '97 show in New York. The results reveal that
there is a pent-up demand among collectors of all income levels for
limited edition and original art. Notably, 60% of respondents said
they would buy more art if it were accompanied by an irrevocable,
money-back guarantee. OmniGuard, the financial services company that
certifies and guarantees the authenticity of limited edition prints
and original works of art as they are created, commissioned the survey
to better understand art lovers' buying patterns and concerns, and to
gauge the impact of widespread media coverage of sophisticated forgery
rings and unauthorized limited edition runs. Among the notable
findings of the survey, which was conducted by Andersen Consulting: --
Nearly one in three (32%) of those who are buyers of limited edition
art admit they have hesitated to purchase work they like because they
"lacked confidence in documentation offered by the gallery" or "were
concerned that extra copies of the piece could come onto the market"
or "were unsure that the gallery would make good if they had doubts
later." --Across all income levels, the majority (60%) of collectors
said they would either "definitely buy" or be "much more likely to
buy" art they loved if it were covered by an irrevocable money back
guarantee. -- Nearly three-quarters (74%) of those looking to buy
limited edition prints would "definitely buy" or be "much more likely
to buy" if there was a guarantee of edition size backed by a major
insurance company. -- A overwhelming majority (84%) of members of the
fine arts trade "would be much more likely to buy" or at least "more
likely to buy" limited edition art with a guarantee of edition size.
-- 26% of respondents shop for art because they are interested in
making an investment and nearly one in four (23%) value their
collections at over $50,000. "As evidenced by this survey's findings,
there is clearly a pent-up demand for all types of art. By
eliminating, in the most definitive way possible, the authenticity
issue, OmniGuard is expanding the revenues and markets of the entire
art industry," said Thomas Cleveland, President of OmniGuard. Works
certified under the OmniGuard authenticity program are backed by an
irrevocable, money-back guarantee from a consortium of major insurance
companies. The program is in no way dependent on the financial
resources of galleries, art publishers, artists or even OmniGuard. Any
new work, in any medium, is eligible for coverage. Additionally, the
OmniGuard International Art Registry establishes clear provenance, or
ownership record, for pieces covered in the program, potentially
stabilizing and enhancing the future value of a piece and aiding in
its recovery, if ever stolen. A work covered by the OmniGuard
authenticity program is distinguished by an engraved, tamper-proof
seal made of indelible inks, special threads and complex watermarks.
Added Mr. Cleveland: "Consumers' buying behavior and expectations are
uniform, no matter what is being purchased - electronic equipment,
financial products or durable goods. Most industries have conditioned
people to require guarantees, extended warranties and other
assurances. The OmniGuard authenticity program fills this void in the
art market, providing an irrevocable money-back guarantee that
benefits collectors and their heirs." The OmniGuard program is a real
deterrent to forgery. Forging an non-OmniGuarded work constitutes
copyright infringement; but reproducing an OmniGuard-protected work is
an act of insurance fraud, a federal felony. The survey, conducted by
Andersen Consulting, polled 455 attendees at ArtExpo '97 at the Jacob
K. Javits Center in New York in February of 1997. Based in New York,
OmniGuard is a financial services company that certifies and
guarantees the authenticity of limited edition prints and original
works of art as they are created, thereby eliminating future
authenticity issues. The OmniGuard International Art Registry
establishes clear provenance, or ownership record, for pieces covered
in the program, potentially stabilizing and enhancing the future value
of a piece and aiding in its recovery, if ever stolen. CONTACT: Frank
Sommerfield Communications, Inc. 212/255-8386 mail@sommerfield.com
info@omniguard.com
-------------------------------------------
EDITORIALS AND ADDITIONAL REPORTS ABOUT DESTRUCTION SERRANO PICTURE:
(The Age, Melbourne)
Andres Serrano exhibition had to close
By GREG BURCHALL and RACHEL GIBSON
The Andres Serrano exhibition had to close because "we couldn't take
a chance at what might happen next", the National Gallery of
Victoria's director, Dr Timothy Potts, said yesterday. Dr Potts said
he and the gallery trustees had agonised over the decision to close
it after the second attack by vandals on the New York photographer's
controversial work, Piss Christ. "It's by far the most unpleasant
thing I've ever been involved in, and the saddest day for the arts
and for freedom of expression in this city," he said. "It's also the
hardest decision the trustees and I have ever had to make, but I
could not leave the show open and endanger the safety of gallery
staff and visitors." He said he and the gallery had received a number
of threats before the weekend, but would not elaborate. After
Saturday's incident, in which a man tore the work from its wall, Dr
Potts was at a loss to explain how two youths - one a minor with
false identification - were able to attack the artwork on Sunday with
such apparent ease. "Every appropriate security measure was taken,"
he said. He said even if nobody had been injured in that attack, his
decision would have been the same. "In only two days there was
evidence the ferocity of the attacks was escalating, so we couldn't
take a chance at what would come next." Dr Potts did not see the
incident as signalling any danger to the gallery's $7 million
Rembrandt exhibition, but had notified Holland's Rijksmuseum as a
matter of courtesy. "The worst that could happen would be that
artists and galleries no longer considered Melbourne an appropriate
place to show important and challenging works of art," he said. But he
did not expect an international loss of reputation for the gallery,
or for Melbourne. The Premier and Arts Minister, Mr Jeff Kennett,
said the attacks were "a sad reflection" on the way some people did
not respect other people's property. "But I support the trustees in
making the decision that they had to make," he said. The Catholic
Archbishop, Dr George Pell, strongly condemned the vandalism, but was
not disappointed the exhibition had closed. In a statement issued as
he flew to Rome for meetings, Dr Pell said the church abhorred any
violent protest, and he urged protesters to act within the law no
matter how deeply they felt. Dr Pell said he had been forced to take
legal action, and it was a matter of regret that the gallery had not
withdrawn it before the exhibition opened. Dr Pell said the church,
along with other religious institutions, had sought only its
withdrawal, not the axeing of the exhibition. The Anglican
Archbishop, Dr Keith Rayner, said that while he had been opposed to
the exhibition, its cancellation could not be called a victory for
the churches, because of the means used. He said the vandalism was
not Christ's way, and could not be condoned. "A number of steps have
led to this point," he said. "The first was the decision to have the
exhibition in the first place. The second was when it was made clear
that this was going to be deeply offensive to many people, the
decision that nevertheless the exhibition should go on. "I don't
imagine any of us anticipated the outcome that there has been in the
way of these violent attacks." Dr Rayner said there was a place for
debate about Christianity, but he believed the artist had used the
image of the crucifix in urine simply to shock. It was important
therefore for the church to protest against it.
-----------------------------
(Sydney Morning Herald)
SERRANO FURORE
Philosophy of the hammer (Andres Serrano accuses the National Gallery
of Victoria of being "spineless")
Andres Serrano yesterday accused the National Gallery of Victoria of
being "spineless" after his exhibition was cancelled. JOHN McDONALD
finds it surprising that the gallery was unwilling to put up at
least the semblance of a fight. THE curator of photography at the
National Gallery of Victoria, Isobel Crombie, was not being funny
when she opened the exhibition, A History of Andres Serrano, last
Saturday. "I am very pleased," she said, "that we were able to entice
the artist to this country and to arrange such a warm welcome for
him." Serrano is an artist who enjoys the heat. His work has already
generated blazing controversies in the United States and Holland,
but even he must have been surprised by the kind of reception
Melbourne has turned on. The NGV knew perfectly well what it was
getting into when it agreed to show Serrano's provocative
photographs, including Piss Christ, the subject of two weekend
attacks. Indeed, it must have expected a public relations coup, with
thousands of eager voyeurs turning up at the door to register their
disapproval or outrage. So when two teenage vandals decided to
register their protest with a hammer on Sunday, it was surprising to
find the gallery unwilling to put up at least the semblance of a
fight. Yesterday afternoon, the gallery was trying to avoid the
publicity it had previously been happy to encourage. Phones were not
answered, long lunches seemed to be the order of the day. Staff at
the information desk were fielding a stream of calls from people who
were angered by the content of the exhibition, and from those who
felt the NGV had succumbed too meekly to the protesters. Already the
conspiracy theories are beginning to spread. The best story I have
heard is that Senator Richard Alston, a practising Catholic, was so
upset by Piss Christ that he threatened to remove the Government's $1
billion indemnity for the Rembrandt exhibition unless the Serrano
show was closed. This is a nonsense, of course, impossible to be
carried out. It is a major embarrassment when a public gallery
decides to close a show after only a few days. Yet it is even more
embarrassing that the NGV ever agreed to host such an exhibition.
Serrano is not a two-headed monster, but a typical creature of the
New York art scene - personable, softly spoken - able to explain
every nuance of his work and tell us why it is important. He is, in
other words, a charming hustler who has made a little talent go a
very long way. The photographs in the cancelled exhibition have the
same directness as advertising images and the same sense of
artificiality. Serrano's sexual photos are not particularly sexy,
while his images of bodily fluids - blood, piss, semen, milk - have
the slickness and artiness of hard-edged abstract painting.
Undoubtedly, the most affecting works in the show are the large
cibachrome photos of bodies in the morgue, some of them mutilated or
partly decomposed. I found them sickening to view, not just because
of the grisly subject matter, but because one cannot help wondering
what the artist is trying to achieve. There is a terrible sense that
Serrano sees "transgression" as a virtue in its own right. He seems
to be titillated by the thought that many viewers may be offended or
even nauseated by his work. It is the childish rebellion of the
teenager who wants to shock the grown-ups. If there is a lasting value
to be gained from this affair, it may be that public galleries are
forced to realise that exhibitions of "subversive" contemporary art
works are not simply for the delectation of an elite group of
insiders. Bad taste cannot automatically be transformed into pure
gold, or rationalised to intemperate viewers who will not read the
reviews or the catalogue essays. The issue is not one of censorship,
but having the courage of one's convictions - if such convictions
exist. There are limits to what the public will tolerate, and museums
must interrogate their own motivations in pushing, forcefully but
frivolously, against those boundaries.
