Protests have erupted on the New School campus following Parsons the New School for Design’s decision to terminate the contracts of nine of its part-time faculty members. Earlier today, nineteen protestors were arrested at a New School building on 65th Street after police were summoned to remove illegal trespassers; video footage shot on-site by independent journalist Brandon Jourdan and published in the New York Times online edition shows officers discharging pepper spray into the building as students attempt to exit onto the street. Earlier in the week, a group of artists and arts professionals, including Kara Walker, signed a public petition against the layoffs.
“I’m completely and totally without money,” said photographer Nan Goldin of her decision to auction off part of her collection of curiosities amassed over many years, including the sole specimen of a Siamese lamb. The auction will take place in Paris next week, at Christie’s. Painter Julian Schnabel will put Picasso’s “Femme au Chapeau” up for sale at Christie’s May 6th auction, where it is expected to fetch between $8 to $12 million. In acquisitions, the Getty Research Institute purchased around 30 to 40 boxes of archive material from the Guerilla Girls for an undisclosed sum.
Following his March arrest, New York dealer Steven Harvey, 50, has plead guilty to falsifying business records after stealing $88 million from investors, collectors and Bank of America Corp. After signing consignment agreements in which he promised to pay owners within fifteen days of sale, Harvey kept the proceeds for his own use. He is free without bail, and sentencing is scheduled for June 19th.
