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Russian influencers are cutting up Chanel handbags over perceived “Russophobia.”
“Russian influencers are cutting up their Chanel handbags on social media in angry protest over restrictions imposed by the luxury French fashion label that mean they can no longer buy its products abroad. Chanel confirmed to the BBC this week that it was halting sales of its clothes, perfume, accessories and other items to customers who were intending to use the products in Russia, as a response to President Vladimir Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. Chanel has already shut its stores within Russia, as have many other brands.” —[H/T The Washington Post]
The Met selects artist Hew Locke to create four sculptures for the museum’s exterior.
“The Metropolitan Museum of Art has selected the Guyanese-British artist Hew Locke to create new works for its Fifth Avenue facade niches, the third in a new series of site-specific commissions for the museum’s exterior. The project, ‘Gilt,’ will be on view from Sept. 16 of this year through May 22, 2023. … The artist, whose major commission “The Procession” recently opened at Tate Britain, will create four sculptures for the Met, shaped into whole and fragmented trophies that reference historical works in the museum’s collection.” —[H/T New York Times]
An anonymous artist honors Bucha massacre victims with a poignant performance.
“An unidentified artist-activist commemorated the victims of the massacre of male residents of the town of Bucha near Kyiv by having himself photographed in front of Moscow monuments laying face down, hands tied behind his back with white cloth. The terrifying images that emerged from Bucha over the weekend after it was freed from weeks of Russian occupation, showed many victims laying in that pose, some with gunshot wounds to the head in signs of summary execution.” —[H/T The Art Newspaper]
The Smithsonian is planning to demolish two Gyo Obata buildings on the National Mall.
“The Smithsonian Institution is preparing to tear down one of two buildings designed for the National Mall by the late architect Gyo Obata to make way for a new educational facility called the Bezos Learning Center. Smithsonian representatives recently told members of the National Capital Planning Commission and the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) that demolition will begin this spring on the glass-clad restaurant pavilion that opened in 1988 as an annex to the 1976 National Air and Space Museum.” —[H/T The Architect’s Newspaper]
Disney plans to build more than 1,300 units of affordable housing near Disney World.
“When Walt Disney unveiled his vision in 1966 for a large project in central Florida, he called it an Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (EPCOT). He said it would be a city of 20,000 residents, with an emphasis on industrial and civic experimentation—a utopian city, with a little Disney theme park magic on the side. Disney died later that year before his vision could take shape. And when Disney World opened in 1971, his utopian experiment was sidelined into EPCOT Center, just a small element of an otherwise wholly commercial theme park. Now, more than 50 years later, a more urban part of Disney’s utopian idealism is taking shape. The company is announcing a new project to augment its vast theme park and resort development with 1,300 units of affordable housing, set on 80 acres of land right next to Disney World.” —[H/T Fast Company]
The Brazilian gallery Mendes Wood DM will open a new outpost in Tribeca, New York.
“Mendes Wood DM will open a 7,000-square-foot gallery [designed by Büro Koray Duman] in New York’s Tribeca neighborhood early next month. Its new Walker Street location includes three gallery spaces. Founded by Felipe Dmab, Matthew Wood, and Pedro Mendes in São Paulo in 2010, the gallery maintains a presence in São Paulo and Brussels, and previously operated on the Upper East Side in New York through early 2021. The founders plan to use this expansion to continue showcasing work by Brazilian artists.” —[H/T ARTnews]
Today’s attractive distractions:
A new lawsuit alleges that Burger King’s famous Whoppers are 35 percent too small.
Would you game, eat, sleep, and repeat on Bauhutte’s all-in-one Electric Gaming Bed?
In Connecticut, one lucky mechanic found a trove of valuable paintings in a dumpster.
According to science, mushrooms communicate with each other using up to 50 words.