--------------------------------
(The Age, Melbourne)
Art that turns heads may take heads (Andres Serrano yesterday condemned Dr Timothy Potts, his gallery and
his reputation to eternal damnation)
By VIRGINIA TRIOLI
Andres Serrano yesterday condemned Dr Timothy Potts, his gallery and
his reputation to eternal damnation, but by taking the extraordinary
and unprecedented step of shutting down the Andres Serrano show on
Sunday night, Dr Potts may have beaten Serrano to the punch and
condemned himself. It is impossible to recall any other gallery in
Australia that has ever given in to criticism, extremist threats or
assaults and closed a show. It is difficult to imagine how the
gallery will be able to stand up to any such pressure in the future
and not cave in again, even though this has been for the National
Gallery of Victoria trying and sometimes dangerous times. Dr Potts
repeatedly maintained yesterday that security at the gallery had been
appropriate and that all that could have been done to protect the
show, staff and public had been done. In the face of the two attacks
over the weekend and injury to his staff, he decided the gallery
could no longer guarantee the safety of staff and visitors and
recommended to the board that the show be closed. But under sustained
questioning at a heated and packed media conference yesterday, Dr
Potts was forced to admit that his security arrangements had not
worked. "No, they didn't (work)", he said. "They didn't prevent the
work from being damaged - but they did succeed in having the
offenders apprehended and taken into custody." At an equally heated
media conference at the Kirkcaldy Davies Galleries in South Yarra,
where Serrano's A History of Sex is being exhibited, the artist
accused the National Gallery of a "serious lack of judgment" over its
security arrangements, noting that the controversial work had been
displayed without incident in galleries overseas. The rage Serrano
displayed yesterday attested to his deep sense of betrayal: remember,
it was only last week that Dr Potts and Serrano were brothers in
arms, united in support of the freedom of an artist's speech. This
was the director who seemed prepared to go to the wall for this show.
Trembling with anger and reading from a statement so quickly that he
fell over his words, Serrano said he is accelerating his obligations
here in Australia so he can leave and take his badly damaged work
with him.
Will he come back?
He doesn't know: it is not Australia he condemns, he says, but what
he calls the cowardice and near-sightedness of Dr Potts. Questions
must now be asked about the level of security that was employed by
the gallery over the weekend, and over the resolve that this gallery
has in displaying and defending difficult contemporary art. Dr Potts
insisted that the gallery would still be seen as one that represents
the interests of artists creating controversial work, but he was the
one who directed his board to agree to close the show. Now Serrano
and others are not so sure about the gallery's reputation. The former
state arts and police minister, Mr Race Mathews, told The Age that he
could not see how the gallery could regain its authority and
credibility when it had clearly handed over exhibition policy to "any
delinquent or demented person with a hammer". Mr Mathews, who went
through his own trial with the 1986 theft of Pablo Picasso's Weeping
Woman from the gallery, said the gallery was now open to perpetual
blackmail. That was Serrano's point and his curse, but it may also be
Dr Potts' fate, and one of his own making.
---------------------------
Are contemporary artists asking for it?
COSMO LANDESMAN argues that artists should not be surprised by
violent reactions to their work. "THE art is in your face and it's
shocking" is how the secretary of the Royal Academy, David Gordon,
described the Academy's Sensation exhibition in London. Last week, two
shocked members of the public attacked a large picture of Myra
Hindley's face. Here was a case of in-yer-face-art provoking an
in-the-face-of-your-art response. Artists and the art establishment
were upset by what they saw as an act of vandalism. But do the
promoters and producers of provocative art have a right to complain
when people are provoked and react with eggs, ink, protests or
petitions? The Young British Artists who make up the Sensation
exhibition believe that when it comes to contemporary art there are no
limits. So, when it comes to responding to provocative works of art
what are the limits? If contemporary artists are entitled to be free
from such stifling bourgeois conventions as good taste and restrained
behaviour, why not their audiences? The avant-garde has a more
antagonistic relationship with its audience than other schools or
styles of art. Its defenders claim that its purpose is not to offer us
a pat on the head but a punch in the face. Norman Rosenthal, the RA's
exhibitions secretary, writes in the catalogue that accompanies
Sensation that art should "jolt us out of our complacency". Professor
Terry Eagleton would agree. He wrote recently that "to the avant-garde
truth is a lie, morality stinks and beauty is s---". The task of art,
he believes, "is to be a hammer, not a mirror ... Art's job is to
unleash contradictions ... to shatter and wound." Fair enough. The
trouble is that the champions of the avant-garde are never prepared to
accept that the shattered and the wounded may well strike back. When
Peter Fisher threw ink over the portrait of Myra Hindley, he did so
because he believed he was "taking a stand" against a picture which
was "glorifying the crimes of a monster". Jacques Role who threw eggs
at Myra said: "There is a limit when an artist profits in terms of
fame or money from the death or torture of children." You don't have
to agree with what they did to see that they were motivated by
something more than narrow-minded philistinism. Contemporary artists
are keen to take the credit when their work is celebrated for its
controversial content; and they are pleased to be thought of as
trouble-makers and agents provocateurs, but when the controversy that
accompanies their latest work turns into something confrontational and
a touch dangerous, they suddenly blame the press, the extremists, the
fundamentalists or the narrow minds of middle England. When hype
backfires, it gives off the whiff of hypocrisy. Sensation - with its
dead animals, porno shots alongside the Virgin Mary, children with
sexual organs sprouting from their faces and Myra - couldn't have been
more deliberately controversial and provocative had they called it Go
F--- Yourself, Britain! But then things got too hot to handle. Windows
were smashed, threatening calls were made to the Royal Academy,
members of the RA resigned, one of the mothers of Hindley's victims
appeared on a picket line outside Burlington House. And then came the
two separate assaults on the painting. Wouldn't it have been wonderful
if Harvey or Rosenthal had said: "Yes, we wanted to provoke people.
We've done that. That's the price we pay for powerful art." Instead,
Tom Phillips, chairman of the Academy's exhibition committee,
announced: "This is a reactive judgment stirred up by the press."
Maybe these artists and their would-be assassins have more in common
than either group would care to admit. The contemporary artist sets
out to destroy traditional forms and notions about art; the assassins
go one step further and try to destroy the work of art itself. I'm not
saying that everyone has a right to destroy any work of art that he or
she might find offensive. The point is that, if we really want an art
this provocative, then we have to accept that sometimes artists and
their patrons have to pay a price - and not point the finger of blame
at other people or the press. For to do so is to deny the intrinsic
power of art.
--------------------
Fragility in Assisi
(The Washington Post)
THE STRING of earthquakes that destroyed people and masterpieces in Italy's Assisi recently is a melancholy reminder that, left to themselves, most significant monuments to past artistic effort and
achievement don't just stand there. Left to themselves, they mostly deteriorate or get knocked down -- whether from destructive forces such as wars and earthquakes or from modern threats such as
pollution. What survives may seem gorgeous or immune to the passage of time, but that survival is generally the exception, not the rule. The Assisi basilica, a beloved pilgrimage site associated with St.
Francis and the Franciscan order, ceased to be such an exception when quakes punched the area three times starting in late September, cracking the structure, then bringing it partly down and shattering a
series of 13th-century frescoes. The quakes' aftermath spread havoc through the area and kept people from their homes, though nothing has matched the violence of the second quake, which killed two officials
and two Franciscan monks who had been inspecting the damage the first quake caused to the basilica. International reaction, as if by reflex, ran through several days of offering help and expertise in
restoring the art and of estimating how much such repairs might cost; eventually authorities explained that at least some of the frescoes were gone for good. Though not as awash in ancient things and structures as Europeans, Americans have the same difficulty focusing on the notion that their heritage sometimes can crumble. Preservation is always an uphill campaign, if only because it's hard to muster a sense of urgency. The Library of Congress needed years to muster support for its initiative to preserve texts printed on aging
paper; film preservers have had similar difficulties. And of course no degree of sensitivity to cultural heritage, or appreciation of it, can guarantee it will beat the odds and survive. Just ask the protectors of the lovingly preserved historic neighborhood architecture of Charleston, S.C., which was decimated by a hurricane a few years back. It's easy to fall into thinking of history and the historical record as set, finished things over which to wage scholarly or political arguments. But just as things always are being
found and added to the historical record and heritage, it's equally and sadly true that portions of that heritage also are being lost and taken away. Umbria's troubles are a reminder of that sad fact.
c Copyright 1997 The Washington Post Company
----------------------------------
(Beacon Journal)
Paint hits Columbus statues
BY JEFFREY BAIR Associated Press Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Vandals splotched paint on statues of Christopher
Columbus in both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia and spray-painted on
them the words ``murderer'' and ``505 years of resistance.'' A
government squad for removing graffiti inspected red and black paint
on the 50-foot statue of Columbus in Pittsburgh Monday -- Columbus
Day. ``I think it wasn't so much directed at Italians as at Americans
in general,'' said Bob O'Connor, a Pittsburgh councilman. A group
O'Connor described as ``not your average beer-drinking hell raisers''
hurled Christmas ornaments full of red paint at the statue late
Saturday or early Sunday. One of the makeshift missiles tagged the
left ear of the bronze Columbus statue in Pittsburgh's Schenley Park.
The words ``murderer'' and ``stolen lands'' were spray-painted on its
base. No suspects had been charged Monday afternoon. ``To hide under
cover of night to make your point is really reprehensible. This is
the kind of thing that you should say in a newspaper,'' said Tom
Podnar, a consultant to Pittsburgh parks officials and a
monument-cleaning expert for McKay Lodge Fine Art Conservation
Laboratories Inc. of Oberlin, Ohio. In Philadelphia, a Columbus
monument on the Delaware River waterfront was splashed with paint
Monday, and a vandal wrote on it, ``505 years of resistance.'' In
Camden, N.J., a Columbus statue remains in disrepair after years of
attacks; it is missing an arm and facial features and is covered with
graffiti. Columbus, a Genoa, Italy, native, landed in what is the
Bahamas on Oct. 12, 1492 after two months of sailing. The holiday
honoring him is observed in the United States on the second Monday in
October. Columbus in recent years has been criticized by some,
including American Indians, who say his mission to the Caribbean
kicked off five centuries of abuse of cultures native to the
Americas. On Sunday, members of several American Indian tribes
rallied against Columbus Day in Buffalo, N.Y.
