The, ahem, “erection” of a phallic Gaetano Pesce sculpture is roiling Neapolitans.
A new public sculpture by the late Gaetano Pesce, titled Tu si’ na cosa grande, has stirred controversy in Naples due to its phallic form. Inspired by the commedia dell’arte figure Pulcinella, the 39-foot-tall artwork has garnered mixed reactions, with some city officials calling it an “abomination.” Despite the backlash, the piece will remain on display in Piazza del Municipio until December 19.
Harlem’s Studio Museum receives a $10 million endowment from the Ford Foundation.
The Ford Foundation has awarded a $10 million endowment to the Studio Museum’s director and chief curator position, which has been held by Thelma Golden for two decades. The gift was announced at the museum’s gala in recognition of Golden’s leadership and as a symbol of the institution’s long-term stability as it prepares to open a new building in 2025.
A pedestrian bridge in Buffalo, NY, will make the city’s LaSalle Park newly accessible.
Buffalo’s new pedestrian bridge, designed by Schlaich Bergermann Partner (sbp) and Venice manufacturer Cimolai, connects the city over the I-190 interstate to the redesigned and renamed Ralph Wilson Park—formerly LaSalle Park. Shipped from Italy and assembled onsite, the bridge features slender, arched structures that reduce traffic noise and are illuminated with LED lights at night. The park’s $170 million overhaul, led by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, is on track to open its sports facilities, nature trails, and shoreline by 2026.
Gustinus Ambrosi’s Death Mask of Egon Schiele fetches 10 times its estimate at auction.
A bronze Death Mask of Egon Schiele, created by sculptor Gustinus Ambrosi just days after Schiele’s untimely death in 1918, sold for $24,600 at Sloane Street Auctions—a sum in excess of its estimate by tenfold. Ambrosi, who made a limited number of these bronze casts, shared them with individuals close to Schiele, including the artist’s mother and publisher.
Now in its 220th year, the New York Historical Society will be renamed and rehomed.
The New-York Historical Society has renamed itself the New York Historical, and unveiled plans for its new Tang Wing for American Democracy, funded by a $20 million donation from H.M. Agnes Hsu-Tang and Oscar L.Tang. The wing will include exhibitions, classrooms, conservation labs, and a rooftop garden, and will house the American LGBTQ+ Museum.
Today’s attractive distractions:
London’s Vagina Museum has inaugurated its recently renamed galleries.
With $65 admission, inflation is coming for New York City’s haunted houses.
Culinary science has taken Magnolia Bakery’s banana pudding global.
The internet is obsessing over this Miami island dubbed “billionaire bunker.”
