To paraphrase an infamous quote by former Mayor Eric Adams: New York — this is a place where every day you wake up, you can experience everything from a looted Roman antiquity at The Met to an artist selling the trash outside Taylor Swift’s wedding.
In fact, The Met recently repatriated said Roman bust, which had been sold to the museum by the notorious gallery Phoenix Ancient Art. You absolutely must read Erin Thompson’s piece following the trail of its co-founder, a convicted antiquities dealer whose artifacts still sit in museums all over the country despite their dubious provenances.
Over in Brooklyn, meet Noore Yazigi, an artist lovingly tattooing Arabic calligraphy, ranging from excerpts of the Quran to the lines of late Palestinian poet Refaat Alareer. Randa Jumean has that story.
Of course, in New York, you might also wake up to find yourself ensconced in yet another heat wave. Find a cooling center near you — some include cultural institutions, such as the Museum of the City of New York, so you can maybe even see some art while you’re at it. As always, stay cool, NYC.
—Lisa Yin Zhang, associate editor
Why Do So Many Museums Hold a Convicted Antiquity Dealer’s Treasures?
When I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art a few weeks ago in search of a marble portrait bust of an imperious-looking Roman man, both the sculpture and its pedestal had vanished. Only the label dating the piece to the 2nd century CE remained, marooned on the gallery wall.
The sculpture had been purchased from Phoenix Ancient Art, a gallery purporting to follow “the antiquities trade’s most vigorous and stringent procedures of due diligence.” The gallery touted the effort it put into finding evidence that its artifacts had left their countries of origin long before the enactment of export bans. Equipped with these good provenances, or ownership histories, Phoenix boasted that its antiquities could be “collected in full compliance with all legal and ethical rules.” | Erin L. Thompson
Features
The Tattoo Artist Inking Arabic Script on Skin
New York-based artist Noore Yazigi’s designs reference everything from the Quran to the poetry of the late Palestinian writer Refaat Alareer. | Randa Jumean
How the Children’s Art Carnival in Harlem Nurtured Generations
Nearly six decades since its founding, the legacy of the beloved program is explored in an exhibition at Columbia University’s Wallach Art Gallery. | Jerry Elengical
From Our Critics
Julia Curl
Hujar:Contact at the Morgan Library & Museum
“The contact sheets reveal that his portraits were the product of ongoing interactions — excerpts of a conversation, rather than memories snatched from the ether.”
Gregory Volk
Kathy Butterly: Assume Yes at the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery
“Butterly has a remarkable way of channeling nuanced spirit, keen emotions, and complex psychological states into her innovative and riveting creations …. Wonders abound throughout the exhibition — each sculpture both a beckoning event and a voyage.”
What Else Is Happening?
- Manhattan’s High Line Art is seeking public feedback on 62 proposals for the public artwork commissions that will grace the park’s plinth in 2029 and 2030.
- Following Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding at Madison Square Garden last week, artist Justin Gignac collected street trash found outside the venue and is selling them in pocket-sized vitrine boxes as souvenirs.
- After a 10-month search, the New Museum in Manhattan announced that its artistic director of 12 years, Massimiliano Gioni, has been appointed its next director.
- Messages condemning Israel’s violence in Gaza appeared over the advertising screens outside the Whitney Museum of American Art last week in an action by New York City-based artist Jonathan Allen.
- The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene discovered Legionella, the bacterium that causes Legionnaires’ disease, in the Guggenheim Museum’s cooling tower this week, among other sites.
- The Brooklyn Public Library’s Sips and Scholar’s series features free lectures set in bars, cafes, and more. This session, “The Architecture of Red Vienna,” will explore the political and architectural ideas that shaped interwar Vienna’s building program. (Thurs July 16) [bklynlibrary.org]
- Jazz and Draw at Recess Grove is this Thursday! Explore your creativity and unwind at the happy hour, featuring live jazz with local musician David Winograd. (Thurs July 16) [recessgrove.com]
- Metrograph is hosting a film series of Yves Saint Laurent’s costume work for cinema in conjunction with the International Center of Photography’s exhibition Yves Saint Laurent and Photography. (Fri July 17) [icp.org]
- At the Children’s Art Carnival in Harlem, families can learn to craft an African doll using fabrics and other materials. While you’re there, be sure to visit their current exhibition Still Here: Harlem Eternal. (Sat July 18) [childrensartcarnival.org]
- Catch the World Cup final at a free screening or watch party! Choose from a few locations, including Central Park’s Great Lawn, Governors Island, and Brooklyn Bridge Park. (Sun July 19)