------------------------------
Medieval clock tower near Assisi brought down by latest tremor
RICHARD OWEN (Times of London)
ANOTHER powerful tremor struck central Italy yesterday afternoon and
was felt as far south as Rome. It brought down the clock tower on
the medieval town hall at Foligno, a few miles from Assisi. The tower
had been leaning perilously since the first earthquake in the region
nearly three weeks ago, and firemen had spent much of yesterday
trying in vain to secure it. In a daring operation in Assisi,
Italian engineers proved successful in placing a purpose-built metal
cage over the crumbling tympanum on the roof of the Basilica of St
Francis, preventing it from crashing down into the great church and
destroying medieval frescoes. The tympanum, a recessed triangular
pediment more than 100ft up on the side of the basilica, was badly
damaged in the double earthquake which struck on September 26. It
suffered further damage a week ago when another strong tremor struck
Umbria. Officials in charge of the restoration operation feared that
the tympanum, which weighs 70 tonnes, would topple through the roof,
bringing down frescoes in the already damaged south transepts of both
the upper and lower churches. The works at risk include a series of
frescoes by Pietro Lorenzetti, the Sienese painter, and Cimabue's
great Crucifixion which, although badly faded and blackened, is
considered one of the key masterpieces at the dawn of Western art.
"We all held our breath," said Professor Giorgio Croci, the engineer
in charge. The 3 1/2 -tonne cage, constructed from steel scaffolding
poles, was hoisted into position by a giant crane and secured to the
basilica roof despite high winds. The half-hour operation was
conducted in silence, and the relief as the cage fitted gently into
place was palpable. Walter Veltroni, the Minister of Culture, who is
visiting the earthquake zone, praised the operation as "very
difficult and delicate". He said he was drawing up a report on
damage to historic sites in the region, and appealed for a
"mobilisation of international aid to help us restore our endangered
religious and artistic heritage". Restoration experts said that, with
the Assisi tympanum secured, work could now begin on erecting
scaffolding inside the basilica so that the frescoed ceiling, 10 per
cent of which has collapsed, can be restored. Workmen will also
inject cement into the wall of the transept to strengthen the
structure. But Antonio Paolucci, the former Minister of Culture, who
has been put in charge of the basilica restoration, said he could not
guarantee that the church could be reopened in time for millennium
celebrations.
---------------------------
(Via ConsDisList)
From: Karen Brown <kebrown@nedcc.org>
Subject: Drying frozen books
For Micki Ryan: if the books you recovered were heavily saturated,
or very thick, it can take a very long time to dry out (more than a
year). Also, the way in which the object is wrapped may be
hindering the movement of moisture away from the volume. Now that the
book is frozen (and shaped) you may consider how it was originally
wrapped and perhaps thin it out some.
You may also remove the books now and air dry them, one by one if
that suits you, standing the book on end and fanning the pages out to
facilitate drying. This should be done in an area that is cool and
dry, with good circulation, to speed up the process and prevent mold
growth. If there is still a lot of moisture interleave every so many
pages with blotting paper to remove the excess, changing the
blotters as required to remove the moisture from the book, and then
air dry as described above. When the book is really really close to
dry, shape it gently (e.g., close the book) to keep distortion at a
minimum. Note: if the paper you are attempting to air dry is coated,
you will have to work to keep the pages from touching during drying
or they will stick. Consider having those items freeze-dried. If you
note soluble materials, these too may be good candidates for freeze
drying.
The NEDCC has several excellent Technical Leaflets on the subject of
salvage. The one on drying out books is available on our Web site at
http://www.nedcc.org/drying.htm or we will mail you a paper copy if
you prefer. You can call us EST 8:30 to 4:30 at 978-470-1010 or
email me at the above address. Good luck with your project - I hope
this helps,
Karen E.K. Brown
Field Service Representative
Northeast Document Conservation Center
100 Brickstone Square
Andover, MA 01810-1494
508-470-1010
Fax: 508-475-6021
-------------------------------------
From: Gary Saretzky <saretzky@rci.rutgers.edu>
Subject: Drying frozen books
Re freeze drying of small quantities, American Freeze Dry here in
New Jersey 609-546-0777) has done such jobs. They freeze dry all
sorts of things, including deer heads and wooden artifacts found at
the bottom of the Delaware River, as well as books and manuscripts.
Perhaps the person with the books should look further to find a
comparable business in their own area, if they didn't want to ship
the books in a frozen state across the continent.
Gary D. Saretzky
Coordinator, Public History Internship Program Rutgers, University and
Archivist, Monmouth County, New Jersey Monmouth County Archives
----------------------------------------
From: Sue Dunlap <sdunlap@ACS.WOOSTER.EDU>
Subject: Drying frozen books
Micki Ryan wrote
>My plea is: what do
>I do now, since they are not drying? No one is complaining, so I
>suppose they could stay in another year if that is the advice. But,
>is this supposed to happen? How long does it take?
I have had 3 books in our frost-free freezer in our staff lounge for
over a year. They are slow to dry, but they are drying. I would
recommend un-wrapping them from the freezer paper and spread them
out as much as possible to allow for better air circulation. We had
a large number of books in the freezer, and I would check on them now
and then by carefully trying to open them and seeing if they were
loosening up. (The last 3 were frozen solid as a brick, but are
finally starting to loosen up.) I took them out one or two at a
time, let them thaw, and then put paper towels between the covers and
every ten or so pages. I changed the towels every couple of hours.
Sometimes the ones I took out of the freezer I felt were dry enough
to stand in front of a gently blowing fan to finish drying them. My
advice is to leave them in the freezer as long as possible. I don't
know how long it will take, but you are right, they do get soggy
when you thaw them out, and putting paper toweling in them does
distort the spines. So the longer you can let them dry in the freezer
the better.
Sue Dunlap
Preservation/Preparation Manager
College of Wooster Libraries
College of Wooster
Wooster OH 44691-2364
330-263-2107
Fax: 330-263-2253
-------------------------------------
From: David Harvey <toptendave@aol.com>
Subject: Disaster preparedness and management priorities
I would first like to to say how much I appreciated reading the two
responses to this topic by David Tremain and Tom Cremers. They make
very persuasive and educated arguments as to the importance and the
cost effectiveness of being prepared for Disasters. This is such an
important topic, and too often institutions and private collectors
don't truly appreciate it until it is too late, and Disaster has
occurred. This is also why it was felt that this year's annual AIC
Meeting should be devoted to the single theme: Disaster
Preparedness, Response, and Recovery.
We are now developing an Audience Development plan to do precisely
what David Tremain suggested--to target the administrators and
collections management staff of cultural institutions to attend this
meeting.
As Tom Cremers posting has suggested--we are often our own worst
enemy in cultural institutions: we might anticipate the hurricane
and plan for it, but what about the contractors working on the new
wing?
Paul Himmelstein has made this point very eloquently--that risk
assessment is vital, and the participation of a knowledgeable and
informed conservator in the pre-construction and construction phases
of a project can be vital. Museum and historic site administrators
need to be aware that the different perspectives which conservation
professionals bring to such planning can mean the difference between
years of exhibition openings and years of recovery.
All too often conservators are pigeon-holed as "lab rats". If we
are going to grow as a profession we need to break out of that
stereotype. Perhaps, in the future, risk assessment and disaster
preparedness will become as much a part of professional training and
practice as preventive conservation has in the last decade. Perhaps
conservators in private practice will see this as another activity
with which to grow their businesses (some undoubtedly already do).
It will be interesting to see in what ways the AIC will evolve to
meet the challenge. This year's meeting is a great leap forward but
what will happen afterwards?
David Harvey
AIC Audience Development Chair, 1998
Associate Conservator,
Metals & Arms
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
P.O. Box 1776
Williamsburg, Virginia 23187-1776 USA
757-220-7039
--------------------------------------
From: Barbara Appelbaum <aandh@idt.net>
Subject: Disaster preparedness and management priorities
Re: fire danger. The news items sent were very helpful. It should
stated, however, that the massive fires that make the news are only
the ones that got out of hand. A lot more institutions than have
had big fires have had small ones that only create smells and some
soot, and are never reported to the public. ( As a conservator, I
know of several. Is it unethical of me to tell tales?) A more
interesting matter would be to investigate this kind of fire to
determine if they were prevented from getting worse by some measures
taken before or after the fact, or if they were the result of
preventable circumstances and were caught early out of luck.
I was told recently that NFPA (U.S) is working on a revision of their
publication on museums. Is anyone working with them on this? A
compilation of new stories with some analysis that conservators
could obtain and pass around would be really helpful; if a NFPA
publication will not fill this need, the perhaps another--possible
international--group of conservators needs to do it. Any
suggestions?
B. Appelbaum
----------------------------------
Latest additions Museum Security Website:
*KPMG Security Consulting
*Risk Management: A Position Paper Published by the American Risk and
Insurance Association
*http://www.riskweb.com/
The RISKWeb (formerly RISKNet) discussion forum. RISKWeb's primary
purpose is to provide an online forum for academics and professionals
with significant research and/or professional interests in the field
of Risk Management and Insurance. The RISKWeb (formerly RISKNet)
discussion forum. RISKWeb's primary purpose is to provide an online
forum for academics and professionals with significant research and/or
professional interests in the field of Risk Management and Insurance
*Drying Wet Books: article Northeast Document Conservation Center
*The Northeast Document Conservation Center was founded in 1973 to
specialize in the preservation and conservation of paper materials,
including books, manuscripts, photographs, and art on paper. NEDCC is
now the largest non-profit, regional facility in the United States.
