Art

How Food Commercials Are Made

Posted on by Phil Lam X

Have you ever wondered how food looks so mouthwatering in advertisements? Steve Giralt is a food photographer. He has worked for brands like Hershey’s, Budweiser, Pepsi, and Starbucks. Steve uses a symphony of people, cameras, and robots to get the perfect shot.

Dean of USC School of Dramatic Arts David Bridel Admits Improper Romantic Relationship with Student, Resigns

Posted on by Phil Lam X

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The dean of USC’s School of Dramatic Arts has resigned after a woman publicly revealed that he had a romantic relationship with a student while she was attending the university more than a decade ago.

The relationship was revealed during a town hall meeting on Wednesday for faculty, students and alumni of the MFA in acting program, prompting Dean David Bridel to pen a letter to faculty admitting that he briefly dated an unnamed BFA senior in 2009.

USC Provost Charles Zukoski announced in a memo to the school on Thursday that he had accepted Bridel’s resignation, adding that the university was investigating the allegation. School of Cinematic Arts Dean Elizabeth Daley was named interim dean.

Source: NBC LA

2021 Venice Biennale Postponed to 2022

Posted on by Phil Lam X

The 59th edition of the Venice Biennale, formerly scheduled for 2021, has been postponed to the following year. The international art show’s next iteration will now run for seven months, from April 23 to November 27, 2022, overlapping with the 15th edition of the contemporary art quinquennial Documenta in Kassel, Germany.

Cecilia Alemani, chief curator of New York City’s High Line, was tapped to curate the 59th Biennale. Among the confirmed names for the show so far are the multimedia artist Stan Douglas for the Canadian Pavilion; Latifa Echakhch for the Swiss Pavilion; and Zineb Sedira, the first artist of Algerian descent to represent France at the biennial.

Source: Vogue

LACMA receives $50 million gift (2nd-largest private pledge to project) towards controversial campus rebuild & new building – Existing buildings on Wilshire Blvd to be demolished in process

Posted on by Phil Lam X

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The Los Angeles Times reported that a local charitable organization, the W.M. Keck Foundation, offered a $50 million pledge to the project this week, bringing the total commitments to $640 million out of the needed $750 million.

Greg Goldin, a Los Angeles-based critic and architectural historian, heads up the Citizens’ Brigade to Save LACMA. In a conversation with AN, he said the group was dismayed by the Keck Foundation’s choice to donate to the LACMA building fund. Goldin thinks it’s possible that the philanthropy organization doesn’t know what it’s actually paying for. “We don’t know what the board of trustees at the Keck Foundation has seen versus what the public has seen in terms of visuals or building plans,” he said. “If they haven’t seen something other than the absurd renderings released to the world, then they’ve voted on this decision in complete darkness. They’re giving $50 million to what?”

Source: ArchPaper

Banana duct-taped to a wall sells for $120,000 at Art Basel

Posted on by Phil Lam X

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Cattelan himself has offered no direction on how to interpret the work, but MrPerrotin previously told CNN the bananas are “a symbol of global trade, a double entendre, as well as a classic device for humour”.

The installation has fast become one of the most talked-about works at this  year’s Art Basel, with several viewers lining up to take selfies with the  piece.  One passerby was heard declaring the work “the best of the show”. However  some art fans were less than impressed, with one, Weezie Chandler, telling  local media: “You can do anything and once you’re established you can get  away with it.”

The gallery said Cattelan spent a year working on the piece and had originally envisioned a sculpture shaped like a banana.

“Every time he travelled, he brought a banana with him and hung it in his hotel room to find inspiration. He made several models: first in resin, then in bronze and in painted bronze,” the gallery said in a statement.

Ultimately, the gallery said, Cattelan decided a real banana was the perfect fit.

Source: Telegraph