Fabulous dancing Warhols on Oz museum’s Mardi Gras float

Fabulous dancing Warhols on Oz museum’s Mardi Gras float

The art world is going gay this month, with the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney at the forefront of LGBTQI celebrations. The gallery will get a “fabulous makeover”, partnering with Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras over the next week. On 1 March, the gallery hits the homosexual heights with Queer Art After Hours, a celebration of gay art and performance. (music comes courtesy of DJ Seymour Butz with star turns by The Huxleys and Cocoloco). But the highlight is the gallery’s Warhol-inspired Mardi Gras float which will take to the streets during the famous equality and pride parade on 4 March. The float will feature a giant gold shoe that will be flanked by dozens of dancing Warhol lookalikes, says a press statement (Andy would have loved it). 

Read the letter sent by 24 senators asking President Trump to keep funding the NEA and NEH

Read the letter sent by 24 senators asking President Trump to keep funding the NEA and NEHA bipartisan group of 24 US senators, led by New York’s Kirsten Gillibrand, have written a letter to President Trump in support of the National Endowment of the Arts and Humanities (NEA and NEH), which are among nine agencies reportedly targeted by the administration for elimination as part of an effort to curb government spending.

“These federal agencies provide vital support and resources to endeavors in the arts and humanities across the country that serve as drivers of innovation and economic prosperity,” the letter reads, before outlining the important scholarly, historical and cultural work the organisations have fostered over their 50 year history.

The senators also make a point of providing some statistics of the economic benefit of the two federal agencies, which each operate on a shoestring budget of around $148 million, a drop in the $3.5 trillion bucket that the government spends each year. The return seems worth the investment: “The US Bureau of Economic Analysis reports that the arts and culture sector is a $704 billion industry, or 4.2% of the nation’s GDP,” the letter states. “The nonprofit arts industry alone produces $135 billion in economic activity annually and generates $22.3 billion in government revenue. The arts spur tourism, prepare our students for the innovative thinking required in the 21st century workplace, and employ __more than 4 million people in the creative industries nationally.”

You can read the full letter below or by clicking here. 

Dear Mr. President,

We write today in support of the critical work being done at the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). These federal agencies provide vital support and resources to endeavors in the arts and humanities across the country that serve as drivers of innovation and economic prosperity. We encourage you to support the Chairmen of these agencies, who demonstrate a continued commitment to supporting the arts and humanities.

Since its creation in 1965, the NEH has funded groundbreaking scholarly research, preserved essential cultural and educational resources, cataloged __more than 63 million pages of our nation’s historic newspapers, and helped millions of young people grapple with the lessons of history. Additionally, both the NEH and NEA offer healing programs for those who serve in our Armed Services and their families, as well as veterans reintegrating into civilian life.
 
Also established in 1965, the NEA supports art and education programs in every Congressional District in the United States. Access to the arts for all Americans is a core principle of the Endowment. The majority of NEA grants go to small and medium-sized organizations, and a significant percentage of grants fund programs in high-poverty communities. Furthermore, both agencies extend their influence through states’ arts agencies and humanities councils, ensuring that programs reach even the smallest communities in remote rural areas.
 
Programs offered through the NEA and NEH not only help Americans express their values and forge connections between cultures, but they also serve as important economic drivers. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reports that the arts and culture sector is a $704 billion industry, or 4.2 percent of the nation’s GDP. The nonprofit arts industry alone produces $135 billion in economic activity annually and generates $22.3 billion in government revenue. The arts spur tourism, prepare our students for the innovative thinking required in the 21st century workplace, and employ more than 4 million people in the creative industries nationally.
 
While it is very rare for artists or institutions, like museums, to secure funding from just one source, it is the funding from these agencies that stimulate strong private investments. These agencies collaborate with private foundations across the country to bring artistic endeavors to life. In fact, each dollar awarded by the NEA leverages nine dollars from other sources.
 
The ideals of these agencies are enshrined in our Constitution as a fundamental tenet of American civil society. Article I, Section 8 explicitly empowers the United States Congress to promote the “Progress of Science and useful Arts.” The importance of federal support for these activities inherently aligns with the founding principles of this country.
 
Federal support for the arts and humanities is essential to our education system, economy, and who we are as a nation. We hope you will keep this in mind as you consider proposals that support these fundamental American institutions.

Marvin Gaye Chetwynd’s poochy performance hits Rochdale

Marvin Gaye Chetwynd’s poochy performance hits Rochdale

Works shown at the 2016 Liverpool Biennial are going on the road as part of a special touring initiative, bringing top-notch pieces by artists such as Mark Leckey and Betty Woodman to venues such as the Cooper Gallery in Barnsley and Bury Art Museum. A major biennial piece, Dogsy Ma Bone by the UK artist Marvin Gaye Chetwynd, proved popular (Chetwynd worked with 78 young people in Liverpool to create the film for children inspired by the 1936 musical A Song A Day and Bertolt Brecht’s satirical masterpiece Threepenny Opera, 1928). This canine caper is due to be screened at Touchstones Rochdale on 11 March when the artist and Dogsy cast will also put on a special performance. Woof, woof. 

Cosmic collectors: how the Guggenheim family came into its art

Cosmic collectors: how the Guggenheim family came into its artVisitors to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York tend to think __more about Frank Lloyd Wright than about the man for whom the institution is named. With Visionaries: Creating a Modern Guggenheim, the museum is out to readjust that assumption, to a point.

On view along the walls of Wright’s inescapable sloping ramp (and in some other galleries) are __more than 170 objects from the permanent collections of the Guggenheim Museum in the York and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice. The show marks 80 years since the Guggenheim Foundation was formed.

If you visit Venice, you’re accustomed to seeing Peggy Guggenheim’s collection as an ensemble. Not so with the New York collection in Manhattan (although works from the holdings of the dealer Justin Thannhauser have dedicated galleries), so the show offers some surprises to those who thought they knew what the museum owned.

The title, Visionaries, refers to artists and collectors. It affirms the sad truth that we almost always know the artists who created the works in a museum collection better than the men and women who purchased or donated them.

Solomon Robert Guggenheim (1861-1949) made his fortune in mining and turned to art in a systematic way at the age of 68 in 1929. Guiding him for the next 20 years was the German-born Hilla Rebay, a collagist, Theosophist and polemicist who had a passion for European abstraction. (Her fervor for non-objective art did not, however, keep Rebay from painting a conventional portrait of Guggenheim in 1928, a year before she signed on as his adviser.)

Guggenheim supported her companion, Rudolf Bauer, an abstract painter exhibited in the show, for a decade in exchange for paintings (which came out of storage for this exhibition), but Bauer’s stipend had more to do with Rebay’s lobbying than with his talent.

Rebay’s peccadillos became the subject of art world gossip and were recounted by security guards from the Museum of Non-Objective Painting on East 54th Street, the precursor to the Guggenheim. Among those guards were the painters Jackson Pollock, Leland Bell and Robert De Niro Sr. The imperious woman was known for having paintings brought to her and for uttering the ultimate accolade—“Kosmik"— or the withering condemnation, “nicht kosmik.” “Nicht kosmik” works had to go elsewhere to find their place in history.

Solomon Guggenheim bought art in great volume, especially when it came to works by Rebay herself, a few of which are on the walls. In 1949, when he was diagnosed with cancer, Guggenheim reiterated his support for her, writing: “It is my further wish that during the lifetime of Miss Rebay the Foundation accept no gifts and make no purchases of paintings without her approval, and that after her death the Foundation make no addition to its collections of paintings, unless they come from Mr. Bauer.”

That wish was not honored. After Guggenheim died that year, his family had other ideas. Rebay resigned as the museum’s director in 1952, but remained a trustee.