Its services have been critical to conservation efforts of many
collection-holding institutions.
------------------------------------------------------
Basques believed to target Guggenheim Museum in Spain
BILBAO, Spain (AP) Gunmen believed to be Basque separatists shot a
guard at the Guggenheim Museum on Monday in an apparent bid to
sabotage the museum's opening next weekend. King Juan Carlos and
Queen Sofia are among those expected to attend the opening Saturday.
The guard was shot after he prevented three men in a van from
entering the museum's grounds, authorities said. The gunmen fled,
abandoning the vehicle. Police said they found 12 grenades and
machine guns hidden in flowerpots inside the van. Police arrested one
man. The other two suspects remained at large. The guard was
hospitalized in serious condition. Police blamed the separatist group
ETA for the attack. The group did not comment on the attack. But
Basque separatists have opposed the museum, saying it takes away
funds from the Basque culture budget and is a symbol of cultural
imperialism. ETA, which stands for Basque Homeland and Liberty in
the Basque language, has killed some 800 people since taking up arms
in 1968 for independence. A Guggenheim spokeswoman said the museum
would not alter its opening day schedule. "There is no reason to
change any of our plans," spokeswoman Maria Bidaurweta told the
Associated Press. "The security we have has been shown to be
effective."
Copyright 1997 The Associated Press.
--------------------------------
Police arrest three in connection with Guggenheim attack
MADRID, Spain (AP) Three suspected members of the armed separatist
group ETA have been arrested in connection with a planned attack on
Spain's new Guggenheim Museum, police said Tuesday. Police were not
sure whether ETA planned to attack the museum before, during or after
its grand opening Saturday, which is to be attended by Spain's King
Juan Carlos. Basque separatists, including groups linked to ETA,
have opposed the Guggenheim museum, arguing that it is a symbol of
cultural imperialism and also takes away funds from Basque region's
budget. Museum Director Juan Ignacio Vidarte, however, said the
opening day schedule would not be altered. The attack was foiled when
a policeman sought identification from three men in a van as they
tried to enter the museum's grounds Monday in the northern port of
Bilbao. The officer was shot by one of the three men as they fled by
foot, abandoning their vehicle. Twelve grenades and several machine
guns were found inside the van. Following the arrests, police raided
a house in a nearby village where numerous explosives and arms were
hidden. The wounded officer, Jose Maria Agirre, was in critical
condition Tuesday after having his right lung removed. ETA, which
stands for Basque Homeland and Liberty in the Basque language, has
killed some 800 people since taking up arms in 1968 for independence.
Copyright 1997 The Associated Press.
--------------------------------
Two more arrested after Spain's Guggenheim attack
BILBAO, Spain - Spanish police have arrested two more suspected
Basque ETA guerrillas and seized a cache of explosives after foiling
a plot to bomb Bilbao's new Guggenheim Museum, officials said
Tuesday. The two were taken into custody late Monday at a farmhouse
only hours after the arrest of another suspect, who was blamed for
the shooting of a policeman outside the museum. Police found a wide
range of arms at the farmhouse, believed to be the base of the
attackers, including carbomb-making equipment and remote-control
detonators, the Basque regional government said in a statement. The
alleged gunman was later named as Kepa Arrunategui Azumendi, but the
other two suspects were not identified, officials said. A Basque
policeman was shot and seriously wounded Monday as he approached a
van parked near the museum. Three attackers posing as gardeners had
been unloading flower pots for a giant puppy-shaped sculpture in
front of the sprawling glass-and-metal building. Police searching
the area recovered 12 grenades hidden in giant flower pots and set to
explode by remote control. Basque Interior Minister Juan Maria
Atutxa told reporters that police had averted a "massacre." The $160
million museum is due to be inaugurated Saturday by King Juan Carlos
and Queen Sofia and will open to the public Sunday. A palace
spokesman said there were no plans to cancel the king and queen's
attendance. Security outside the museum appeared to have been
substantially increased Tuesday, but a spokeswoman for the Basque
interior ministry denied that any new measures had been taken
following the foiled plot. The wounded officer, 35-year-old Jose
Maria Aguirre, was still in critical condition. His right lung, which
was pierced by a bullet, had to be removed. The rebels who attacked
him were part of a previously unknown ETA faction and may have been
responsible for an earlier grenade attack at Madrid's international
airport, officials said. ETA, which stands for Basque Homeland and
Freedom, has killed some 800 people during its 29-year campaign for
an independent Basque state encompassing parts of northern Spain and
southern France.
Copyright 1997 Reuters Limited.
--------------------------------
(Sydney Morning Herald)
Pissant art
THE National Gallery of Victoria knew that an exhibition by Andres
Serrano ("a charming hustler," according to the Herald's art critic,
John McDonald) would create a controversy. Mr Serrano is a
controversialist rather than an artist. The NGV should have been
prepared to cope with the controversy the exhibition was certain to
create. As Robert Hughes pointed out yesterday, Mr Serrano is a
"famous artist because Piss Christ created a famous fuss". The image
of a crucifix in the urine of the artist so infuriated Christians
throughout the United States of America, according to Mr Hughes,
that Congress was pressured into cutting the funds of The National
Endowment for the Arts. It was unconvincing, then, for the director
of the NGV, Dr Timothy Potts, to close the exhibition on the grounds
that the security of visitors and gallery staff could not be
guaranteed after two attacks on the Piss Christ image. The correct
response, surely, was to ensure the security of the exhibition by
putting on more security staff, if necessary. The point of the
exhibition, surely, was to confront and even outrage. The possibility
of attacks on the Serrano images was foreseeable. As Professor Terry
Eagleton has pointed out: "To the avant garde truth is a lie,
morality stinks and beauty is shit." The Piss Christ, in this
tradition, with its name and in its detail, is a deliberately
provocative construct. It has "worked" as a construct in the United
States and now in Melbourne because it has infuriated the
conservative people it is intended to infuriate. The NGV knew this
would happen. But is the image high art? And are there questions of
freedom of expression involved in the controversy and the
cancellation? Robert Hughes says that he is disappointed about the
decision by the NGV to close the exhibition because "I am in favour
of unlimited freedom of speech including visual speech." There is
much merit in this position. What offends one generation or one group
of people (Goya's depictions of war savagery, for instance) may be
seen as liberating and necessary at another time or by other people.
Against this, though, is the notion that subsidised galleries like
the NGV should not deliberately insult groups in the community. Above
all, the NGV's decision lacked consistency. It was only prepared to
back freedom of expression up to a point - the point at which outrage
became a couple of pathetic acts of vandalism.
---------------------------------------
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JOSHUA TREE SUPERINTENDENT RECEIVES NATIONAL AWARD
Ernie Quintana Recognized for Efforts to Protect Park from Eagle
Mountain Landfill Project
Fort Myers, Fla. -- The National Parks and Conservation Association
(NPCA) today presented the Stephen Tyng Mather Award to Ernie
Quintana, superintendent of Joshua Tree National Park, for his
efforts to stop the development of the world's largest landfill just
outside Joshua Tree's boundaries. NPCA Executive Vice President
Carol Aten presented the award at the annual meeting of the
Association of National Park Rangers in Ft. Myers, Florida. The
award, named for the first director of the National Park Service,
recognizes an NPS employee who has demonstrated initiative and
resourcefulness in promoting environmental protection of the national
parks, taken direct action where others have hesitated, and risked
his or her job or career in the interests of park protection.
"I can think of no better individual to receive this award," Aten
said in presenting Quintana with a check for $2,500 and a framed
photograph of a Joshua tree at sunset. "Ernie Quintana has been
particularly steadfast in his defense of park resources, using his
authority as superintendent to play a visible and influential role in
opposing the Eagle Mountain Landfill at every step in the process."
Despite pressure from Park Service officials in Washington to support
the landfill, Quintana refused, potentially risking his career. "His
consistent and strong testimony at every single public hearing not
only galvanized local citizens, but has undermined the developer's
efforts to portray their Washington connections as Park Service
support for the landfill project," Aten said.
The waste dump, which would accept up to 20,000 tons of garbage a
day for nearly 100 years, poses serious threats to the park's air
quality, its pristine desert ecosystem, and its wilderness areas,
which adjoin the proposed landfill site. On his own initiative,
Quintana pulled together a panel of the country's leading academics
in the field of ecosystem dynamics to prepare a four-hour videotape
chronicling the devastating environmental impacts that could occur if
the landfill project moves forward. The information gathered from
the panel has provided valuable scientific validation of the
long-term threats posed by the Eagle Mountain project.
Quintana, who grew up in Twentynine Palms, California, just outside
Joshua Tree, has served as superintendent of the park for the past
three years. He began his career with the Park Service as a laborer
at Joshua Tree in 1971, and also has served as chief ranger at
Saguaro National Park and Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation
Area.
The National Parks and Conservation Association (NPCA) is America's
only private nonprofit citizen organization dedicated solely to
preserving, protecting, and enhancing the U.S. National Park System.
An association of "Citizens Protecting America's Parks," NPCA was
founded in 1919 and today has nearly 500,000 members.
-----------------------
(Times of London)
Leonardo bike 'was 1960s doodle'
BY NICK NUTTALL TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT
A SKETCH that for years has convinced some academics that Leonardo
da Vinci invented the bicycle was in fact a doodle by an Italian monk
in the 1960s, it was claimed yesterday. The drawing of a two-wheeled
machine with chain, pedals, seat and handlebars was discovered in
1974 by a researcher at the Catholic University in Milan. It has
appeared in books and museum displays with Leonardo's sketches of
parachutes and a helicopter, becoming a source of Italian pride. At
the time, it was thought unlikely to be a drawing done directly by
the master, but a rough copy by a pupil of an original since lost
sketch by Leonardo. Now Hans-Erhard Lessing, retired curator of the
Museum of Technology and Labour in Mannheim, believes that two
circles on a sheet of genuine Leonardo drawings were sketched into a
bicycle in the 1960s when Italian monks were restoring manuscripts.
