In this Issue
When Human Beings Are the Canvas
Santiago Sierra has paid workers to do meaningless tasks, hired beggars to shine shoes at openings, and had the backs of prostitutes tattooed. Some say his art makes a powerful statement about economic inequities. Others say it’s exploitation
Mark Spiegler
Rediscovering Latin America
Making up for decades of neglect, North American museums are bolstering their commitment to buying, showing, and studying everything from Mexican colonial portraiture to Chilean Surrealism
Roger Atwood
Simmering Soup, Cool Pools, and Hot ‘Jazz’
With prices rising for iconic images in prints by 20th-century masters, collectors and dealers are seeking out underappreciated treasures
Deidre Stein Greben
Minor Can Be Major
In the Old Master prints market, little-known artists can make for great buys
Deidre Stein Greben
The Long-Distance Runner
Oblivious to art-world trends, Frank Lobdell has spent more than half a century doing what he wants, constantly reinventing himself and finding new territory to explore
Anneli Rufus
Austria: Justice Delayed
Independent provenance researchers say that major paintings stolen by the Nazis from victims of the Holocaust still hang in the country’s museums. Archives remain inaccessible, and bureaucrats shun research that might assist Jewish claimants or help them to find out more about their families
Hugh Eakin
Departments
Letters
Art Talk
Joel Grey, Duane Michals, Peter Norton, Fred Wilson, Douglas Schoolfield Cramer, Robert De Niro, Cat Chow, Valerie Cassel, Linda Fairstein, Cindy Sherman, Zaha Hadid, Linda Nochlin, Lucy Lippard, Gerhard Richter
National News
Washington, D.C. Troubled indemnity New York “Decency Commission” updated; ARTnews wins Silurians Award Miami Miami Art Museum move questioned
International News
Baghdad Iraq’s art: What was taken and when? Oxford Going over Goya Basel A crateless warehouse Rio Guggenheim’s road to Rio San Sebastián Jorge Oteiza: Basque master
Art Market
Paris Surrealist sale soars London Saatchi’s collection: Young and younger British artists New York Avery on the rise
On the Edge
Magician of the Makeshift: Attila Csörgö carves sculptures out of light and space using sticks, string, and screws
Lilly Wei
City Focus: San Francisco
Reaching Out: San Francisco’s museums are expanding, while a surprising number of galleries have emerged—along with opportunities for smart buyers
Anneli Rufus
Looking at Art
A Prince of the Church: In his portrait of Cardinal Sandoval y Rojas, El Greco captures the uncertainties and tensions of an intelligent, powerful man
M. Kirby Talley, Jr.
Living with Art
Must-See TV: Ask Seattle’s Bill and Ruth True the perennial question, ‘Is there anything on TV?’ And their ready answer is, ‘Yes, great art.’ Here’s what’s playing at their house—on and off the screen
David Stoesz
Reviews
New York Elie Nadelman; Manet/Velázquez; Douglas Gordon; Eric Fischl; Stan Douglas; Michael Kenna; Zwelethu Mthethwa; Don Porcaro; Dorothy Ruddick; Donald Evans; Jan Staller; William Manning and Lawrence Calcagno; Gloria Garfinkel; Miyako Ishiuchi and Osamu James Nakagawa; Trompe l’Oeil Society; “Time Capsule” Los Angeles “Bill Viola: The Passions” West Hollywood Vahé Fattal San Francisco Larry Sultan; Le Corbusier Washington, D.C. Édouard Vuillard Boston Ann Strassman Philadelphia Bill Walton Memphis, Tennessee Anita Huffington Aspen Joseph Stashkevetch Tucson and Scottsdale Terence La Noue Scottsdale Marie Navarre Santa Fe Blaire Rice Bennett Yonkers, New York “Aerial Muse: The Art of Yvonne Jacquette” New Brunswick, New Jersey “June Wayne: Selected Graphics” London Titian Thérèse Oulton Dublin “Willie Doherty: False Memory” Paris Carole Seborovski; Thomas Ruff; Fred Stein Berlin Michael Wesely