Contemporary art exhibition documenta 14 opens in Germany
Albania promotes Via Egnatia with Lear’s sketches
BERLIN, June 10, (AP): A building of books and a curtain made from reindeer skulls are two of the installations on show at this year’s documenta exhibition of contemporary art.
The 14th edition of the 100-day show opens Saturday in Kassel, Germany, with a million visitors expected by Sept. 17.
Curated by Adam Szymczyk, the exhibition has a twin show this year in Athens that runs until July 16.
One of the most striking installations, the Parthenon of Books by Argentine artist Marta Minujin, is a work in progress. Visitors are invited to contribute to its construction by donating formerly or currently forbidden books.
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TIRANA, Albania: Edward Lear, the English artist now known mainly for “The Owl and the Pussy-cat” and other literary nonsense, has been selected by Albanian authorities to promote tourism along the ancient Via Egnatia linking East to West.
The National Coastline Agency recently opened an exhibition of sketches made by Lear during an 1848 visit to Albania.
Agency head Auron Tare said they were seeking to revitalize the Via Egnatia, constructed by the Romans in the 2nd century B.C. The ancient route crosses territory that is now part of Albania, Macedonia, Greece and European Turkey.
“Lear was the last of the big names to travel along the Via Egnatia to see the influence of Albania dating back to ancient times,” said Tare.
Lear’s sketches are preserved at Harvard University’s Houghton Library of rare works.
They depict scenes Lear witnessed in towns such as Manastir and Ohrid in Macedonia, or Elbasan and Tirana, 72 years before it became Albania’s capital.
They also show central and eastern Albania’s rugged mountains and form an important record of folk costumes worn at the time in Albania.
Abaz Hado, a painter and art manager, said Lear’s works are of “documentary and artistic value, giving views of the period that have since been transformed or no longer exist. From an artistic point of view, they present clear lines and accurate depictions of the 19thcentury way of life.”
Promoting tourism from the coastline to the mountains has been a top priority of postcommunist Albania’s governments.
PHILADELPHIA: Granite from a Philadelphia park that was a skateboarding hub, though for a long stretch an illegal one, is being put to new use at a skate park being built nearly 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers) away.
Slabs from the city’s famed LOVE Park, named for Robert Indiana’s LOVE sculpture, are being shipped to the city of Malmo, Sweden.
Malmo’s skateboarding coordinator told KYW-TV that the granite will be used for a project he says will “rock the skateboarding world.”
The park adjacent to Philadelphia’s City Hall was long a popular destination for skateboarders. It was featured in a Tony Hawk video game and partly credited for bringing the X Games to Philadelphia in 2001 and 2002.
BOSTON:
Jewelry that belonged to Al Capone and Bonnie and Clyde and legal documents pertaining to the infamous gangsters are on the auction block.
The “Gangsters, Outlaws and Lawmen” auction being handled by Boston-based RR Auction includes Capone’s platinum and diamond pocket watch that demonstrates his desire to be perceived not as a criminal but as an elegant gentleman. The rounded triangular watch includes 72 cut diamonds on the front, a platinum face and the initials A.C. on the reverse.