"No one questioned it the Italians were ecstatic to have invented
the bicycle," the retired curator and technology enthusiast has told
New Scientist magazine. The sketch of the bicycle is on the back of
a sheet of Leonardo drawings that had been folded in half and glued
by a 16-century conservator. Mr Lessing tracked down Carlo Pedretti,
an art historian at the University of California at Los Angeles, who
in 1961 had examined the folded pages. He confirmed that he had never
seen a bicycle among the sketches. Instead his notebook records
seeing two circles. "What I saw was not a bicycle," he told the
magazine. An analysis of the brown crayon could provide conclusive
proof, by helping to date the drawing. But the pages have since been
sealed in plastic to preserve them. Despite the controversy,
modellers at the Museum of Leonardo da Vinci in Florence have made a
full-scale replica of the bicycle based on the sketch. It will be on
display in an exhibition to the master's work in New York this month.
---------------------------
(Times of London)
Rome frescoes damaged as quakes spread
FROM RICHARD OWEN IN ROME
PANIC caused by the earthquakes that have shaken Umbria over the
past three weeks reached Rome yesterday, when it emerged that the
latest powerful tremor had damaged the baroque church of Sant' Andrea
delle Fratte in the heart of the capital. There were further
after-shocks yesterday, and the continuing tremors dominated all news
bulletins, overshadowing the resolution of the political crisis
facing the centre-left Government of Professor Romano Prodi. Since
the first double quake on September 26, which killed 11 people and
brought down frescoes by Cimabue and Giotto in the Basilica of St
Francis at Assisi, there have been a series of tremors registering
between four and five on the Richter scale. In many cases structures
undermined, but still standing after the first earthquakes, have been
brought down by subsequent shocks. Thousands have been made homeless
in the poor villages and towns of the Umbrian hills, and now face
freezing temperatures and winter rains in tents or prefabricated
shelters. The latest earthquake, on Tuesday evening, registered 4.9
with its epicentre at Sellano, 20 miles from Assisi. It was followed
by lesser shocks during the night registering between three and four.
The earthquake caused no further damage at Assisi, where engineers
had just used a giant crane to place a metal cage over the crumbling
tympanum on the basilica, preventing it from crashing through the
roof and destroying medieval frescoes by Cimabue and Lorenzetti. But
the tremor brought down the clock tower on the medieval town hall at
Foligno, a few miles way. Maurizio Salari, the Mayor, said with tears
in his eyes that the "symbol of the town" had fallen. Engineers spent
yesterday salvaging the tower's two bells from the rubble. The sight
of the falling tower captured live on Italian television and shown
repeatedly since has Italians wondering whether the quakes will be
followed by "the Big One". At Sant' Andrea delle Fratte in Rome
Father Andrea Lia, the priest in charge, said that cracks had opened
up both in the cupola and in an 18th-century fresco by Pasquale
Marini, The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes . Another priest, who
raised the alarm, said that he had been reading in an upper floor of
the adjoining friary when "the room began to shake and my chair moved
across the room". The church, near the Spanish Steps, is a baroque
masterpiece. First built in the 12th century, in what was then
countryside on Rome's outskirts, it became the church of the Scots in
Rome until the Reformation. It was rebuilt in the early 17th century
by Giovani Guerra with a dome and campanile by Borromini. Besides the
Marini frescoes, it has two superb angels carved by Bernini, which
were intended to decorate the bridge across the Tiber to the Castel
Sant' Angelo, but were considered too fine to be exposed to the
elements. It also houses the Chapel of the Miraculous Madonna,
commemorating the 1842 appearance of the Virgin Mary to a Jewish
banker who became a Christian missionary. A number of palazzos and
blocks of flats in Rome also suffered damage. Il Messaggero, the
offices of which are close to the damaged church, said that it was
becoming "difficult to remain calm".
---------------------------------
Alleged Attack on Guggenheim Foiled
By MAR ROMAN Associated Press Writer
MADRID, Spain (AP) The Basque separatists who planned to attack the
new Guggenheim Museum during its opening this weekend were prepared
to blow up 12 grenades during ceremonies attended by the king,
authorities said Wednesday. A Basque police officer foiled the
alleged attack in northern Spain on Monday when he stopped two men
from entering the museum grounds in a van loaded with grenades and
machine guns hidden in flower pots. One of the men shot Officer Jose
Maria Aguirre, who died Tuesday. Hailing Aguirre as a hero,
authorities Wednesday visited the Basque police station where his
body lay in a coffin, draped with a red-and-green Basque flag. He was
to be buried later in the day. Two suspects, including the man who
allegedly shot Aguirre, were arrested and identified as members of
the separatist group ETA. Two others were being sought. "The
separatists' goal was to gain international publicity" by attacking
the opening of the $100 million, titanium-sheathed museum as
"millions of people" watched on TV, said Basque Interior Minister
Juan Maria Atutxa. King Juan Carlos is planning to attend the
inauguration ceremony. According to Atutxa, the separatists planned
to detonate the grenades by remote control and possibly open fire on
the crowd gathered in the port city of Bilbao. Nevertheless, museum
director Juan Ignacio Vidarte said the inauguration schedule would
not be altered. Aguirre, 35, was the 12th person this year to be
slain by ETA, whose initials stand for Basque Homeland and Liberty.
The group has killed about 800 people since it began fighting in 1968
for Basque independence.
-------------------------------------------
Stolen Rembrandt May Be Returned
BOSTON (AP) Paint chips purportedly from a Rembrandt masterpiece
stolen in one of history's biggest art heists were turned over to
the FBI Wednesday by a newspaper that said they had been
authenticated by an expert. If genuine, the chips support the claims
of a jailed art thief and his accomplice who say they have access to
the $300 million in art works stolen from the Isabella Stewart
Gardner Museum in Boston seven years ago. Convicted art thief Myles
Connor Jr. and William Youngworth III say they know where the
paintings are being kept and will arrange for their return in
exchange for immunity from prosecution, Connor's early release from
prison and the $5 million reward offered by the Gardner Museum. The
Boston Herald said the chips were made available to its reporter as
evidence the offer to return the stolen art works was legitimate. The
newspaper refused to say who gave it the chips. An expert hired by
the newspaper, Walter C. McCrone of Chicago, said the chips were
almost certainly from a Rembrandt. Two Rembrandts, "Storm on the Sea
of Galilee" and "A Lady and Gentleman in Black," were among the
stolen paintings. "I said I feel it is very likely these chips came
from a Rembrandt painting, but nobody should ever stick their neck
out and say there is certainty," McCrone said. He said the
composition of the pigments in the paints Rembrandt used has been
widely studied and said the chips of brown paint he was supplied
matched precisely. McCrone said the chips appeared to have been
severed by someone cutting through the canvas, probably around the
edges. Officials have speculated that the paintings stolen from the
Gardner were later cut out of their frames to make them easier to
hide. The U.S. Attoney's Office and the FBI refused to confirm or
deny Wednesday whether the paint chips had been handed over, and
would not comment on any other aspect of the case. The newspaper's
managing editor for news, Andrew Gully, said the paint chips had been
given to the FBI.
Museum officials had no comment.
In the summer, a Herald reporter said he had been shown, in an
undisclosed location, Rembrandt's "Storm on the Sea of Galilee." The
newspaper also had experts review photographs it said were of the
stolen paintings, and provided details of their condition that would
not be known to the general public. The photographs also have been
given to the FBI, according to the Herald.
Reuter
----------------------------
From: Harold Holland <harl@unb.ca>
Subject: Disaster preparedness and management priorities
Traditionally institutions develop response procedures which tend to
become a static document having little impact on the organization.
Understandably most administrators are reluctant to approve open
ended disaster planning unless it translates into a dynamic process
within a well structured process. For the records management world,
there is a wide range of disaster planning and prevention software
available which help facilitate risk assessment and response
activities. While none address heritage collections per se, there
are a number of programs that could be modified for heritage
collections. While these programs do not replace expertise
required, a good program could streamline the process making the
exercise much more palatable. Inviting relevant vendors to AIC next
spring would be an opportunity to encourage such companies to write
or modify existing programs for the heritage community.
------------------------------------------
From: Roger Wulff <museplan@erols.com>
Subject: Disaster preparedness and management priorities
In light of the recent discussion on this list regarding Disaster
Preparedness/Planning, I would like to put in a plug for a 20 year
old Conference which has had a "Disaster Preparedness/Planning
Section" as an overall part of this Conference for a number of years.
The National Conference On Cultural Property Protection--sponsored
by the Smithsonian Institution since 1977--is a national and
international Conference dealing with the issues of Cultural
Institution: Security, Fire Protection, Facilities Management, Risk
Management, and Disaster Preparedness/Planning and includes a Trade
Show (since 1987) of products and services for these purposes. The
next Conference will be held in Washington, D.C. 9-12 Feb., 1998.
For information contact:
Tom Bresson
202-357-3378
Fax: 202-357-4132
The protection of cultural property (of all types) should also be a
concern of the field of conservation.
Kind Regards,
Roger Wulff
Conference Trade Show Manager
Museum Services International
------------------------------------
Russia upper house appeals to court on ``booty'' art
MOSCOW, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Russia's Federation Council, the upper
house of parliament, on Wednesday sought the backing of the
Constitutional Court in its battle with President Boris Yeltsin over
a bill that would halt the repatriation of ``booty'' art. Yeltsin
has twice vetoed the bill, backed by both the Federation Council and
the lower house State Duma, that would stop Moscow returning works of
art seized by the Red Army at the end of World World Two, mainly from
Germany. In Wednesday's appeal, the Federation Council -- which
groups Russian regional leaders -- said the president had overstepped
his constitutional powers by vetoing the bill. The appeal, approved
by 104 votes and opposed by just 14, asked the court to rule that the
president was obliged to sign federal laws twice approved by
parliament. Yeltsin invoked procedural irregularities in
parliamentary voting when he refused to sign the bill last summer.
