Wednesday, June 08, 2016

The Louvre - what happened and how it was protected

The Louvre as the flood waters rose last Friday
Today Musée du Louvre in Paris reopened following the Flood threat to Louvre and Musee d'Orsay.

as did the Musée d'Orsay - however some of its rooms remain temporarily closed



While looking at the Louvre Facebook Page I came across a video (in French) which explains the preparations they had in place for flooding and why the Flood Plan was activated last week.
Established in 2002 on the recommendation of the police department, the Louvre’s Flood Risk Prevention Plan consists in:
  • setting up a Risk Prevention Emergency Response protocol
  • daily monitoring of the Seine water level and its fluctuations by the Paris Fire Department
  • special records made of all works that are to be moved to upper floors
  • regular emergency drills with staff member involved in operations
  • installation of systems to pump out and slow the spread of water
  • plans for the relocation of the museum’s reserve collections to Liévin
According to this plan, the emergency response protocol is to be implemented when the level of the river reaches the 31 NGF mark (5.08 meters), and 72 hours before the water gets into the museum. As soon as this level was reached yesterday morning, the Louvre decided to close to the public in order to safeguarding the works exposed to flooding risk, which were moved to the upper floors.

You don't actually have to understand French to be able to get the gist of what they are saying and the precautions they already had in place in terms of pumping and physical barriers.

They were well and truly ready for what happened last week!

What the video also does do is give you some exceptional views of the Louvre in both the public areas and down in the basement.

If you've never been to the Louvre you might like to take a look and see what it's like!



This CNN video (below) provides a clearer perspective on what happened inside the Museum as they moved artifacts from the basement up to the ground flood for safety.



Crowds Are Out, Crates Are In as Louvre Takes Flood Precautions was the New York Times article written by one of the journalists who got inside the Louvre Museum to see what was happening as the Flood Plan swung into action.
Based on some of the comments in that article it struck me that if the Press Team have also got their role in the Flood Plan worked out - and they gave priority to the broadcast media to relay to people that everything is OK - one has to take comfort in the fact they've got everything worked out down to the last detail!
Posted by Making A Mark on Wednesday, June 08, 2016 0 comments
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Tuesday, June 07, 2016

ING Discerning Eye 2016 - Call for Entries

This is about the Call for Entries for the 25th ING Discerning Eye Competition in 2016.
ING Discerning Eye Call for Entries Leaflet
Cover of the ING Discerning Eye Call for Entries Leaflet
Below you can find:
  • information about the exhibition
  • a note about the judges - with links to websites
  • a summary of information about prizes
  • HOW TO ENTER: 
    • a summary of the information for artists e.g. who can enter what etc.
    • information about the deadlines and dates and where to find information about regional collection points
  • links to websites and my blog posts showing images of the art selected and hung in past exhibitions for those unfamiliar with this art competition.
The competition is sponsored by ING Commercial Banking.

ING Discerning Eye 2015 - exhibition, prizes and selection - and reasons to enter!

A view of part of the ING Discerning Eye Exhibition in 2015

About the Exhibition

The ING Discerning Eye Exhibition is a show of small works independently selected by six prominent figures from different areas of the art world

The exhibition is unusual for a number of reasons
  • You only have to please one selector to get selected
  • The exhibition is actually six small curated exhibitions by two artists, two art collectors and two art critics - who are the selectors and who operate independently.
  • The selectors can also invite artists whose work they like as well as selecting artists from the open entry. This sometimes works to the disadvantage of the open entry if certain selectors have lean very heavily towards artists they favour and have invited to exhibit (as has happened on occasion in the past eg one educator selected all her students!)
  • The exhibition provides a rare opportunity for works by lesser-known artists to be hung alongside contributions from internationally recognised names. 
  • The focus is very much on small works - drawings, paintings, fine art prints and sculpture
  • the six individual curated exhibitions tend to be diverse as they represent the individual interests, taste and style of the individual curators
  • It's a very large exhibition with c.600 small artworks spread across all three galleries in the Mall Galleries.
The 2016 ING Discerning Eye Exhibition will be open to the public at the Mall Galleries on Thursday 17 November and run until Sunday 27 November. Admission is free - and it's certainly an exhibition that I recommend people going to see.

 All selected artists will be invited to a Private View on 17 November 2016.

