Czech Man Smashes Ai Weiwei Sculpture, The Netherlands Returns 288 Artifacts to Indonesia, and More: Morning Links for September 23, 2024

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The Headlines

PHOTO FINISH. A man pushed over and shattered a porcelain sculpture by Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei on Friday at the opening of his solo show “Who am I?” in Palazzo Fava, Bologna, reports Maximiliano Durón for ARTnews. Caught on CCTV, 57-year-old Czech Vaclav Pisvejcm can be seen stepping onto the plinth supporting Weiwei’s piece, Porcelain Cube, and pushing it over. He then lifts a large, broken piece of it over his head before he’s tackled by three men. Pisvejc has a reputation for vandalizing artworks and was promptly arrested following his latest stunt. In the meantime, the broken sculpture was removed and replaced by a photograph of the original. 

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FROM HOLLAND WITH LOVE. The Netherlands repatriated 288 artifacts to Indonesia on Friday, in what is the country’s second effort at restitution since a 2020 Dutch government report recommending the return of unethically obtained artworks from former colonies, reports The New York Times. The objects included Buddhist statues, weapons, and jewelry dating back centuries, and were officially requested by the Indonesian Repatriation Commission, which plans to display them in the National Museum in Jakarta. They were being displayed in the World Museum in Amsterdam.In another case of repatriation, this time from an individual acting alone, Paolo Catti De Gasperi, the grandson of Italy’s former prime minister, Alcide De Gasperi, has returned a valuable Greek vase that was presented to his grandfather by Greek prime minister Alexandros Papagos during a 1953 state visit, reports Kathimerini. The 5th-century BC vase was a thank you gift for another act of mandatory repatriation, though on a much larger scale: After losing WWII, De Gasperi ceded the Dodecanese islands to Greece, an area Italy had captured from the Ottoman Empire in 1912. 

The Digest

In another act of generosity, The New York Times chief art critic Holland Cotter is donating the $50,000 he was recently awarded for the 2024 Rabkin Prize. He’s giving $25,000 to the Forge Project in New York, according to the Indigenous, cultural nonprofit, which said on social media the gift will support indigenous arts writers and art criticism. The other $25,000 is for the International Association of Art Critics’ grant for an emerging critic, according to the AICA’s Instagram announcement. [Forge Instagram, AICA Instagram]

French minister of culture Rachida Dati has held onto her job amid a government shake up by newly appointed prime minister, Michel Barnier. This comes despite her indictment for “passive corruption” in past dealings with former Renault chief, Carlos Ghosn. [Le Monde]

The future of Germany’s Kunsthalle Baden-Baden art center is in doubt, with state plans to close the institution for years of renovations starting this year. The refurb is putting jobs at risk and may ultimately eliminate its contemporary art programming. “We fear that there will never be an independent art gallery in Baden-Baden again,” said Cagla Ilk, director of the institution. [Monopol Magazine]

The MUUS Collection has acquired the estate of late American photographer Larry Fink. The for-profit firm will host an exhibit of the photographer’s work, curated by Lucy Sante at Paris Photo in November, and release a new monograph of Fink’s work. [The Art Newspaper]

Iran’s ancient Persepolis ruins, in the former capital of the Achaemenid Empiren, are being threatened by lichen that are steadily eating away at the the 6th-century BC heritage site. “Industrial development” has contributed to the spread of lichen, which have already damaged “numerous complex patterns” on the ancient ruins, according to local scientists. [Le Figaro]

The Kicker

LOUVRE LOCKDOWN. For the first time in its storied history, a woman is leading the Louvre museum’s security operations in Paris. Dominique Buffin, 45, sat down with Le Monde’s Roxana Azimi to discuss taking up into the role after a brief trial by fire during the Paris Summer Olympics, and as the museum remains on high alert. But Louvre president Laurence des Cars – herself the first woman to lead the museum — insists Buffin’s nomination had nothing to do with gender. “She was the best candidate. Her experience speaks for itself,” she told Le Monde.

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