The upper house's appeal is the latest step in a complicated
constitutional and parliamentary wrangle that has exercised many
deputies who do not want to see the artworks relinquished. Germany,
Russia's biggest trading partner and creditor, wants Moscow to return
a vast hoard including a rare Gutenberg bible, gold artefacts
supposedly from the site of ancient Troy and paintings by
Impressionists Claude Monet and Henri Matisse. Many ordinary
Russians agree with the parliamentarians, saying the art should stay
as compensation for Nazi Germany's destruction of Russian cultural
treasures and the sufferings of the Soviet Union, which lost 27
million citizens in the war. Yeltsin, who values close political and
economic ties with Germany and its chancellor Helmut Kohl, has vowed
to return the treasure.
Copyright 1997 Reuters Limited.
--------------------------------------
Art historians urge caution on results of paint examination
By John Yemma, Globe Staff, 10/16/97
Because the art world is rife with forgers and con men,
authenticating an old master's painting is as much art as it is
science. Art historians, therefore, urge caution in concluding that
tiny paint fragments examined by a respected Chicago microchemist can
be linked conclusively to a Rembrandt stolen from the Isabella
Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990. After examining paint chips provided
by the Boston Herald, Walter C. McCrone, a leading specialist in
microscopic analysis, declared it came from a ''100 percent
unadulterated Rembrandt.'' While McCrone's expertise is respected
throughout the art world - and all art historians interviewed
yesterday said they hoped the latest developments would hasten the
return of stolen works to the museum - many say they are puzzled that
McCrone came to such a strong conclusion based on paint fragments.
''A technical examination of a painting cannot prove anything
positively,'' said Ivan Gaskell, curator at Harvard's Fogg Museum.
''The most you can do is say that materials `could be from the 17th
century,' but you can't logically say a work with those materials
`is a Rembrandt.''' McCrone, who was hired by the Herald to perform
the research, said he obtained information about materials Rembrandt
used from the publications of Rembrandt Research Project, a team of
art experts at the University of Amsterdam who since 1969 have been
trying to separate authentic Rembrandts from misattributed or forged
works. McCrone Associates, which he founded, does most of its
microscopic analysis for corporate and legal clients. McCrone
himself, 81, now works with the nonprofit affiliate McCrone Research
Institute. ''He's the best there is in the field,'' said Michael
Henchman, a professor of chemistry at Brandeis University who has
done work on painting analysis. McCrone acknowledged yesterday that
it is easier to debunk a work - as he did with a purported Viking map
of Vinland in 1974 and the Shroud of Turin in 1980 - than to
authenticate one. Even in those famous cases, however, McCrone's word
is not accepted by all scientists. In the case of the alleged
Rembrandt paint chips, McCrone said he is confident that the ''record
of what Rembrandt used'' was ''very good'' and that his analysis is
correct. But the problem with this kind of analysis, say art
historians, is that Rembrandt's painting materials were not his
alone. Nor was his application of paint special. Style and
composition is what set him apart. ''I don't think we can say that
Rembrandt used materials in a way unique to him,'' said James Cuno,
head of the Harvard University art museums. ''What he used was
consistent with thousands of other painters working in northern
Europe in the 17th century. And even that doesn't mean that his
materials could not be produced by you and me today.'' If analysis of
paint chips alone could determine the authenticity of a Rembrandt,
Cuno said, ''there would be no need for the Rembrandt Research
Project.'' Holland in Rembrandt's day was a major art center.
Thousands of works survive from that period, said Michael Zell,
assistant professor of art history at Boston University. There are so
many questionable Rembrandts in the world, that in 1995, New York's
Metropolitan Museum of Art mounted the exhibit ''Rembrandt/ Not
Rembrandt.'' ''I would urge more caution,'' Zell said.
This story ran on page B04 of the Boston Globe on 10/16/97. (c)
Copyright 1997 Globe Newspaper Company.
------------------------------------
(The Age, Melbourne)
Kennett urges Serrano to go home
By TONY PARKINSON, FERGUS SHIEL and ROBIN USHER
The Premier, Mr Jeff Kennett, yesterday urged the controversial New
York artist Andres Serrano to pack his bags and go home. Angered by
the artist's attacks on the National Gallery of Victoria for
withdrawing his photographic exhibition, the Premier said Mr Serrano
had a talent for fuelling controversy wherever he went. Speaking in
Hong Kong, Mr Kennett said: "I just say to Mr Serrano, `Thank you for
coming, we're sorry we're not able to view the display of your work,
now it's probably time to go home'. I'm trying to say that in the
nicest possible way." But the photographer yesterday indicated he was
in no immediate hurry to leave Melbourne, and intensified his attack
on the gallery's director, Dr Timothy Potts. "I want to stick around
and watch Timothy burn a little bit," he said. "I think the more heat
I put on him the better it is, because other people see it the same
way. "If he gets fired, I feel first of all that justice will be
served and it sends out a message to other curators and directors
that they have to stand by their art." Speaking at a media conference
at Kirkcaldy Davies Galleries in South Yarra, where another
exhibition of his work is showing, Serrano said he was encouraged by
the support of National Gallery staff. But a gallery trustee, Mr Jim
Cousins, last night described reports of a staff revolt against Dr
Potts as fanciful. The reports arose after staff met Dr Potts on
Tuesday to discuss the reasons for the Serrano closure after only two
days. Mr Cousins said he had been told that only two staff had
questioned the need to close the exhibition permanently, and six had
expressed strong support for the closure. The gallery's deputy
director, Mr Derek Gillman, said reports of a revolt were utter
nonsense. "There is amazing talent at the gallery and I believe Dr
Potts is leading it to an amazing future," he said. Dr Potts, in a
bulletin to staff yesterday, said he was pleased they had been able
to express their frustration at what happened. The Serrano exhibition
was cancelled on Sunday after vandals used a hammer to damage Piss
Christ, the controversial depiction of a crucifix immersed in the
artist's urine. Dr Potts said he was forced to close the exhibition
to ensure the safety of gallery staff and visitors.
--------------------------------------
Rembrandt return may be closer (Paint chip analysis encourages officials)
By Stephen Kurkjian and John Yemma, Globe Staff, 10/16/97
Federal authorities want to interview a Chicago-based art expert who
recently analyzed a small pile of tiny paint chips and declared them
as coming from a painting by the 17th-century artist Rembrandt.
Officials investigating the 1990 theft of priceless artwork,
including two Rembrandt paintings, from the Isabella Stewart Gardner
Museum, were encouraged by the analysis of Walter C. McCrone. They
and museum officials called it ''the most significant piece [of
evidence] that we've gotten so far.'' McCrone was retained by The
Boston Herald to determine if paint chips obtained by the newspaper
from a confidential source are from one of the two Rembrandt
paintings that were among 13 pieces of artwork stolen from the museum
on March 18, 1990. McCrone said yesterday that after examining the
chips for two to three hours on Monday he is ''convinced'' that they
are from a Rembrandt, although he could not say the fragments came
from either of the two stolen from the Gardner. McCrone said he found
three telling clues that the paint chips were from a Rembrandt: a
synthetic form of chalk used only in northern Europe during
Rembrandt's time, iron-earth pigments such as sienna and ochre that
Rembrandt favored, and ''a rather unusual'' lead white. Rembrandt's
''paint was not exactly special,'' he said, but there were elements
that, taken together, indicate the hand of the Dutch master. Other
experts, however, cautioned that chemical analysis of the paint is
not enough to prove it comes from Rembrandt's brush. At most, they
say, it might establish the paint as from northern Europe in the
17th century. Beyond that, more examination is needed, they say.
McCrone's analysis, which was reported in yesterday's Herald, was
greeted with private optimism by federal investigators and
representatives of the Gardner Museum. Although none would be
identified, they agreed that if McCrone is correct in his analysis,
it would represent a major step toward beginning negotiations for
the return of the artwork. Discussions toward those negotiations have
been stalled since early last month when US Attorney Donald Stern,
whose office is investigating the theft, said publicly that there
would be no talks until ''concrete and specific evidence'' was
supplied by the two men who have professed they could facilitate the
return of the artwork. McCrone said yesterday that he had not been
contacted yet by officials from Stern's office or the FBI. However,
having worked with federal law enforcement agencies on prior
occasions, McCone said he would be willing ''to share what I know
with them.'' The FBI and Gardner Museum are hoping to get access to
the paint chips to conduct their own examination. Spokespersons for
the FBI's Boston office and Stern declined to comment yesterday on
whether the Herald had turned over the chips to authorities. Last
night, Andrew Gully, Herald managing editor, said the fragments had
been given to federal authorities. The Herald reported that it had
received the paint chips from a confidential source associated with
William P. Youngworth III and Myles J. Connor Jr., longtime friends
who have contended since midsummer that they could facilitate the
return of the museum's artwork if their demands were met. Nearly two
weeks ago, the Herald turned over to Stern's office a series of
photographs purportedly showing the two stolen Rembrandts - ''Storm
on the Sea of Galilee'' and ''A Lady and Gentleman in Black.''
Gardner officials have analyzed those photographs at the FBI's
Boston office for several days but, according to one source, have not
concluded whether they show the actual two paintings. The source
said that the museum hopes to gain possession of the negatives from
which the photographs were developed to conduct further analysis. In
addition, two sources said that the museum hopes to obtain one of the
less valuable pieces of art stolen in the heist, such as a drawing by
Edgar Degas, to prove that Youngworth and Connor have access to the
artwork. In addition to the $5 million reward money, Youngworth, who
has acted as spokesman for the two, has demanded that unrelated state
charges against him be dropped, that Connor be released from federal
prison where he is serving the final 2 1/2 years of a 10-year
sentence, and that both be given immunity from any charges related to
the theft and return of the artwork. Youngworth was found guilty last
month in Norfolk County Superior Court in Dedham on one of the
unrelated charges - possession of a stolen van - and he faces a
maximum 15-year sentence if he is convicted of being a habitual
offender. That trial begins next week. Judy Rakowsky of the Globe
staff contributed to this story.