Hilla Rebay in her studio at Franton Court, Greens Farms, Connecticut, ca. 1946 (© 2017 Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York)
Hilla Rebay in her studio at Franton Court, Greens Farms, Connecticut, ca. 1946 (© 2017 Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York)
If there is a signature artist for the Guggenheim, it is Frank Lloyd Wright, creator of the museum’s most important work of art, who first came to Guggenheim’s attention through Rebay. But among the artists on the walls, it is Vasily Kandinsky (1866-1944), who is represented by 11 paintings made from 1909-36. Black Lines (1913) is a concentration of orbs in bright colors, each of which seems to have been made by a single brush stroke, with black horizontal marks inscribed on its surface. If that is not kosmik enough, there is Several Circles (1926), which seems inspired by the orbits of planets in space and is dreamy enough to escape the literalism of celestial bodies in motion.

Piet Mondrian, another pioneer of abstraction, is represented by four works, two of which come from around the time of the First World War. In Tableau No 2/Composition No. VII (1913), lightly painted rectangular shapes converge in the center of the canvas. Composition 8 (1914) alternates grey-green rectangles with pink forms. The other two Mondrian paintings, from 1929 and 1930, reflect the artist’s journey toward bright colors and emphatic squares that led to Broadway Boogie Woogie (1942-43, from the Museum of Modern Art).

Mondrian had lots of company in his quest for abstraction, as artists ventured into that huge grey area between representation and its negation. One picture that visitors will remember is a 1909 Cubist work by Pablo Picasso, Carafe, Jug and Fruit Bowl, painted during a stay in an isolated Spanish village. The work has as much pictorial elegance as anything from the same period that was part of Leonard Lauder's collection, which he gave to the Metropolitan Museum in 2013.

For more adventurous Cubism, there is Picasso’s Bottles and Glasses (1911-12), his Accordionist, from 1911 and Fernand Léger’s Nude Model in the Studio (1912-13). Also from 1911—and striking in its jolting color and whimsy—is Franz Marc’s Yellow Cow, which seems to share the same imaginary space as do paintings by Marc Chagall farther up the ramp.

In between these works, visitors will discover (maybe rediscover) the salon Cubist Albert Gleizes, the filmmaker Oskar Fischinger (who tried to convert Hollywood to abstraction) and a low-lying froglike sculpture in black by Alberto Giacometti, Woman with Her Throat Cut (1932, cast in 1940), which seems like a blueprint for later works by Louise Bourgeois.

Yet on the ramp toward Jackson Pollock, who closes the show at its pinnacle with three paintings from the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, two artists stand out. Paul Klee—nothing if not “kosmik”—painted Red Balloon (1922), which is more a game than a study, with spheres and squares. His Arches of the Bridge Stepping Out of Line (1937) animates architectural elements on a cloth background, anticipating the playfulness of Keith Haring by 50 years.

Like Klee, Alexander Calder stands apart from manifestos and movements in Visonaries. His 1941 mobile from the Peggy Guggenheim Foundation, Arc of Petals, was made in a year when the world was coming apart. It is the graceful work of an American engineer drawn to European art, a delicate ode to freedom and regeneration. Lit elegantly at the Guggenheim, its leaf-like elements form a ballet of reflections on the gallery floor. Now that’s kosmik.

David D’Arcy is a correspondent for The Art Newspaper

Visionaries: Creating a Modern Guggenheim, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, until 6 September

Getty preserves Palmyra online in new show

Getty preserves Palmyra online in new showUsing digital tools to somehow preserve Syrian monuments destroyed by Isil has become fashionable if not widely accepted—the 3D printed replica of an arch from Palmyra’s Temple of Bel erected in Trafalgar Square in 2016 being the most conspicuous example. But the Getty in Los Angeles is taking a __more scholarly tack in its first online-only exhibition which aims to convey the rich history of this ancient caravan city, well-located for trading at the edge of the Roman and Parthian empires, and to recreate its built landscape, if only digitally, at www.getty.edu/palmyra.

The curator Frances Terpak says that the show grew out of the Getty Research Institute’s acquisition of 19th-century photographs of Palmyra by Louis Vignes from a German dealer in 2015. “We were negotiating as Isil took over the site the first time in 2015.”

Her co-curator Peter Louis Bonfitto says the digital format lets them show objects from other museums that would be tricky to borrow. He also notes that the prints by Louis François Cassas that make up half of the exhibition are mainly bound in a volume so could not be displayed on the wall. The website, which describes the city’s urban planning, architecture and its stylistic innovations, is designed for both students and specialists who are interested in Palmyra’s preservation. 

As Ross Burns, the author, professor and former Australian ambassador to Syria, noted recently in a panel about Syrian cultural heritage, the Cassas prints have detailed information that would be of great use in a future recreation or restoration project. “In fact, the Cassas images may be one of the only mementos we have of this rich pattern of decoration,” he said, speaking of the tower tomb of Iamliku, which was destroyed in 2015. (In contrast, he dismissed the 3D-printed arch as misguided or uninspiring, “looking very much like plasticine __more than limestone”.)

The web project also cultivates an appreciation of the area’s historical riches that could help to combat their destruction. In this spirit, Terpak says they hope the website would reach the Islamic world as well. “Our goal is to also translate the site into Arabic. We’d like to reach a much broader public than we can on the Getty Hill.”

Who will paint Serota?

Who will paint Serota?The National Portrait Gallery in London is commissioning a portrait of Nicholas Serota, who steps down as director of the Tate at the end of May. Selecting the artist will only take place after he leaves and has a little __more time. Unlike most eminent figures who are immortalised for the gallery, Serota knows hundreds of portraitists and will have his own views on who might be appropriate. For the chosen artist, it will be a slightly intimidating prospect to have to capture the features and character of the retiring Tate director (unless it is a mega-star, such as David Hockney). Will he feel it should be a British artist for the UK’s National Portrait Gallery? And most fascinating of all, will Serota opt for a fairly conventional portrait, or go for a __more conceptual artist? Watch this space. 

Zanzibar cathedral restoration shows past can unite rather than divide us

Zanzibar cathedral restoration shows past can unite rather than divide us It’s a tough time for heritage. On 11 and 12 December Isil recaptured the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria, taking advantage of Syrian and Russian concentration on Aleppo, another ancient, and now ruined, city. Eighteen months ago a plume of smoke rising above the Temple of Bel in Palmyra marked the destruction of 2,000 years of history and reminded us of the senseless intolerance of some religious fanaticism.

But, search harder and there are positive, uplifting stories relating to heritage sites, some born from the darkest of histories. The Anglican Christ Church Cathedral in Zanzibar is a special place. Not only is it an extraordinary architectural melange of European Gothic, Arabic and Swahili styles, but it also marks the site of the last and biggest permanent slave market in East Africa. When the market was closed by the ruler of Zanzibar, Sultan Barghash, in 1873 the cathedral was constructed as a triumph of hope over human suffering, the altar deliberately placed over the site of the former whipping post.

In a predominantly Muslim country the architects took great care to follow local traditions and ensured that the clock tower was not as high as the sultan’s palace. The first service in the cathedral was held 140 years ago, on Christmas Day 1877.

Building at risk

Four years ago the cathedral was in a parlous state, despite its importance and its place at the heart of the original trading settlement of Stone Town, a Unesco World Heritage Site. The exterior was crumbling and the towering walls of the nave were in danger of pulling themselves apart.

The local Anglican diocese highlighted the issue in 2012 and the cathedral was placed on the World Monuments Watch list in 2014. Working with partners and supported both locally and by the European Union, the US Embassy in Dar es Salaam and the US Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation, a restoration plan was hatched.

Over the past two years an extensive scheme has been under way. The nave has been pinned together by 20 stainless steel ties, the roof completely replaced and the great rose window, the earliest in Sub-Saharan Africa, brought back to life.

The roof of Zanzibar’s cathedral under repair
The roof of Zanzibar’s cathedral under repair
An unexpected discovery during conservation was that the Arabic crenellations on the top of the apse were originally made from bright, white “neeru”, a type of lime-based plaster. This technique uses a mixture of crushed marble dust that is thinly applied and then highly polished using metal trowels. The result is a shining halo affect, one that is both deliberate and appropriate.