Prizes

The prizes are:
  • ING Purchase Prize £5000 Discerning Eye Founder’s Purchase Prize in honour of Michael Reynolds 
  • £2500 Discerning Eye Chairman’s Purchase Prize 
  • £1000 Meynell Fenton Prize 
  • £1000 Humphreys Purchase Prize 
  • £750 Wright Purchase Prize 
  • £500 Discerning Eye Sculpture and 3D Work Prize 
  • £250 Regional Entry Prizes - Up to 8 prizes of £250 each awarded to an outstanding entry in the national regions

The Curators / Selection Panel


The 2016 selectors - who will each curate a mini exhibition - are as follows. The link in their name is to their website or information about them on the internet.

Artists

  • Dan Coombs - British artist b.1971. He paints and produces collages. Figurative rather than representational or realistic is probably the best shorthand one word description.
  • Chris Orr MBE, RA - English artist b. 1943. Professor of Printmaking at the Royal College of Art 1998-2008.  He exhibited worldwide and published over 400 limited edition prints in lithography, etching and silkscreen.  His website summarises him as a painter, printmaker, draughtsman and teacher. 

Art Collectors

  • Celia Imrie - b.1952 a witty English actress with brilliant timing much associated with Victoria Wood. A very long list of intrinsically English (and sometimes batty) films, television shows, etc. I'm looking forward to seeing what she chooses.
  • Ian Mayes QC - Called to the bar in 1974.  Took silk in 1993. His Legal 500 profile suggests he likes Photography and Contemporary art. He's
    Chairman, Art First Ltd – contemporary art gallery and was Chairman, Development Appeal for Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge University

Art Critics

  • Michael Glover - an author, London-based poet, fiction writer and magazine editor and art critic of The Independent - this is what he chooses to write about (or is asked to write about). I must confess I'm always a bit wary of those who like writing and choose to do a bit of art criticism on the side.  This is his official blog which oddly has very little content for a writer.
  • Sacha Craddock - variously described as an independent art critic, writer, curator and lecturer based in London. Prior to this she gained a degree (Central St Martins)  and postgraduate degree in painting (Chelsea School of Art). She was a co-founder and curator of Bloomberg Space 2002- 2011 and is an active Chair of the Board of New Contemporaries from 1996 which supports emerging art practice from British Art Schools. She also works as a post-graduate tutor / Visiting Lecturer at the Royal College of Art.

Reasons to enter


Here's my summary of the reasons to enter
  • Six people are choosing work - and they don't have to agree! You only have to please one of the six. That means that the work selected for this exhibition is often very diverse. 
  • It's a very large exhibition - it fills the Mall Galleries.
  • It gets a lot of visitors - so provides a very good chance of getting your work seen by a wide range of people interested in art.
  • Since all the work entered must be relatively small works there's often quite a lot of sales as prices tend to be reasonable.
  • It's one of the more prestigious art competitions in the UK. Which means getting selected looks good on your CV!

Are you likely to get selected?

In 2015, 52% of the works on show in the 2015 Discerning Eye Exhibition were from open submission artists. 

Is your artwork likely to sell?

In 2015, 64% of the works sold were by open submission artists.

Note that work not sold at the exhibition will remain for sale on the website until 2 January 2017.

My favourite piece in 2015. The inside is gold.Bowl (2015) by Hitomi Hosono | ceramic | £3,900

Call for Entries

The really important information is highlighted in red below.

Who can enter?
  • ONLY artists who were born or are currently resident in the UK.

What kind of artwork is eligible?

  • all artwork must be an original creation by the artist. This usually means the artist must be able to assert copyright (i.e. the work is not derivative) and the work has not been copied from another artwork or photograph.
  • Painting, prints, drawing, photography and sculpture are all accepted. 
  • Maximum size limit: 20 inches / 50 cms INCLUDING THE FRAME. Works exceeding these dimension in any direction will be rejected.
Maximum size of work: 2D – 20” x 20” (50 x 50 cm) including frame. 3D – 20” x 20” x 20” (50 x 50 x 50 cm) including base/stand
  • All works must be for sale. This is essential / not optional. 
  • Up to six works can be submitted for competition.

What sort of framing is acceptable?

  • There are very specific requirements as to framing and presentation for hanging. Don't let your work get rejected because you didn't read the small print!
Frames and mounts of unusual colour, size or design may prejudice the selectors’ judgement.

What does it cost?

  • Entry fees are £12 per work. 
  • Commission is charged at 40% + VAT. Price entered on the entry form is the catalogue selling price from which commission and VAT payable is deducted.