This story ran on page B01 of the Boston Globe on 10/16/97. (c)
Copyright 1997 Globe Newspaper Company.
-------------------------------------
Death Mars Museum Opening
B I L B A O, Spain, Oct. 15 - ETA guerrillas apparently planned
to bomb the new Guggenheim museum in the Basque city of Bilbao
during its weekend opening by Spain's king and queen. The Guggenheim
foundation vowed to open the modern art museum on schedule despite
the death of a policeman, shot on Monday when he disturbed guerrillas
posing as gardeners near the building. "I wouldn't dare to say that
the king was the primary target. They (ETA) can try to attack the
king at any moment," the interior minister of the Basque regional
government Juan Maria Atutxa said. "The primary aim was to get
international publicity and notoriety. Millions of people would have
been able to see that ETA could carry out this kind of attack at an
event attended by the king and other national and international
figures," Atutxa told a news conference. King Juan Carlos, who has
been targeted for assassination by the Basque separatist group in
the past, has not altered his plans to attend the opening, the royal
palace said. Between 700 and 800 dignitaries are expected at the
inaugural ceremony and dinner on Saturday. The Guggenheim has
focused international attention on Bilbao, a city more well known as
a flash point of separatist violence. Promoters hope it will attract
tourists and enhance the image of the northern Spanish city, worn
down by decades of declining industry, soaring unemployment and
violence. Thomas Krens, director of the New York-based Solomon R.
Guggenheim foundation, said the opening ceremonies would go on as
planned although the policeman's death would dampen the celebration.
The policeman, Jose Maria Agirre, 35, was shot in the chest when he
approached a van from which three ETA rebels, posing as gardeners,
were unloading flower pots containing remote-control explosives. The
policeman was buried in his Basque hometown of Zalla. Most of the
10,000 townspeople were expected to attend the funeral. The town
council declared a day of mourning on Wednesday and held a silent
vigil. Demonstrations and Protests The Basque parliament in the
regional capital of Vitoria also halted work to observe five minutes'
silence. The Basque regional government, headed by Jose Antonio
Ardanza, will lead a demonstration on Thursday to condemn the killing
in Bilbao. In July, about half a million protested in the city
against ETA's kidnapping of Basque town councillor Miguel Angel
Blanco, who was killed later that day. The incident sparked the
largest demonstrations in Spain's recent history, attended by an
estimated 6 million people. ETA (Basque Homeland and Freedom) has
killed some 800 people in its 30-year struggle for an independent
Basque state. Agirre was the 12th person killed this year. Outside
the museum, visitors laid flowers and candles throughout the day in a
makeshift shrine on the spot where Agirre was shot. Officials
dedicated the square in front of the museum and a floral sculpture of
a puppy by U.S. artist Jeff Koons to the dead officer and also
observed a minute of silence. The museum, designed by architect Frank
Gehry, is the centerpiece of Bilbao's planned urban renewal to
transform the decaying industrial port into a vibrant cultural center.
Monday's incident coincided with the opening of a trial in Madrid of
the entire 23-member leadership of ETA's political wing, Herri
Batasuna. They are charged with collaborating with the guerrillas and
defending terrorism.
Copyright 1997 Reuters.
----------------------------------------
(L.A.Times)
Rembrandt painting is now behind bulletproof glass.
Rembrandt Unveiled: The restored Rembrandt painting "The Danae" is
currently on display at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg,
Russia, 12 years after it was attacked by a man who threw acid on the
canvas and slashed it with a knife. The museum's director Mikhail
Piotrovsky said in a TV interview that only so much could be done to
save the badly damaged masterpiece. "The former 'Danae' does not
exist any longer, and we have to reconcile ourselves to the idea," he
said. .
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Country house 'copy' is Velazquez masterpiece, says Spanish expert
By Tim Brown in Madrid and Will Bennett in London
A PAINTING which has hung in a Dorset country house
since the early 19th Century is one of the most famous masterpieces
by the Spanish artist Velazquez, a leading expert believes. Until now
the version of the painting, Las Meninas, at Kingston Lacy, near
Wimborne, was thought to be a copy by Velazquez's son-in-law and
pupil, Juan del Mazo. But yesterday the head curator of the Prado
Museum in Madrid, where the original Las Meninas is kept, said that
the Dorset painting is a second version of the work by Velazquez.
Matias Diaz Padron said: "I firmly believe that the Las Meninas in
this country house in England is the work of Velazquez, a second
version of what is possibly his most famous work. I base this on
colour, brush work and scientific investigation and on documents
relating to his paintings." He said that one document showed that the
Dorset painting had been bought by the Marques de Carpio, a close
friend of both King Philip IV and Velazquez for 4,000 reales. He
continued: "Works by Velazquez were at the time selling for at the
most 1,500 reales. It was an outstanding price to pay even for a work
by such a master." Mr Padron, who has spent many years studying the
works of Velazquez, reached his verdict after an investigation
lasting 15 years. Yesterday he promised to reveal further details of
the investigation in a Spanish newspaper to be published tomorrow.
The verdict of the man who looks after the world's greatest
collection of 49 Velazquez paintings was greeted cautiously yesterday
by the National Trust, which owns Kingston Lacy. Alastair Laing, the
trust's adviser on pictures and sculpture, said: "Until he produces
some documentary evidence it is too early to comment intelligently on
what he is saying. The only reason it has come to prominence is that
I included it in an exhibition of paintings from National Trust
properties which was held at the National Gallery." If Mr Padron's
verdict is accepted by the art world it will hugely increase the
value of the painting which Mr Laing said is currently worth "tens of
thousands of pounds". Experts were reluctant to put a price on it as
a Velazquez yesterday. A spokesman for Sotheby's said: "You might as
well try to value the Mona Lisa." In 1970 the Portrait of Juan de
Pareja by Velazquez fetched more than £5.5 million at auction while
in 1990 The Immaculate Conception sold for nearly £3.2 million. Las
Meninas, in which Velazquez portrayed himself painting members of the
Spanish Royal Family and their attendants in 1656, is regarded as one
of his greatest works. In the centre is the Infanta Margarita
surrounded by "las meninas", the Portuguese term used at the Spanish
court for young female attendants of a royal child. After viewing Las
Meninas the French painter Edouard Manet was so impressed that he
shrugged and said: "I don't know why the rest of us bother." The
Kingston Lacy version, which is one third of the size of the Madrid
painting, was believed to be the only copy and was brought to Dorset
shortly after its purchase in 1814. It was bought by William Bankes,
who believed the work to be Velazquez's original sketch for the
painting and described it as "the glory of my collection". But later
generations of art experts decided it was a later copy by his
son-in-law. Kingston Lacy was acquired by the National Trust from the
Bankes family in 1982.
--------------------------------------------
(Sydney Morning Herald)
Statue stolen as art attacks spread to Sydney
By NICK PAPADOPOULOS
A statuette depicting a condom-covered Virgin Mary has been stolen
from Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) in the wake of
protests and this week's cancellation in Melbourne of the
controversial Piss Christ exhibition. "We were becoming anxious not
about just that work but others in this bizarre atmosphere of quite
distorted public perception where people are looking to [be
outraged]," the stunned curator and director of the museum, Ms
Bernice Murphy, said yesterday. The $1,500 work, Virgin in a Condom,
by the young British artist Tania Kovats, was ripped off its mounting
between 1.15pm and 1.20pm yesterday, despite the recent stepping-up
of security including cameras. This followed a "disturbing" interest
in the piece in recent days - about 15 people had called the museum
at Circular Quay to express their disgust. Others were more direct
and visited the museum, prompting a warning to attendants to keep a
close eye on the statuette. "The little work quietly sat there barely
noticed until this enormous controversy in Melbourne erupted," said
Ms Murphy. "Suddenly - when we quietly had it on view with no
particular incidents - within a week the entire atmosphere to the
exhibition had changed." Last Sunday, the National Gallery of
Victoria cancelled its exhibition by the controversial artist Andres
Serrano when two youths destroyed his photograph of a crucifix
immersed in urine. It was the second attack on the work in as many
days. Virgin in a Condom, which is 10.5 centimetres tall, is one of
two works by Kovats featured in the largest exhibition of British art
to have come to Australia. "Our attendants have noticed people coming
in and saying, "where is that work?'," said Ms Murphy. "Coming in
specifically to find it, specifically to be outraged. And not looking
at anything else or not seeing another work by the same artist. "Which
is why we stepped up security, took special measures and had extra
surveillance." On Thursday, the statuette, which is owned by the MCA,
was secured more strongly and a plan to encase it in transparent
plastic was being considered, contrary to the artist's intention to
have it exposed. Ms Murphy said Virgin in a Condom certainly
"challenged" audiences. This was in keeping with the museum's mission
to "deal with contemporary creativity and evolving conditions of
social change". Staff at the museum spent yesterday afternoon
interviewing attendants and planned to watch videos taken by the
surveillance cameras. Police said yesterday they were investigating
the theft. Plans were also put in place for the museum's busiest
period - this weekend.
-----------------------
(Sydney Morning Herald)
ART ATTACK (Drawing the moral line)
Great art has the power to move the heart and inspire the soul. But
as this week showed, it can also cause unexpectedly bitter offence.
JOYCE MORGAN reports on the clash of public morality and artistic
licence. FRANK Watters remembers a conversation with a member of the
Vice Squad in the late '60s when they were regular, uninvited
visitors at his Sydney gallery. The officer suggested Watters call
him if he had a painting that might be unsuitable for public display.