If the story ended there it would be interesting—but two things elevate it above a fascinating conservation initiative. While the restoration of the church’s historic fabric was important, it went hand in hand with an intensive programme of skills development. Consequently, there is now a pool of local trained stonemasons who will be available to help with future repairs, and who also have the specialist knowledge to restore the unique architectural heritage of the Stone Town and further afield.

Confronting slavery

The cathedral was built, in part, so that slavery’s dark past would not be forgotten. Here, the trade in human lives transcended sectarian divides and affected everyone, and yet it is not a tale that is easily told. So, along with the restoration of the church, the project also led to the creation of a new education centre dedicated to presenting the story of slavery.

Yes, this is a conservation story but it is also about helping to maintain something that sits at the heart of the local economy—tourism is a critical industry in Zanzibar and the cathedral is one of the most visited of the town’s attractions.

Hearteningly, it is also about tolerance and co-operation. The vast majority of those who worked on the project were Muslim, from the trainee masons to the tour guides, from local government officials to the curators of the new exhibition centre. At a time when heritage has been in the news for all the wrong reasons, it is good to have an example of care for the past that unites, rather than divides.

• John Darlington is executive director of the World Monuments Fund Britain

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Paul Schimmel leaves Hauser & Wirth

Paul Schimmel leaves Hauser & WirthAnyone shocked at the sudden departure of Paul Schimmel from his position as partner and vice president at Hauser & Wirth does not remember how surprising his initial hire was. News that he was joining the firm as a partner back in 2013, entrusted to oversee a new Los Angeles outpost, was met with questions in the local art community.

Would the Hauser Wirth mega-gallery in California really be as “museum-like” as Schimmel insisted? And would Schimmel, a lifelong curator known for running the show at the Museum of Contemporary Art and for lacking both sales experience and a commercially inclined temperament, really care about closing deals? Now that his departure has been announced without any additional explanation from the gallery or Schimmel, those questions are circulating again.

He is not the only major departure from the West Coast branch of the gallery in recent months. The galley’s “head of education” Andrea Stang, who worked closely under Schimmel at MOCA before massive layoffs there, also left without any public explanation on 16 December.

Marc Payot, another partner and vice president of Hauser & Wirth, is taking over the Los Angeles space, with Stacen Berg continuing to serve as senior director.

Latin America’s power collectors wooed at Arco

Latin America’s power collectors wooed at ArcoLatin American collectors are the clear target for Spain’s leading art fair Arco, which opened to the public on Wednesday and runs until 26 February. A report due to be published tomorrow, produced in cooperation with Arteinformado, the Spanish-only online art market platform, highlights the top 100 Latin American collectors and looks at how they have shaped the art scene.

The most active collectors are based in Brazil, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela, the report finds. Nine have opened their own museums, including Aldo Rubino’s Museum of Contemporary Art of Buenos Aires and Eduardo Costantini’s Museo of Latin American Art of Buenos Aires in Argentina, Eugenio López Alonso’s Colección Jumex in Mexico, and Bernardo Paz’s Inhotim in Brazil. Around 50 of the collectors belong to the boards and collecting committees of museums such as Tate, MoMA, the Guggenheim and the Reina Sofia, showing that while they may be steady supporters of their local artists, they are equally involved in the international art world.

Ten collectors have __more than 1,000 pieces in their holdings, including Mexico’s Andrés Blaisten (8,000-plus works), Eugenio López Alonso (2,350), and Aurelio López Rocha (1,200); Cuba-born, Miami-based Ella Fontanals-Cisneros (3,300); Venezuela’s Patricia Phelps de Cisneros (1,500); Chile’s Hugo Yaconi and Manuel Santa Cruz (1,500); Brazil’s Vera Chaves Barcellos and Patricio Farías (1,300) and José Olympio da Veiga Pereira (1,000); Argentina’s Anibal Jozami (1,000); and Colombia’s Alejandro Castaño (1,000). The majority of the collectors are men, but there are 31 women on the list, led by Venezuela’s Patricia Phelps de Cisneros and Tanya Capriles Brillembourg, including 12 who jointly collect with their husbands.

It is no surprise that Argentina appears prominently on the list, since the country’s patrons, curators, dealers and officials have been hard at work pushing its artists’ profiles. As this year’s guest country at Arco, Argentina is represented by 23 artists showing at 12 galleries, from established names like Alberto Greco, Jorge Macchi, Julio Le Parc and Mirtha Dermisache, to those still to be discovered by an international audience, including Diego Bianchi or Liliana Maresca. Here is a selection of works on view at the fair that speak to the variety of art being produced in Argentina, including historical Modernist and conceptual art, originating from the country.  

Marie Orensanz, Limitada (1978) with Alejandra von Hartz Gallery, Miami
Marie Orensanz at Alejandra von Hartz

Marie Orensanz (b. 1936), who lives in Buenos Aires and Paris, is due to be included in the Hammer Museum’s exhibition Radical Women: Latin American Art, 1960-1985, part of the Getty-based Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA festival. The Miami-based gallerist Alejandra von Hartz is showing a selection of works by the artist from the 1970s to the present in a wide range of materials—paper, canvas, marble, wood and fabric—priced between $9,000-$90,000. “I am working every day and some of my most recent pieces are here at Arco,” the octogenarian artist told us.

Alberto Greco, Besos Brujos (1965) at Del Infinito Arte (Image: courtesy of Ifema/Jesús Varillas)
Alberto Greco at Del Infinito Arte

Greco (1931-65) was “the pioneer of conceptual and informalist art” in Argentina, says Estela Gismeno Totah, the director of the Buenos Aires gallery Del Infinito Arte. The 134-page handwritten book Besos brujos (Witches’ kisses) (1965) is being shown for the first at a commercial event and is the last work the artist created. “After finishing it, he committed suicide” in Barcelona, Totah says. The book is priced at __more than €200,000.

Jorge Macchi, Tevere (2006) at Galleria Continua
Jorge Macchi at Galleria Continua

The Italian-founded gallery Continua, which also has outposts in China, France and Cuba, has curated a solo booth dedicated to Macchi (b. 1963) including the installation Fiume Tevere (Tiber River) (2006), priced at €60,000 and small watercolours on paper (€10,000). Works by Macchi can also be found on the stands of Argentinian dealer Ruth Benzacar from and Swiss dealer Peter Kilchmann, while a retrospective of the artist’s 25 years career is on view at Madrid’s Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo.

Federal arts funding is on the White House’s hit list

Federal arts funding is on the White House’s hit listFederal arts funding, ignored by Democrats and Republicans during the presidential campaign, is finally getting attention. America’s cultural agencies, including the two national endowments, for the arts (NEA) and for the humanities (NEH), are operating on money appropriated until April. There is much talk that the next omnibus budget bill will provide no money for these agencies, essentially closing them.

This would throw the baby out with the bath water. The culture agencies do plenty of fine work. Yet for many reasons, good and bad, they are a target. Having been badly burned in the 1980s and 1990s, they avoid the most incendiary projects about sexuality or faith. If anything, in the past few years, they have worked quietly and deliberately, as if tip-toeing around controversy but also around big new ideas.

This might be part of their problem. The money doesn’t seem to make big, promising things happen, things that would not happen otherwise. Looking at their list of grants, their main goal seems to be survival. They have been so beleaguered over the years, so pummelled, that their mission each year is to dodge the fatal bullet.

I suspect the agencies will emerge from the April budget fight with dramatically reduced budgets and possibly with a mission better aligned with Washington’s new order. Here are some basic ways to help these agencies both to stay alive and relevant and to achieve focused and better results.

Let’s start with quality. The first things to go should be projects in which the principal goal is to feed the beast of racial, gender or class dogma, regardless of whether the art is, well, any good. Art has to be of the highest quality. That means intellectual rigour and a curiosity and openness about different points of view. It also means far fewer shows anchored in identity. Political fads aren’t facts and they’re not good scholarship.