How to enter

Deadline for Entries

  • Deadline for entries is 5pm on 3 September 2016. (They've actually included two dates in the leaflet at one place in the leaflet - but that's not how a deadline works! A deadline is a time on one date only. I've gone for the later of the two dates. By implication the deadline is 5pm - because that's what it says on the leaflet in connection with deliveries). 
  • There are earlier deadlines for those wanting to submit their work via a regional entry.

How to enter:

  • Paperwork: Download the documentation for entries that you need directly using these links:
  • Complete and sign the entry schedule
  • Provide a digital image of each work. This is NOT for selection purposes - rather it's for inclusion in the online catalogue.
  • Label each work LEGIBLY in block capitals and attach to work
  • All 2D works should be delivered unwrapped, although corner and edge protection on paintings is permissible.
  • Take your labelled artwork and entry schedule to a regional collection point or 17 Carlton House Terrace by the deadline for that location.
  • Entry forms and further details are available from: www.parkerharris.co.uk
  • For further details or any queries please contact Parker Harris 
    • on 01372 462190
    • or de@parkerharris.co.uk
    • or Parker Harris, 15 Church Street, Esher, Surrey KT10 8QS

How do I submit / deliver work?

This exhibition is one of the best for a good range of collection points for an additional fee of £8 per work. (I think this must be one way only - do check what the return trip costs!)

  • You can submit direct to the Mall Galleries on 2nd - 3rd September 2016
  • NEW Picture Post are offering a Submission by Post service, the deadline for which will be Tuesday 30 August. 
  • Delivery of work through a regional collection point involves an additional fee of £8 (inclusive of VAT) per work. All fees are due at the point of submission - paid by cash or by cheque. (I'm assuming this substitutes for the courier fee) and all dates for delivery to specific points are before September and are are detailed in the leaflet
  • Collection points starts on 27 August outside London and includes: 
    • England: A1 Service Areas; Berwick-Upon-Tweed; Birmingham; Bristol; Doncaster; Exeter; Kendal; Manchester; Newcastle; Norwich; Penzance; Plymouth; Southampton
    • Scotland: Edinburgh; Errol, near Perth/Dundee; Glasgow 
    • Wales: Cardiff; 
    • Motorways: M74 & M6 Service Areas

Archive


In my blog posts listed below you can:
  • find out about selected artists - and see their websites 
  • see what the artwork actually looked like hung on the wall in previous exhibitions 

2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
Posted by Making A Mark on Tuesday, June 07, 2016 0 comments
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Monday, June 06, 2016

The Banker's Guide To The Art Market

The Banker's Guide to Art is a documentary to be broadcast by the BBC later this month. The apparent aim is to take a less "reverential" view of the financial realities of art than ever before.

This is how the BBC describes the upcoming programme
Step inside a world of high art, low cunning and prices beyond your wildest imaginings. The Banker's Guide To The Art Market is a revealing, wry and rare look behind doors that are closed to most of us. Propelled by the newly rich of the financial world, London's art market has soared to historic highs.

The film deconstructs this extraordinary phenomenon and looks back over a century of the market’s twists and turns to try to explain it, talking to outspoken collector Jeffrey Archer - 'I couldn’t afford to buy my own pictures’ - maverick dealer Kenny Schacter - 'when money is introduced it brings out the worst in people' - and gallerist Nicholas Logsdail - 'You'll never go wrong, if you buy from a good gallery'. We don’t think you will look at a painting in quite the same way again…
So who are the people taking part and what have they had to say on this topic before now? Turns out they're more interesting than you might think....

Kenny Schacter - art dealer, curator, commentator

Mr Schacter has generated an article in the Telegraph today Art world is 'hotbed' of corruption, collector claims  (hence this blog post) following his appearance at the Hay Festival last week.


Schacter has accounts on but doesn't really do Twitter or Facebook - but does use Instagram (see above) so to find out what he thinks you have to follow his articles on Artnet News.

Here's a selection of his articles:
So he basically seems to be saying:

  • the level of corruption in the art world is directly associated to the level of sums involved
  • dealers plant false bidders at auctions to ramp up prices for their clients
  • prices announced in public for an artwork boost the reputation of artists - despite the fact the sale might take place privately for a much lower figure
  • museums and galleries who know which artists are going to be in future exhibitions can capitalise on that knowledge - since shows will usually enhance the value of such artists
"Any time a lot of money crops up, hideous behaviour follows too"

  • art sales are used for money laundering - people buying are not interested in the artwork - they just want to shift ill gotten gains
  • as a result banks now look very carefully at deposits and withdrawals related to artwork
I assume the latter is the underlying topic for the BBC documentary given its title.