"I said, "Of course I will, but I've never seen such a picture',"
Watters recalled this week. Watters might not have seen such a
picture, but plenty of people have, it seems. Indeed Australia has a
long, if hardly proud, tradition of art controversies. The closure of
Andres Serrano's exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria this
week after his work Piss Christ was vandalised is just the latest
example. Art can stir the passions. And that is as it should be. "The
point that has to be argued over and over again is, what do artists
do? Often they dredge the areas of discomfort to make you really
think about things from a different angle, to really ask ourselves
who we are and what we are about," said Alan Dodge, director of the
Art Gallery of Western Australia. So what does it say about ourselves
that many of the works that have outraged sections of the community
over the years have involved sex and religion? Norman Lindsay touched
on both. The century had barely begun when, in 1904, Lindsay unveiled
Pollice Verso. It showed a Bacchanalian crowd of naked figures giving
the thumbs down to a crucified figure. A scandalised public filled
newspaper letters columns with its outrage, interpreting the work as
an attack on Christianity. Lindsay argued that the nude human body
was his symbol of the freed spirit of man. The Daily Telegraph begged
to differ: "The subjects suggest an artist with an imagination in an
advanced stage of decomposition." The exhibition, demonstrating that
any publicity is good publicity, drew enormous crowds. Another Lindsay
image of a crucifixion prompted further controversy less than a
decade later. The Crucified Venus showed a monk nailing a naked woman
to a cross before a mob of leering ecclesiastics. The pen drawing was
turned to the wall after it was shown in the art segment of the
All-Australian Exhibition in Melbourne in 1913 before being taken
down "because it might give offence to a section of the community",
the organising committee explained at the time. It was rehung five
days later, after Julian Ashton, president of the Society of Artists,
threatened to withdraw the NSW pictures. One of Australia's biggest
art controversies involved neither sex nor religion, but a complex
debate about what constitutes a portrait. William Dobell's 1943
portrait of fellow painter Joshua Smith prompted a bitter court case,
and a falling out between the two artists, when it won the coveted
Archibald Prize. The painting provided a battleground between
old-guard conservatives versus the modernists. Two conservative
artists, incensed at Dobell's win, asked the NSW Supreme Court to set
aside the award on the grounds that the painting was not a portrait,
as required under the terms of Archibald's will, but a caricature.
The suit was dismissed.
Rarely has an artistic question received such widespread popular
debate; everyone had a view on what constituted a portrait. The
Archibald still prompts heated debate each year when the winner is
announced. While attacks on art have most frequently involved a
battle of words, vandalism such as that done to Piss Christ is not
unprecedented. The world was shocked when an Australian, Laszlo Toth,
attacked Michelangelo's Pieta at the Vatican in 1972. Wielding a
sculptor's hammer he broke off the Virgin's left arm, smashed her
left eye, chipped the veil over her head, and partially removed her
nose. Toth was sentenced to two years in an asylum for the criminally
insane and was later deported to Australia. After that, the eruption
over Australia's 1973 purchase of Jackson Pollock's Blue Poles for
$1.3 million - then the highest price ever paid for a contemporary
American painting - seems in hindsight like comic relief. "Barefoot
drunks painted our masterpiece," screamed one tabloid headline at the
time, amid claims that the abstract work was created during a
drinking binge by artists who splashed paint over the canvas with
their feet. The Attorney-General, Lionel Murphy, argued in the
Senate: "Surely the Government is not expected to carry out an
investigation into the state of sobriety of the artist to decide if
a painting is suitable to be bought by Australia." Argument about the
purchase continued in the press and Parliament for more than a year.
While the art critic Robert Hughes described the abstract as one of
Pollock's "absolute masterpieces", the Opposition was keen to see the
purchase as an example of the Whitlam Government's financial
irresponsibility. Artists also were divided, with Russell Drysdale
seeing it as a priceless masterpiece while Sali Herman, an Archibald
prize-winner, said the work was of doubtful value. Two decades on,
Drysdale seems closer to the mark and the work remains one of the
National Gallery of Australia's big drawcards. Earlier this year,
Lionel Bowen, a former deputy chairman of the gallery, suggested the
work might be worth up to $30 million. Explicit sexual references led
to the seizure by police of Juan Davila's Stupid as a Painter from
the prestigious 1982 Sydney Biennale. The Vice Squad raid followed a
complaint from the Rev Fred Nile, director of the Festival of Light.
"The only thing the artist omitted was bestiality," Nile said of the
comic-strip figures. The seizure prompted Neville Wran, then Premier,
to criticise his own police force for getting involved. Patrick
McCaughey, then director of the National Gallery of Victoria, said
there was no doubt that giving offence was part of the aesthetics of
Davila's painting. "It is meant to offend ... on that score it has
succeeded brilliantly." Causing offence was probably not what New
York photographer Annie Leibovitz intended when she created her most
famous image. But when the West Australian's weekend supplement, The
West Magazine, placed Leibovitz's image of a naked John Lennon
clutching his clothed wife, Yoko Ono, on its cover last year before
an exhibition of her work toured Australia, the paper was inundated
with complaints, some 200 phone calls and many hundreds of letters,
overwhelmingly negative and mostly from women, many of whom believed
the photograph depicted intercourse or foreplay. The reaction caught
the art world by surprise. The exhibition had toured Europe and Japan
without controversy, and no-one had expected that so poignant and
famous a photograph - it was taken just hours before Lennon was
murdered - could suddenly cause such offence. Clearly, though, nearly
100 years after Norman Lindsay's nudes prompted an outcry, the naked
body still has the power to shock. But the vandalisation of Piss
Christ and the subsequent closure of the Serrano exhibition have
ensured that a work which might otherwise have gone unnoticed has
become etched in the public imagination. It has ever been thus.
Puritans lower the shutters
ONE QUESTION arising out of the Piss Christ debacle is why this work
has caused such a reaction in Australia when, just two years ago,
another potentially more explosive exhibition - photographs by the
American Robert Mapplethorpe - passed with barely a complaint. The
closure of an Andres Serrano exhibition after vandals twice attacked
Piss Christ comes at a time when Australia appears increasingly
cautious about what can be seen and heard in public. In Adelaide,
people under 18 years will be banned from the play Shopping and
F**king, Mark Ravenhill's London hit about sex, fast food and
designer drugs. And in film, the 25th anniversary release of John
Waters's satirical shlocker Pink Flamingos has been delayed because
of censorship objections. Far from becoming a relaxed and
comfortable nation, are we instead becoming more uptight and
restrictive? Piss Christ, a photograph of a crucifix immersed in a
container of the artist's urine, was damaged while on exhibition at
the National Gallery of Victoria last Sunday by a youth wielding a
hammer. The work had prompted protests from church groups and calls
by the Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, Dr George Pell, for the
photograph to be banned. It is not the first time that the gallery's
security has been outmanoeuvred. Picasso's $2 million Weeping Woman
was stolen while on display in 1986. It was eventually recovered in a
railway station locker. After the closure, the NVG director, Dr
Timothy Potts, said the gallery could no longer guarantee security -
of visitors, staff or the artworks. The NVG is also hosting a
multi-million-dollar Rembrandt exhibition. When the Mapplethorpe
exhibition containing graphic images of homoeroticism and
sadomasochism opened at Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art in
February 1995, there were no demonstrations, prayer vigils or violent
attacks, and hardly a whisper of disapproval, though it was one of
the most confronting exhibitions Australia had ever seen.
Mapplethorpe's work, like Serrano's, has been at the centre of
cultural battles in the United States, where its exhibition has been
seen as a factor in the crippling of the National Endowment of the
Arts. But why did the exhibitions provoke such different reactions in
Australia? Before the exhibition the gallery embarked on an extensive
information campaign. Staff and guides were consulted and the
gallery sought - and received - the support of the MCA board.
Meetings were held with the police, the Office of Film and Literature
Classification, and with teachers. Letters were sent to all members
of the gallery's foundation. When the exhibition opened, warning
signs were placed in the gallery and minors were not allowed in
without an adult. "The thing we had to protect was people's right to
say, "I didn't want to be ambushed by that'," Murphy said. She
received only three complaints. "You need to think very thoroughly why
you are doing something, be very sure of your reasoning, be careful
of community values. Don't insult the community, don't be unmindful
of people's rights to say "that really does upset me ...' but we
would not be doing our job if we were not at times taking on very
difficult polemical issues," Murphy said. "But our mission would be
courage with responsibility." Asked how the National Gallery of
Victoria had prepared for the Serrano exhibition, a spokeswoman for
Dr Potts said discussions had been held with Archbishop Pell and with
the gallery's staff, and that additional security had been put in
place. Dr Potts did not believe the gallery's reputation had been
harmed by the damage to Piss Christ and the closure of the
exhibition. But as the gallery ponders the implications of the week's
events, the question must be asked: will major institutions,
including those which have lent works for the Rembrandt exhibition,
be quite so willing to lend to the NGV in future?
JOYCE MORGAN
-----------------------------------
Date sent: Fri, 17 Oct 1997 18:24:32 -0400
To: securma@xs4all.nl
From: Joslin Hall Rare Books <jhall@tiac.net>
Subject: Fake JFK papers
Allegedly fake JFK papers subject of federal probe
Associated Press, October 16th, 1997
NEW YORK- Federal prosecutors have begun a criminal investigation into
the sale of hundreds of allegedly fake documents said to have been
written by President Kennedy, The New York Times reported yesterday. A
federal grand jury subpoenaed records related to the papers, including
a discredited document that had purported to be an agreement between
Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe about their alleged affair. Lawrence Cusack
III of Fairfield, Conn., has been selling the documents to collectors
around the country, the Times said. He said he found them among the
papers of his father, a prominent New York lawyer who Cusack said had
a professional and personal relationship with Kennedy. About 140
investors have paid a total of $4 million to $5 million for dozens of
the documents, the newspaper said. Two handwriting specialists said
they had been duped into authenticating the documents, according to
the newspaper. One of them, Kenneth Rendell, said he had received a
subpoena and was happy to cooperate with the investigation. Cusack
defended the papers' authenticity and told the Times he was not aware
of the investigation. "They were looked at by at least one and
sometimes two or three experts" he said. "We relied on that
authenticity." Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Seymour Hersh had based
a chapter of his upcoming book, "The Dark Side of Camelot", on papers
from Cusack that purported to show Kennedy paid Monroe to k