I would create a new focus for cultural grants on arts infrastructure. I know fundraising for renovations is difficult, but the lack of bricks-and-mortar essentials seriously hinders any organisation, regardless of creative vision or ambition. A big priority of the new administration is infrastructure, and better arts infrastructure is a good philosophical fit. I’m a big believer in matching grant programmes with governmental cultural support, leveraging private support to get basic infrastructure improvements done rather than deferred.

I was a curator and directed a distinguished museum, the Addison Gallery, dedicated to American art through the centuries. It’s the art of our country. It does make sense to make American culture first among equals in getting federal help. In the museum world, there are few institutional funders solely dedicated to American art, so I know that the need is there and often unmet.

Serious collection-sharing will never happen without a federal push. Big, encyclopaedic museums in places like New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Boston have thousands of objects in their vaults, many great but rarely seen. Long-term loans—without expensive loan fees—to good museums throughout the country, in places that have never had the money or collector base to generate great permanent collections, is a solid goal that the NEA can achieve. The big museums will hate the idea. We’ll hear cries of: “Too much work” and “Why should we send our things to Milwaukee or Phoenix or somewhere in Alabama?” Well, why should great art sit in storage when it could be seen by millions in places not blessed with historic wealth?

Savvy and entrepreneurial thinking at federal level can do much to promote collaborations among arts organisations. The federal culture agencies can help them to connect the dots where partnerships are possible, here and abroad. French and American regional museums have collaborated on collection- and idea-sharing for years. Partnerships among American and Italian or Spanish or Indian museums and other arts organisations can and should happen, but probably will not without the brokering or networking role that only federal leadership can provide.

Longer-term, there are many federal agencies supporting culture. Many do similar things and each has its own back-of-house and compliance bureaucracy. It’s not unusual for arts organisations to apply for money from multiple agencies for the same project.

The State Department has a cultural and educational outreach department that, in my experience­—and putting it diplomatically—vastly underperforms. The Library of Congress and the Smithsonian support arts organisations with money. Consolidating and focusing these many agencies would liberate money to go directly to needy and worthy organisations.

I think it’s a bad idea to throw in the towel on federal arts funding. There’s a new sheriff in town. Lots of talk about “resistance” might make for noble feelings, but it won’t prevent the federal culture agencies from becoming the earliest casualties in the war.

Brian Allen is the former director of the Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, Massachusetts 

Sotheby’s catalogue mistakenly includes work forged by Wolfgang Beltracchi

Sotheby’s catalogue mistakenly includes work forged by Wolfgang BeltracchiThe catalogue for the 2 March Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art Day Sale in London mistakenly identifies a forgery by Wolfgang Beltracchi called Souvenir d’Anvers as a genuine collaboration by the Fauvist artist Achille-Émile Othon Friesz and Georges Braque.

The work—which is not in the auction—is illustrated in the catalogue to support the sale of a Friesz painting called La Ciotat, whose authenticity is not in doubt and which carries an estimate of £500,000 to £700,000. The forgery was spotted by the German journalist Stefan Koldehoff, who wrote an article for the weekly newspaper Die Zeit.

A text alongside the illustration of Souvenir d’Anvers says “Friesz and Braque sat side by side, painting the same views and each challenging the other to paint with the most radical colours and the least commitment to literal representation possible.” The painting shows nine small harbour scenes described in the Sotheby’s catalogue as views of Antwerp.

“In what was a genuine mistake, Souvenir d’Anvers, formerly attributed to Braque and Friesz, was erroneously illustrated as one of the comparative images in our catalogue,” says a spokeswoman for Sotheby’s. “The image has now been removed from our website.”

Koldehoff co-authored a 2012 book with his colleague Tobias Timm about Beltracchi, in which they describe the Friesz/Braque forgery. They said that on the back of the painting there was a bad imitation of a label from the Galerie Alfred Flechtheim and another from the Galerie Schames, which no longer existed in 1906—the year the painting was supposed to have been produced. The work also contains a spelling mistake: In the centre are the words “Souvenir de Anvers” instead of the correct French “Souvenir d’Anvers.” The painting was consigned to the Paris-based Galerie Aittouarès by Beltracchi’s associate Otto Schulte-Kellinghaus, according to the book.

The German state prosecutor estimated that Beltracchi and his accomplices reaped about €16m from his forgeries, which were sold in the US, Japan, the UK and France as well as Germany. His trial focussed on just 14 forged works but Beltracchi himself estimates he created around 300, most of which are still in circulation. He was released from prison in 2015.


Bacon triptych, once owned by Roald Dahl, to lead Christie’s New York sales in May

Bacon triptych, once owned by Roald Dahl, to lead Christie’s New York sales in MayChristie’s has offered an early peek at the works consigned for its 20th-century art auctions in New York in May, which will be led by Francis Bacon’s triptych Three Studies for a Portrait of George Dyer (1963), and include pieces by Picasso, Ernst, Giacometti, and Lichtenstein.

The triple portrait is the first Bacon ever made of his longtime muse and lover George Dyer—he would go on to use him as a subject in some 40 paintings—and was created at the very start of their relationship. “George Dyer is to Bacon what Dora Maar was to Picasso,” says Loic Gouzer, Christie’s deputy chairman for post-war and contemporary art. “He is arguably the most important model of the second half of the 20th century, because Dyer’s persona as well and physical traits acted as a catalyst for Bacon’s pictorial breakthroughs.”

The work, estimated to make between $50m to $70m, was once owned by the British author Roald Dahl, a close friend of Bacon’s. Bloomberg has identified the current owner as the French actor Francis Lombrail, who has held it for 25 years and loaned it to a number of exhibitions dedicated to the artist, including the travelling retrospective in 2008-09 that was shown at London’s Tate Britain, Madrid’s Prado, and New York’s Metropolitan Museum. Christie's sold another triptych by Bacon, Three Studies of Lucian Freud (1969) in 2013, which broke the record at the time for the most expensive work sold at auction when it made $142.4m against an estimate of $85m.

The auction house will also offer eight works from the collection of Sydell Miller with all proceeds to be donated to the Cleveland Clinic Heart & Vascular Institute, a non-profit medical centre located in Ohio. Miller, an American philanthropist, is a member of the centre’s board of trustees.
From left: Pablo Picasso, Femme assise dans un fauteuil (1917-20, est $20m-$30m); Roy Lichtenstein, Expressionist Head (1980, est $2.5m-$3.5m); Marc Chagall, Les trois cierges, (1939, estimate on request)
The works, which carry a total estimate of $37m to $59m, were praised by Christie’s chairman Laura Paulson as “remarkable” and will tour London, Hong Kong, San Francisco and Los Angeles before they are auctioned in New York. The 15 May Impressionist and Modern art evening sale will feature Picasso's early painting Femme assise dans un fauteuil (1917-20, est $20m-$30m), owned by the artist's family until 1984 and Miller since 2000, as well as a major work by Chagall, Les Trois Cierges (1939, estimate on request).

Slated for the 17 May post-war and contemporary art evening sale is a cast, made during the artist's lifetime, of Alberto Giacometti’s sculpture of his wife, Buste d’Annette VI (conceived 1962, cast 1964, est $1.5m-$2.5m), as well as works by Jean Dubuffet and Louise Bourgeois.

Magazzino, new Hudson Valley arts space for Italian art, to open this summer

Magazzino, new Hudson Valley arts space for Italian art, to open this summerNew York’s Hudson Valley is gaining a new arts destination this summer with the launch of Magazzino, a converted warehouse turned arts space that will show postwar and contemporary Italian works of art from the collection of Nancy Olnick and Giorgio Spanu. The 20,000 sq ft space (which includes a small library) has been revamped by the architect Miguel Quismodo and is located on the Hudson River in the town of Cold Spring, around 60 miles from Manhattan.

Nancy Olnick and Giorgio Spanu (Image: Marco Anelli © 2016)
Nancy Olnick and Giorgio Spanu (Image: Marco Anelli © 2016)
Olnick and Spanu created the private space with the aim to expose the work of Italian artists who have “made a significant contribution to society and yet are not widely recognised in the US”, the collectors told The Art Newspaper by email. The warehouse “will be a platform to showcase the artists’ talent and influence”, they added.