Jeffrey Archer - art collector

"Dr Syntax at auction" by Thomas Rowlandson - owned and sold by Jeffrey Archer in 2011 
at the Christie's auction: "The Jeffrey Archer Sale: Decades of Collecting"

Jeffrey Archer is of course a well known ex MP, who has a history of scandal and making money. Plus he resided at Her Majesty's pleasure for a while and has a stunning penthouse in between MI6 and the Houses of Parliament which contains his rather good art collection. He's been collecting art for over 40 years.

Nicholas Logsdail - art gallerist


Nicholas Logsdail owns the Lisson Gallery (London, Milan, New York).

Lisson Gallery as per their website
Founded in 1967, the Gallery's list stable of artists represented include Ai Weiwei, Sol LeWitt , Richard Long, and Anish Kapoor. He's reputed to

Looks to me as if it will be a very interesting programme!
Posted by Making A Mark on Monday, June 06, 2016 0 comments
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Friday, June 03, 2016

Flood threat to Louvre and Musee d'Orsay

Both the Musée du Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay are currently closed for flood precautions - and because they need to move artwork.

View of  the Musée du Louvre from the roof of the Musée d'Orsay (in 2009)
This shows what it NORMALLY looks like with pathways next to the river
Note how close the museums are to the Seine and the height the water needs to rise to flood them.
I'm currently watching updates on how the level of the Seine is rising due to floodwater.

This is a photo taken yesterday evening looking back the other way - showing the Seine flooding over the top of the pathways along the Seine - with the Musée d'Orsay in the background. (I don't think the person tweeting knows what they are looking at!)



The facts at present are:
  • In 1910, the Seine flooded Paris for over a week! (aka "la Grand Crue de la Seine") - with a record high of 8.6 metres above normal.
  • Yesterday President François Hollande declared the region around Paris a natural disaster area due to flooding resulting from very heavy rain.  More downpours are forecast for the weekend.
  • The River Seine is flooding. 
    • It burst its banks on Wednesday
    • On Thursday evening, it reached a height of 5.37m above its normal level.
    • It was hoped that it would top out at 6 metres however latest reports suggest that French floods: River Seine in Paris hits critical 6-metre mark - and it's now hope that it will peak at 6.5 metres. [That's because at 6.6 metres they have to start closing stations on the Metro!]
    • Update: it's now reached 6.2 metres and the banks of the Seine are now closed.
    • The Seine is already near the top of the arches under the bridge near the Eiffel Tower
    • Update: The garden at the end of the Ile de Cite is flooded.
  • The museums next to the Seine have closed so they can make plans to move artwork to areas within the Museums unlikely to be affected by any flooding should it happen. (You can't start too early for an exercise like this!)
Both the Louvre and, on the opposite bank of the Seine, the Musée d’Orsay, which holds the world’s greatest collection of impressionist masterpieces, have detailed emergency flooding plans.
Both museums organised drills this year to deal with floods. In an alert scenario, the Louvre has 72 hours and the Musée d’Orsay 96 hours to get works held in their underground reserves to safety.
The Guardian | Europe floods: Seine could peak at six metres as Louvre closes doors
  • An internal email to staff at the Louvre states
“The museum will remain closed to the public tomorrow [Friday] out of precaution: there is no danger to the public or our staff but will allow us to calmly remove certain art collections should it be necessary”
  • This is a recent Tweet by the Louvre Twitter account


  • and this one from a Seine watcher @josephbamat - apparently the real measure of serious flooding for Parisians is whether or not you can see the soldier at the Alma Bridge - which disappeared in the 1910 flood.


  • This is a very recent video which shows what it's like on the Seine (on Friday) and gives a very clear view (for those of you who recognise them) of the water next to the Louvre and the Musee d'Orsay


So there's going to be some nail-biting this afternoon and over the weekend.

I wish both Museums well and good luck with putting their Flood Drills into operation.

Updates from the Museums 

READ MORE......>>
Posted by Making A Mark on Friday, June 03, 2016 0 comments
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Thursday, June 02, 2016

A new location for Henry Moore's "Old Flo" in the East End

It looks as if Henry Moore's "Old Flo"might finally be returning to the East End of London - and my home borough of Tower Hamlets.

That would also mean one of the oddest stories about ownership of a key piece of sculpture might also be drawing to a close.

"Old Flo" - Draped Seated Woman as she is formally known - has sat quietly in the Yorkshire Sculpture Park while various parties have lobbied on her behalf.

