Some Worthwhile Links

It seems the Gift Economy applies to forgers too: Jesuit priest’ forger has fooled US museums for more than 20 years “A picture is emerging of one of the most bizarre cases of deception in art history. Unlike other forgers, the ‘priest’ does not ask for payment of any kind for his Picassos, Signacs and Daumiers which have been described as ‘masterful’. It seems the alleged fraudster simply enjoys fooling museum experts who have not only accepted his fakes as cherished gifts but invited him to ‘special donor events’ in the belief that he has more to give.”

After 13 Years as One of Jersey City’s Cultural Leaders, Lex Leonard Moves On
From the Jersey City Independent:

My generation and I possessed a sense of nihilistic lawlessness and decadence that made us special. Those that were part of the scene know what I mean. And by my generation, I mean the folks that spawned the 111 building and Jersey City arts stars that inspired me and those that helped me establish the scene which centered around the 143 Building — the four floor brick mastodon that housed the gallery, the first Waterbugs, my late night events, etc. All of this is Jersey City “underground” lore that someone should really write about — and I’d love to collaborate.

Any takers?

I knew Jeffrey Deitch would spark things:
MOCA’s gala as ‘happening,’ with country auctioneers as performers | Culture Monster | Los Angeles Times: It was clearly an experiment. Could Doug Aitken transform Saturday’s MOCA gala into something that did not feel like a gala but an artistic experience that he called a ‘happening’? And could the improvisatory, participatory spirit of a happening survive the fact that it was being promoted as such by a museum trying to sell $5,000 seats for it?”

Artists fleeing the city - Crain’s New York Business: “Industry experts worry that New York will become a place where art is presented but not made, turning the city into an institutionalized sort of Disney Land. One arts executive says it could become “a Washington, D.C.,” a sterile, planned city with a number of cultural institutions but few artists—certainly not a place known as a birthplace for new cultural ideas and trends.”

Some absolutely beautiful animation here:
Molecular Animation - Where Cinema and Biology Meet - NYTimes.com: “Building on decades of research and mountains of data, scientists and animators are now recreating in vivid detail the complex inner machinery of living cells.”

Well this explains a lot:
Incompetent People Really Have No Clue, Studies Find / They’re blind to own failings, others’ skills - SFGate: “People who do things badly, Dunning has found in studies conducted with a graduate student, Justin Kruger, are usually supremely confident of their abilities — more confident, in fact, than people who do things well”