The inaugural show, due to open on 24 June, will focus on the late gallerist Margherita Stein, who is best-known for promoting artists associated with the Spatialism and Arte Povera movements. Magazzino will offer free admission, however it will be open by appointment only.

The Guardian Supreme court president: politicians too slow to defend judges after Brexit case Supreme court president: politicians too slow to defend judges after Brexit case Liz Truss swore to defend the judiciary. But she stood by as they got a roasting | Richard Burgon Liz Truss rebuffs criticism over newspaper attacks on Brexit judges

Lord Neuberger, supreme court president. Unjustified attacks on the judiciary risks undermining our society, he says.

Britain’s top judge has spoken out about media attacks on the judiciary and the failure of politicians to stand up for judges after the Brexit court challenge.

Lord Neuberger, the president of the supreme court, said some of the vitriol directed at the high court judges after they ruled against the government in November was “undermining the rule of law”.

Politicians “could have been quicker and clearer” in their defence of the judiciary, he added in an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Thursday.

When three high court judges ruled that parliament should have a say in triggering article 50 to leave the EU, they faced intense criticism from some sections of the media, including a Daily Mail front page describing them as “enemies of the people”.

The justice secretary, Liz Truss, faced fierce criticism for being slow in defending the judges against the media attacks.

Neuberger said: “We [judges] were certainly not well treated. One has to be careful about being critical of the press, particularly as a lawyer or judge, because our view of life is very different from that of the media. I think some of what was said was undermining the rule of law.

“But we all learn by experience, whether politicians or judges. It’s easy to be critical after the event. They were faced with an unexpected situation from which, like all sensible people, they learned.”

After the supreme court hearing, politicians were “certainly vocal quickly enough”, Neuberger added.

“The rule of law together with democracy is one of the two pillars on which our society is based,” Neuberger said, describing judges as “the ultimate guardians” of the rule of law.

Unjustified attacks on the judiciary risk “undermining our society”, he said. “The press and the media generally have a positive duty to keep an eye on things. But I think with that with that power comes the degree of responsibility.”

Neuberger announced last year that he would retire in September, and the application process for new supreme court judges opens on Thursday. “What we are looking for is to recruit on the basis that the court becomes __more diverse,” he said. The court is currently entirely white and from privileged backgrounds, with a single woman among the 11 justices.

But emphasis on diversity would not override the “ultimate requirement of merit ... it is essential that we get the best people we can to be judges”, he added.

The challenge lies in finding the people with the right experience, he said. “If we are limited in our choice in terms of diversity that’s a comment on our society, not a comment on specifically the judiciary,” he said. The court will consider applications from those who want to work part-time and will adopt the “equal merit” approach: if two candidates are equally well qualified, the panel will choose the one who adds to the diversity of the court, he said.

A __more diverse court would be more representative of Britain’s population, but Neuberger said he was uncertain whether it would radically alter the decisions the court reaches because “they will all have been through the legal mill”, he said.

Michael Gove refuses to say if Murdoch sat in on Trump interview Rupert Murdoch’s invisible presence shows his dark magic is back | Marina Hyde

Michael Gove

Michael Gove has refused to say whether Rupert Murdoch sat in on his interview with Donald Trump, but admitted it had been a mistake for him to enter the race to become prime minister.

In a wide-ranging interview with the Christian Today website, the former cabinet minister also said he had not spoken to David Cameron since the Brexit referendum, though he has been in touch with Boris Johnson, whose Tory leadership bid was scuppered by Gove announcing his own candidacy.

Gove’s flow of answers only dried up when he was asked about reports that Murdoch was present when he interviewed Trump for the Times, although Gove did indicate it could have been the case.

“The best thing to say I think, in fairness is, um, in securing the interview, I think the fact that it was the Times newspaper and the fact that we had the – what’s the word ... I think it’s probably better for me not to go into how the interview arose or how it came about but I think it’s entirely fair for people to make a set of conclusions or assumptions about that,” he said, somewhat cryptically.

Gove admitted he made an error in suddenly challenging for the Conservative leadership after Cameron stepped down in the wake of the Brexit vote, having previously backed Johnson for the role.

“With the benefit of hindsight, I should have not been so quick to say that I was going to support Boris in the first place and probably should never have run myself,” he said.

Gove explained he “hadn’t anticipated on running” but began to have doubts about whether Johnson was the best person to lead the Brexit process.

“A number of things had happened which had shaken my confidence in Boris’s candidacy – not fundamentally altered my view of him as a good person – but had shaken my confidence that he was the right person to be prime minister at that time,” Gove said.

The subsequent elevation of Theresa May to become prime minister was “probably the right result for the country”, he added.

Gove had previously been close to both Cameron and Johnson, but the relationships were wrecked by his decision to stand for leader. While saying he has since spoken to Johnson, of Cameron he said: “The opportunity hasn’t arisen.”

Discussing his Christian faith, Gove said: “I am a sinner and I know it profoundly.”

Gove’s role in gaining the first post-election interview with Trump for the British media raised questions he could consider leaving politics for a full-time return to journalism.

While saying he wants to remain as an MP – “I think I’ll stay in parliament for as long as people will have me” – Gove said he could potentially consider a future elsewhere.

Saying he would not want to be editor of the Times, Gove added: “I would never want to tempt fate or anything like it – there are certain things that could happen which would mean that I might want to leave parliament, but no, I am concentrating at the moment on, certainly writing – I love writing – but operating as an MP.”

While the chat with Trump was attacked by some as going easy on the US president, in the Christian Today interview Gove criticised the ban on travellers from Muslim-majority countries, and predicted Trump could even quit before his full term ends.

Calling Trump “clearly narcissistic”, Gove said: “My hunch is that he will see through this term and then he will lose the next election. Knowing that he might lose, he might find some means of quitting while he thinks he is ahead, though I suspect that his ego will mean he will both want to see what he can do in office and he will believe that he can prevail against whoever the Democrat opponent is.”

Beware, whistleblowers: officials still love secrets more than freedom

A close-up of the laptop circuit board destroyed under the supervision of GCHQ in the basement of the Guardian offices.

It seems an odd, indeed ludicrous, moment to talk official secrecy when Trump and co are engaged in full-blown hostilities with the CIA, FBI and homeland security amid a tsunami of leaks. But Britain, head down, cloaks and daggers fully mustered, ploughs on regardless as the Law Commission moves to “update” the Official Secrets Act. Just count the reasons for scepticism and apprehension, though.

One is the history, pre-1989 update, of that act itself: a history so grotesquely unfair that a sympathetic jury, raising two fingers to a judge’s summing-up, freed Clive Ponting for exposing how the Belgrano was really sunk – a public interest defence that always has Whitehall hopping with anxiety.

Another is the uniquely British tendency to see “modernisation” as a reason to extend sentences, from two years to as many as 14. (These cells are a bit crowded, aren’t they, governor?)

Yet another is the determinedly foggy nature of the commission’s putative extension of guilt from the leaker to the receiver of secrets: one seemingly destined to scare off journalists (and their lawyers)as well as deter whistleblowers.

And then there’s the soothing song from No 10. “It is not, it never has been and never will be policy of the government to restrict freedom of investigative journalism or public whistleblowing. One of the points of the [Official Secrets Act] review was to consider whether __more safeguards are required to protect public sector whistleblowers and journalists …” This from a government that reacts so feebly when another less spook-flecked act of parliament, Ripa, sees unrepentant police chiefs using hacking of their own to pursue officers who talk to reporters. This when sources are at obvious risk.

Which leaves one __more grey, grisly area for alarm. The Law Commission hasn’t been working on a blank canvas here. To the contrary, it’s clearly had current events in mind – events such as the whistleblowing of Edward Snowden (and the Guardian’s role in that shattering tale). So we have attempts to spread the net of British law wider, to foreign nationals. So we have official fingering of editors’ collars, a broadening of threatened retribution beyond the destruction of computers in newspaper basements.

