Eskenazi Gallery out-maneuvers the art fair at Frieze.. is there a paradigm shift in the works? I don't think it is an isolated event though I don't think it actually threatens the art fairs either.

LACMA gets a major infusion of modernist works and continues its bid to cement LA as a major art center. After some bumps in the road Govan seems to be building momentum for the museum.

Was Van Gogh shot? An article in Vanity Fair makes a stronger argument... As often with history that becomes legendary first the facts get muddled and conveniently shuffled towards an easy soundbite description of what happened. If true it would go some distance in de-tigmatizing the act of being an artist as a pathological condition with inevitably fatal consequences. For those interested in Van Gogh is creates a more complicated picture of the man and for that reason alone, even if proven untrue is worthwhile.

Pompidou President wants a design and architecture space ASAP. In many ways this is where the applied arts mediate between museums comprised of traditional objects and the ever expanding education departments. All major museums are going in this direction if they are looking forward.

Robert Frank at 90 in the Guardian.

Independent Project's alternative to the art fair model in NYC.

OCAC and The Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation (both PORT sponsors) explored a weekend retreat called The Art of Possibilities to explore how OCAC might expand "existing internal and external programs for K-12 age students in the area. It is something we want to keep an eye on as arts education, though improved through the Portland's Arts Tax consequently opens a discussion for greater finesse and organs to execute. What I'm saying is the Arts Tax was just a first step and Art Schools will likely take a greater role in education in the next decade or more. Good that they are being progressive... it all reminds me of the way Frank Lloyd Wright taught his apprentices at Taliesin... not only did they draft but their bricklaying and other hand skills were honed.

As the discussion of the relationship between wealth and art heats up Artnet isn't impressed with the Gehry designed Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris. Fashionable trophy hunting and the art world have been closely allied for the past decade or so... is a rift developing or is Gehry's Bilbao Effect simply out of gas? I also see some fantastic things within this museum and can't completely agree with the review but it is worth pondering.