Old Flo at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park
(Photograph: John Lord | Creative Commons: Some rights reserved)
In the meantime this is the third of my posts about this story.  The two prior to this are:
  • Henry Moore Sculpture - a very poor precedent Nov 8, 2012 This relates the story the creation of Old Flo; her relationship with the borough and the story behind the then Mayor's proposal to sell the sculpture sell the sculpture. I cited six reasons why this was a really bad idea in relation to public ownership of art by famous artists - and this work in particular.
    • It's worth noting that Lutfur Rahman is now the ex-Mayor of Tower Hamlets after being discredited in the High Court and expelled from office - followed by personal bankruptcy and a further Court Case which indicates he and his wife lied to the Court about his assets. 
    • One is left wondering how much of the money from the proposed sale would have actually benefited the population of Tower Hamlets. As opposed to "friends" of the ex-Mayor given the apparent extent of corruption that is still being uncovered and  reported to LBTH Council (which explains to this Council Taxpayer why the Commissioners are still in charge of the Council!)
  • Old Flo - the end of the story? Jul 13, 2015 Provided an update on the story and four key things which had happened to stop the sale including a High Court decision that Tower Hamlets did own the Moore statue after all

Old Flo - a timeline of mishap and malfeasance


1957-8 - Draped Seated Woman - cast in bronze - was created by Henry Moore

Old Flo on the Stifford Estate
1962 - bought by London County Council (LCC) from Henry Moore. Located on the Stifford Estate in Stepney

1963 - LCC abolished and its functions transferred to the Great London Council (GLC) and the local borough. The land and buildings comprising the Stifford Estate in Stepney were transferred to the new Tower Hamlets Council - which incorporated the former Stepney Borough Council.

1985 - GLC Dissolved. The sculpture was not listed in the 1963 Order, and so remained the property of the GLC until its dissolution in 1985.

1996 - all the remaining assets of the GLC transferred to the LB Bromley as the residuary body.

1997 - Old Flo moved to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park for 'safe-keeping' while a new location was found

May 2010 - Lutfur Rahman elected Mayor of Tower Hamlets

October 2012 - Mayor Rahman announced the proposed sale of Old Flo would be put up for sale by auction. Subsequently he confirmed his decision to sell the sculpture without paying any attention to the representations of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee or any of the other representations made on this matter.

November 2012 - the protest began. The campaign to keep Old Flo from being auctioned off (as an item of public art) was active and vociferous.  3,000 people signed a petition to Save Old Flo and to keep the sculpture in Tower Hamlets.

December 2012 - London Borough of Bromley wrote to Tower Hamlets Council to assert ownership of Old Flo and applied for an injunction to stop the sale.

May 2014: Mayor Rahman re-elected

July 2014 - Petition to the Electoral Court to review allegations of electoral fraud granted

Mark 2015 - Trail of Lutfur Rahman and his agent at the Electoral Court

April 2015 - Lutfur Rahman found personally guilty and guilty by his agents of corrupt and illegal practices. He was banned from holding public office for five years by the Electoral Court. New election ordered.

June 2015 - John Biggs was elected as the New Mayor following the former Mayor being disbarred from public office. It very soon became clear that a sale would not be pursued.

July 2015 - In Tower Hamlets LBC v Bromley LBC [2015] EWHC 1954 (Ch), the High Court confirmed LB Tower Hamlets as the legal owners of the sculpture.

Subsequently LB Bromley mounted an appeal of that decision.

19 May 2016 - The Appeal Court rejected Bromley's appeal and Tower Hamlets Council has been reconfirmed as the legal owner of the Henry Moore sculpture Draped Seated Woman.

 For me the whole episode has thrown into high relief:
  • just how unaccountable elected Mayors are compared to the previous arrangements for running local authorities.
  • how fundamentally poor the current system is at rooting out those who are in politics for their own ends - and not for the wider public good.
  • how vulnerable public art is to being sold for funds to run the Council - particularly when the man in charge falls way short of the standards that we ought to be able to expect of those in public office.  
Public Art needs to be protected from the asset strippers!

Henry Moore's sculpture was saved by inefficient bureaucracy

At the end of the day the only thing that saved Old Flo from sale was the vagaries of documentation relating to the transfer of assets and residuary functions when the GLC was dismantled.

It's just taken three and half years to resolve the question of ownership.

If the paperwork had been in order at the outset, Old Flo would have left public ownership at an Auction at Christies in February 2013!

The relocation challenge

READ MORE......>>
Posted by Making A Mark on Thursday, June 02, 2016 0 comments
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