Is there any sign here, as there was from the Obama administration, that Snowden had performed a public service by exposing official illegality and mission creep? Of course not. And, for those who like to join up bits of variegated thinking, there’s good reason to share the Guardian and Observer’s own refusal to join any royal charter regulator, the supposed freedom it offers bulwarked by two-thirds majorities in the Commons and Lords.

For we know what happens when parliament gets bitten by some security bug. Then government and opposition unite in denunciation. Then newspapers themselves divide and bite each other. Then normal restraint goes out of the window in a spasm of emotion. Then the bulwarks of freedom disintegrate and drift slowly down the Thames. At least they have their knife-fights in the open along the Potomac.

Whistleblowers endangered in digital age, says lawyers' report Beware, whistleblowers: officials still love secrets more than freedom

Downloading data from a USB

Whistleblowers need better legal protection because they are far easier to identify in the digital era and successive laws have undermined their status, according to a report by media lawyers.

The study by the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (IALS) at London University says journalists find it increasingly difficult to safeguard the anonymity of their sources due to the monitoring and interception of online and phone conversations. The study, which will be launched in the House of Lords on Wednesday, is supported by the Guardian.

The warning follows the publication earlier this month of a Law Commission review on how to update the Official Secrets Act. It suggested that prison sentences for leaking official information could be significantly increased and dismissed the idea of introducing a public interest defence. The commission’s proposals were widely condemned by whistleblowers and human rights organisations.

The report, Protecting Sources and Whistleblowers in a Digital Age, identifies weaknesses introduced by the Investigatory Powers Act (IPA) and, potentially, the digital economy bill that is going through parliament. The IPA declares that communications metadata – which could be used to hunt down and prosecute a source – belongs to the telecoms provider not the journalist.

“Legal protections [for whistleblowers],” the report says, “have become ineffective ... If covert powers are used, a journalist and a source will not know this has occurred – intrusion may become apparent only if the material is used in legal proceedings.”

The study notes that Lord Justice Leveson, in his inquiry into the practice and ethics of the press, also recommended narrowing the protection afforded to journalists when seeking orders for disclosure of material under the 1984 Police and Criminal Evidence Act.

Protecting confidential sources is a principle supported by the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) in its code of conduct. In the past, reporters have risked jail rather than reveal who gave them information for stories on matters of public interest.

Following lobbying by the NUJ, the recently reformed clause 37 of the digital economy bill does create a defence for publication in the public interest. The IALS report, however, warns that uncertainties remain about how the defence will be interpreted by the courts.

It notes: “It is a thorny legal problem about what should be considered as ‘journalism’, and so it is difficult to predict who – or what activity – will benefit from this defence. Additionally, even if journalists are better protected in law, we must not neglect the question of whether sources and whistleblowers are adequately protected.”

The report calls for the IPA to be rendered compliant with the UK’s international human rights obligations so journalists and their anonymous sources are sufficiently protected.

In a foreword to the report, the editor-in-chief of the Guardian, Katharine Viner, says: “At a time when journalistic protections are __more important than ever, the UK parliament has just passed [the Investigatory Powers Act] that brings in one of the most draconian surveillance regimes anywhere in the world. It enables law enforcement and agencies to access journalists’ data without the journalists ever knowing.”

Commenting on the Law Commission proposals, Judith Townend and Richard Danbury of the IALS said: “A consolidating act that replicates the deficiencies of already existing [Official Secrets Act] law is no improvement on the existing law, and the absence of a public interest defence in actions that relate to whistleblowing of officially secret material is – in our view – a significant omission.”

Gill Phillips, the Guardian’s editorial legal director, who contributed to the report, said: “Existing legal source protection framework [for whistleblowers] in the UK is being eroded by national security and anti-terrorism legislation, undercut by surveillance and jeopardised by the imposition of data retention obligations on third-party intermediaries such as internet service providers and telecommunications companies.”

A government spokesperson said: “Far from weakening protections for sources as this report suggests, this government has strengthened safeguards through the Investigatory Powers Act. Now any public body seeking to use communications data to identify a journalist’s source must first gain approval from a senior judge.

“We believe in the freedom of the press, and would never do anything to undermine legitimate whistleblowing or investigative journalism – it’s not government policy and never will be.”

Symphony Mobile brings “Symphony i25”

Symphony Mobile recently launched a new smartphone named “Symphony i25”. Following the footsteps of Symphony i10 (1GB) i10 (2GB), i50, and i20 the company unveiled the new product of this series. Symphony i25 comes with a dual arch design for comfortable grip. The smartphone has 3.2 Amigo based Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system, 1.3 GHz Quad core processor with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of ROM (Internal Storage), 8 megapixel rear camera and 5 megapixel front camera & 2300 mAh battery. 

Price: Tk. 6,790/-

Woman killed for dowry

A housewife was yesterday strangled to death for dowry in her in-laws' house in Atghoria upazila of the district.

The deceased, Akhi Khatun, 25, wife of Jayedul Islam and daughter of Abdul Halim Sheikh of the village, was often tortured by her in-laws for dowry, police said.

Officer-in-Charge of Atghoria Police Station Md Faruk Hossain, quoting victim's family members, said Jayedul often tortured Akhi for dowry since they got married two months ago.

Jayedul and his family members beat up Akhi and strangled her to death, said Akhi's family members.

Malaysia seeks North Korean fugitives

Malaysian police said yesterday they believe five North Koreans were involved in the murder of the half-brother of leader Kim Jong-Un, with four having fled the country on the day of the killing.

Seoul said the announcement proved Pyongyang was behind the murder of Kim Jong-Nam, who died after being squirted in the face with an unidentified liquid at Kuala Lumpur International Airport last Monday.

Four North Korean men were being sought over the killing, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Noor Rashid Ibrahim said, in addition to their compatriot who was arrested in Kuala Lumpur Saturday.

Counter-terror unit asked to submit probe report March 29

A Dhaka court yesterday again asked Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police to submit on March 29 the probe report of the case filed over the technical glitch in Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's flight. 

Metropolitan Magistrate Golam Nabi passed the order after Mahbub Alam, an inspector of CTTC unit and investigation officer of the case, failed to submit any probe report yesterday.

Earlier on January 12, the same court asked CTTC unit to submit by yesterday the case's probe report.  

Wing Commander (retd) MM Asaduzzaman, director of engineering and material management of Biman, filed the case.

Nine employees of Bangladesh Biman Airlines were made accused in the case filed under the Special Powers Act with Airport Police Station on December 21 last year.

Two __more officials, though their names were not included in the first information report, were also arrested after their involvement with the incident was found.

All the eleven accused are now in jail custody.

On November 27, a Biman flight carrying the prime minister had to make an emergency landing at the Ashgabat International Airport in Turkmenistan on her way to Budapest as engine-1 of the plane was losing oil pressure.

After the landing, engineers found that a nut was loose causing the oil pressure loss.

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Where fact and fiction interact

When fact meets fiction regarding a person, or place, or event in one story, the line between the two usually gets blurred, and, __more often than not, it becomes difficult to ascertain when and where fact segues into fiction, and vice versa.  Waqar A Khan, an avid history and heritage buff, and founder of Bangladesh Forum for Heritage Studies, presented just such a book to me, after having initiated its publication.  Samudragupta:  The Making of an Emperor is a historical novel written by Bappaditya Chakravarty.  More to the point, it is a thriller that mixes real life events with a deft touch of imagination to detail the rise of Prince Samudragupta to become the Emperor of India, or, at least, the territory of the Indian empire as it was then configured.  Samudragupta was a larger-than-life figure whom the great British historian Vincent Smith had named “Napoleon of India” in his book The Early History of India.  He was the son of Chandragupta I and his Mahadevi (preeminent wife), Queen Kumaradevi, once a Licchavi princess.  Chandragupta I had other wives, including the mother of Prince Kacha, the eldest son, and the story revolves around the struggle and multi-layered intrigues that eventually led to the ascension of Samudragupta to the throne of India.  And it was a long and distinguished reign lasting from 335 to 380CE.  These are also historical facts that are faithfully recounted in the story.  He was a fearless warrior, a sagacious general, and, seemingly in contradiction to these characteristics, an accomplished poet, musician, philanthropist, and patron of the arts and literature.  These wide-ranging qualities might cause some people to raise their skeptical eyebrows, but these are the facts as documented in the well-known inscription on a pillar in Allahabad as well as the Eran inscriptions.

