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Featured on nytimes.com

If you’ve ever wondered whether the title on a work of abstract art — say “Blue No. 2” — influences how you feel about it, you’ll be intrigued by a new study from the University of Pittsburgh. Researchers there found that people prefer works with straightforward titles like “Curved Lines” or “Dots of Color” to those with figurative titles like “Ice Dancing” or “Sabotage.”

This year marks the 5th Anniversary for the National Arts Program® at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. Lisa Mulvaney, Creative Arts Program Coordinator, has done a phenomenal job running this show for five years and was presented with our crystal anniversary award by NAP Board Member, Jill Mirkovic. Jill was honored to attend their awards ceremony and commented that, “The Lurie show is a great example of what all the NAP shows strive to achieve, providing ‘artists’ inspiration to exhibit their talents.

First time coordinator Katie Biddle, as well as the judges, were blown away by the hidden artistic talents exhibited by Carilion Clinic employees during their Fifth Annual NAP show.  With fourteen of the sixteen adult awards being presented to hospital employees including the Best of Show, who for the third year in a row was presented to an Amateur artist, it only confirms the amazing talents found within the Carilion community.

This was Reno-Tahoe International Airport’s 10th Annual National Arts Program® Exhibit and as is tradition their wonderful President & CEO, Marily Mora, was on hand to celebrate the artists and their achievements. During the May 16th reception, which was attended by approximately 150 guests, Marily spoke about the show and honored longtime NAP coordinator Kim Matthews by presenting her with the Tenth Anniversary NAP Award and a beautiful bouquet of flowers from her team. 

Featured on nytimes.com

Seven words. That’s how it started. “Can you take care of the collection?”

As Arvi Ostrom lay dying more than 20 years ago, he made that request of his grandson Ken Carlson.

Mr. Carlson immediately said yes, of course, even though he really had no idea of the magnitude of the commitment. Mr. Ostrom had been a mostly self-taught artist, and his grandson figured that “the collection” might add up to a hundred or so sketches and paintings. In any case, he said, you don’t deny the last wishes of a grandfather you love.

Easy to steal, impossible to sell

Featured on bloomberg.com

Ten days ago, a Banksy print valued at about $40,000 was stolen from a Canadian exhibit of the artist’s work. It was a seemingly effortless crime—a man walked in, took the work off the wall, and walked out—but then, most art crimes are. The heavy lifting comes later.

Featured on nytimes.com

A young girl with waist-length golden hair entered a small room where a woman sat at a spinning wheel. Fascinated, the girl approached the device swiftly. Although the scene was in a modern museum, it had the feel of a fairy tale. A powerful spell had indeed been cast, and it was working: Amelia Salenger, the 4-year-old visitor, was becoming enchanted by contemporary art.

Featured on boingboing.net

The Hirshhorn Eye (nicknamed "hi") is a new smartphone application that lets visitors to Smithsonian's Hishhorn Museum of Art point their phones at art and hear messages from the artists themselves.

Via their site:

Featured on mymodernmet.com

Today, more and more art institutions are sharing their permanent collections online. Intended to increase visibility and promote accessibility, digitization projects are a great way for museums and libraries to attract modern audiences.

Featured on nytimes.com

There’s an engrossing confab of a show in session at the National Gallery of Art here. It’s called “Cézanne Portraits.” With some 60 likenesses by a notoriously testy, people-averse artist, it’s the largest gathering of its kind in a century. (The last one was in Paris in 1910.) And it has just a few more weeks to run, so if you’re going to catch the conversation, which I seriously recommend, the time is now.

Featured on artsy.net

Composed of over 7,000 oil barrels, the sculpture by the revered artist floats on the Serpentine Lake in London's Hyde Park through September 23. It accompanies a retrospective of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's work.

Featured on dw.com

Renowned environmental artist Christo presented his latest work, titled The Mastaba, on Monday.

The ambitious artist originally conceived the installation in 1977 with his wife, Jeanne-Claude, who died in 2009.