At its height, with conquests and expansion mostly by Samudragupta, the maximum extent of the Gupta Empire was reached in and around 400CE, embracing an estimated 3,500,000 kilometers.  It is the third largest in terms of size in the pre-British Raj Indian history.  Magnificent architecture, painting, and sculpture were prominent features of the Gupta Empire.  Above it, at number 2 was the Mughal Empire, which reached its zenith around 1690 CE, during Emperor Aurangzeb's reign, with a territory of approximately 4,000,000 kilometers, and, at number 1, the pre-Christian Era Maurya Empire, which reached its apex point under Emperor Asoka, and reached its maximum extent in 250 BC with a total territory comprising 5,000,000 kilometers (all figures given thus far are estimates reached by a scholar).  Compare the three with the modern Republic of India with a territory of 3,287,263 kilometers (of course, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nepal are independent countries).  The British Raj, of course, was bigger, including Myanmar as part of South Asia, and, except for some tiny enclaves under other European countries' control, brought the entire India under unified control for the first time in the sub-continent's history.

Those are facts.  Bappaditya Chakravarty, with some dexterity, weaves them into a thriller that mixes up fiction with fact.  History is replete with royal family members, in order to make their way up to the throne, doing away with potential, and real, rivals, whether that results in regicide, fratricide, or any other elimination of other relatives.  While the monarchy has largely become constitutional in almost all countries that have them, political assassinations to pave the way to power (and, inevitably, riches) continue to this day.  Power, or the trappings of power, is heady stuff.  Chakravarty has presented just such a scenario, in the process, drawing attention to all of Samudragupta's multiple character attributes.  They portray a truly great monarch, equally adept at war and peace, although, and this should come as no surprise to those familiar with historical fiction, the author admits to having taken “certain liberties with Samudragupta's expeditions.”  Sometimes, while bringing together various attributes and events, the author is a bit glib, neatly trying to fit one to the other in a seamless web, but, generally, he manages to compartmentalize events and people in a logical manner.

While the plots and intrigues are natural ploys to ascend the throne by Prince Kacha, the first-born son, his father's considered choice as heir apparent was his half-brother Samudragupta.  There was also a serious sub-plot whereby the pretender wanted to establish puritanical Hinduism in the realm, especially at the expense of Buddhism, by using draconian measures like forcible conversion, imposing heavy taxes on non-Hindus, and force of arms.  In fact, he “has issued a number of diktats making Hinduism the official religion of his domain.”  Actually, the novel begins with the author describing a mysterious plot.  While the sagacious Chandragupta I, father of Kacha and Samudragupta, was formally addressed as Maharajadhiraja (King of Kings), he lived an unostentatious life, who was utterly devoted to his beautiful chief wife (Mahadevi), whose Lichhavi dynasty had generally converted to Buddhism.  

Originally of the warrior caste, Kshatriyas, they were now derided by the hardline Hindus (especially by the Brahmins) as 'fallen' Kshatriyas.  And one of them was married to the Maharajdhiraj of India!  Chandragupta, both out of devotion to his wife and his own liberal bent, did not pay much attention to this, and allowed followers of Hinduism and Buddhism to coexist in his kingdom.  But his enemies were powerful and crafty.  “There were camps in the court, however --- one led by…Kacha --- that advocated a revival of the Brahmannical tradition and rued that the caste system had lost its stranglehold on society, others advocated amity between the religions.  Fortunately for the King, the latter were larger in numbers, although internally divided along sectarian lines.  And then there were the opportunists, favoring one faction or the other, seeking always to make a gain in one way or other.”  Fanaticism is a hydra-headed monster, imposing severe privations on humanity, and, so often making them pay a price that they do not deserve for any fault of their own.

In the event, following wise counsel from seasoned advisors, his own long-drawn-out assessment of the two oldest princes, suggestive goading by Queen Kumaradevi, and his own considered predilection, he appointed Samudragupta to be his heir apparent, much to the disgust and annoyance of Kacha, who had already planned a heinous elaborate plot to immediately kill his younger brother, and, eventually, usurp the throne for himself and establish Brahminism throughout the land.  In the manner of portraying villains, the author also portrays Kacha as lascivious; drug user, and inveterate drunkard, while Samudragupta had high morals, including his intent to marry a banished princess from a faraway land (note the fairytale overtones!).  The morality play, a staple in Indian movies, and other art forms, and so special to this part of the world!

Keeping with tradition, Samudragupta was well-versed in the writings of legendary economist (and purveyor of diplomacy), Kautilya, who had anticipated Niccolo Machiavelli by many centuries, and who lived during the Mauryan era, and continues to be followed in India.  As was, not surprisingly, Kacha.  Chakravarty draws a comprehensive pen portrait of the heir apparent:  “Samudragupta was a young man of some twenty-three years, very tall, fair and built like a bull…. When bare-bodied, his torso seemed to have the imprint of every kind of weapon known, from sword scars to arrow punctures, javelin cuts to deep mace wounds.  For additional adornment…he bore claw marks of bears and tigers that he had subdued with short swords and knives.  His face was however gentle…the face of a musician--- which he was, and of a poet ---which he was too.

Samudragupta continued with the tradition of his father of surrounding himself with sagacious courtiers.  Great generals, spymasters, advisors, loyal to him to a fault, made his person, and his kingdom, safe.  While the exigencies of the battlefield could force him to take very harsh decisions, he could also be chivalrous, and embraced defeated, but gallant, foes into his fold.  His love for Datta, the exiled princess, whose throne he restored to her after annihilating a fiendish usurper (the pat contrasts familiar to Hindi films easily discernible), was reciprocated and they were married in front of his father and mother.  Eventually, Kacha is defeated, and Samudragupta becomes crown prince on the way to becoming an Emperor.  Obviously, much of the story is conjecture mixed in with facts, but the author has never claimed to have written a historical work of pure scholarship.  This is not a bad ploy at all!  A historical novel of what is what and what could have been is a refreshing read after going through large tomes replete with high scholarship.

Samudragupta's real (or imagined) tolerance and humanism is clearly articulated here, part of the reason why he is considered one of the great rulers in Indian history:  “I am in favor of Hinduism, if not the fanatical Brahminism that Kacha espouses.  Simultaneously, I will encourage the Buddhist idea of dharma, and promote Buddhist scholarship.”  There are other such portrayals of Samudragupta in the book of over 500 pages that could be finished much __more quickly than one could comprehend.

The reviewer is an Actor, and Professor and Head, Media and Communication department, IUB.

Ornament of Human Race

Manob Bongsher Alonker (Ornament of Human Race: A Long Poem) is a book of poetry by Dr. Mahfuz Parvez and it is published by Balaka Publication. It is some kind of Kahini Kabbo(a form of  Ballad) in which contemporary issues have been duly portrayed. He has penned a sketch of Globalism, Imperialism and Hegemony to uphold the voice of the oppressed. It consists of a single poem which describes existing human society, culture, belief etc. It is now available at the Ekushe Book Fair-2017 at the stall of Balaka Publication. His total published books count 15. His remarkable  books are: Nano Bhalobasa o Onnanno (poem), Bidrohi Parbotto Chottogram o Santichukti, Swadhinota Poroborti Bangladesh, Ekobinsho Sotoke Bangladesh etc.

The reviewer is Deputy Incharge of  Book Reviews page. He can be reached at rana.dailystar@gmail.com

Alif Laila's solo sitar recital at Charukala

Noted expatriate sitar artiste Alif Laila captivated music lovers in a solo recital held recently at the base of the empty pond of Faculty of Fine Art (FFA), University of Dhaka. Indian tabla artiste Sudhir Ghorai, a disciple of Pandit Anindo Chatterjee, accompanied the sitarist. FFA authority organised the concert.

The concert was a tribute to the Dhaka Art Institute (now FFA), from where Alif Laila completed her BFA in 1981.

The unique setting of the concert, in the empty pond grounds, and the beautiful atmosphere of nature created a special appeal to the music lovers. The concept was materialised under the direction by noted artist Professor Nisar Hossain, Dean of FFA.

Alif Laila started off her musical flight with playing Raga Hameer on teentaal and adadha teentaal. She later played Raga Basant in madhyalaya and drut teentaal followed by a jhala. The artiste wrapped up with presenting a Khamaj dhun revolving around many Bengali songs.

Alif Laila was born in Dhaka, where she began the formal study of sitar under Ustad Mir Qasem Khan, nephew of the legendary Ustad Allaudin Khan. She further continued under the tutelage of Partha Chatterjee, Krishna Bhatt and Kushal Das. She is an accomplished painter as well. Laila has toured worldwide and performed music at numerous prestigious venues. Her DVD, “Hrydayaragam” was featured in the Women's History Month at the Smithsonian in 2008 and “Strings of Resonance” was nominated for the Best Classical Music Award in Bangladesh in 2010. She has collaborated with artistes of South Indian classical music, jazz, saxophone and percussion, and has composed music for cello and dance. Her music ventures beyond the realm of the traditional Indian classical. Her audio-visual sitar concert with her watercolour paintings was presented in major venues the USA, the UK and Bangladesh. In February 2015, she founded her music school “Sitar Niketan”. 

Hitting at our society's missing rectitude

Most of us in our apparently tranquil society are driven by an overriding middle-classism: complacent inside personal existence with an all-going-awesome mindset. The interweaving complexities of our murky surroundings occasionally create some annoyed “ki je hochhe eshob!” mutterings within our social circles, but those gleefully vaporize over time. As long as we aren't affected, we allow 'life' to carry on along its course.  

In such scenario, raising your voice, for whatsoever reasons, has almost become taboo in our eyes. You just drag troubles by raising your voice alone; there are forces who don't appreciate it. And specifically if you are a female, you drag controversies. Then, regardless of the urgency of the cause or the sensibility of the issue, you make people brand you with the eventual term 'feminist aka Taslima Nasreen'. That you aren't being treated justly or respectfully will become null, because you spoke about what you face. Nobody feels that you don't need to be a feminist to speak about the crude realities. In every sense, you are the one who is the de facto 'choritroheena nari'. 

Since most victims silently obey this diktat, they don't raise voices. But a Jesmin Chowdhury from Manchester does. And she does it without being a Taslima Nasreen. Instead of sensationalizing her suffocations, she simply hits at your conscience to make it rise up from dead. This her newly published book “Nishiddho Dinlipi” appears as essential scruples for both male and female readers. A collection of vignettes that she had published in different popular webzines and literary sites, the book tells you why we all must look inside our souls to understand women's world. Novelist Selina Hossain in her preamble rightly echoes similar sentiments.    

But let me clear this: the book is neither a slogan nor a shout. It is Jesmin's interior voyage impelled by her exterior society, the society of hidden evils. The society that resides across boundaries: in her hometown Sylhet, in Dhaka, London, Manchester and everywhere. Both men and women wear masks, and those masks undergo changes in color and shape to maltreat-insult-malign women.'Choritroheenar kholachithi' (An open letter from a debauched woman) is, therefore, the perfect start for this book. It magnificently exposes our hypocrisy about judging women in the yardstick of a series of interconnected maxims: a woman's 'goodness of character' is socially determined and society is governed by masculine ethics; women dare not skip any of those ethics because women can't have ethics on their own; they must always be guided by their shelter-givers (not just men, women too) whose even wrong guidance should be received as righteous fate by women. Jesmin, after separation from her abusive first husband, refused to accept these maxims. With her kids, she gloriously fought on her own to stand up on her feet without any support of societal shelter-givers. The middle-class masks, shocked and angry, had no other way except defining the choritroheen-ness of her being, her existence. 

So readers can see, how countless Jesmins mutely fume in all households transcending boundaries, __more specifically, Bangalee boundaries. It is now up to the readers whether they will shed off their middle-class masks and become real humans. 

The irony of the entire matter is, women themselves are part of this masculine mindset. Jesmin describes in her equally thoughtful piece 'Ami kidorai shokhi beshsha galire?'(Do I care your calling me a whore?) how male-governed society's members in shirts-trousers and saris get shocked by women with voices and do not hesitate in equating them with 'prostitutes'. And thereafter comes Jesmin's logical query:on what ethical standing do even our brothel-mongering males hate prostitutes for their profession? Well, middle-class hypocrisy rules. 

'Barbar phire ashe bedonar honeymoon' (The honeymoons of sorrows return repeatedly) is another striking piece which depicts how married women face circles of painful honeymoons in their lives, i.e. the stage by stage abusive events followed by apparently happy moments…ultimately never making them really happy. Jesmin's experience of working as an interpreter in a young girl Maya's prolonged divorce case prompted her to write this touching piece.

Besides numerous fascinating discourses on women voice, Jesmin raises diversified issues too: her valiant freedom fighter dad, the ludicrous garbage in social media, the dreadful fate of infant rape-victim Puja, the curse of clueless parenting in Bangladesh, the inhuman plight of maltreated maid servant sand so on. Every article appeals to our never-thought-of humane senses, deplorably drowned in the sea of our middle-class double standards.  

Jesmin's personal stature as an English language teacher and a freelance interpreter has allowed her to view multiple shades of contemporary life. And her credit lies in painting those shades with sheer honesty. “Nishiddho Dinlipi”, in my view, is a unique framescape of the naïve personas residing within us which Jesmin has treated with passionate maturity. You will feel discomfort at times, but that mustn't stop you from roaming through the pages. And inarguably, her silky, free-flowing prose will captivate even the most reluctant reader.

The reviewer is a writer and translator; he is an Associate Professor and Researcher at BRAC Institute of Languages (BIL) in BRAC University.

Tumi Bristimoyee

Tumi Bristimoyee is a romantic novel by Shahalam Saju (Journalist and writer). It has been published by Aninda Publication in this Ekushe Book fair-2017 and it is now available at Aninda Publication (stall no.456-459). This novel portrays nature and love closely related to human relationship. It also tells the story of hope and despair, gain and loss etc., but finally glorifies human affiliation.

Graphic novel 'Mujib-3' unveiled

The third part of a graphic novel series on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman titled “Mujib-3” was unveiled yesterday at the Ekushey book fair.

“Mujib-3” highlights the post-World War II period during which Bangabandhu emerged as a politician and organiser despite many obstacles.

The Centre for Research and Information (CRI) organised the event at the CRI stall on the Bangla Academy premises. Radwan Mujib Siddiq, grandson of Bangabandhu, and also a CRI trustee, was present.

Meanwhile, booklovers continue to throng the Suhrawardy Udyan and Bangla Academy premises of the fair to quench their thirst for books.

They expressed satisfaction over the increasing numbers of books and publishers. At the same time, many said the publishing houses should determine the books' prices logically so that people can buy __more books.

“It's a positive sign that many publishing houses are participating at the fair,” said Md Ahsan, a government employee, adding, “But, many cannot buy books due to the high prices.”

Another reader Mohsin Hossain Litu said though many people are visiting the fair, they are not buying books. “The publishing houses should make sure that the prices remain moderate so that people can buy __more books,” the private service holder mentioned.

However, the publishing houses said the books' prices remain almost the same like previous years except for some of the books. “We had to determine the pricing based on the quality of the paper, cover design and print,” said SM Yunus, marketing executive at Kathaprokash.

A book titled “Australia Bhraman Kahini: Adure Dakkhine” by Abul Hasan Muhammad Bashar was launched yesterday.

'Routine operations'

A US aircraft carrier strike group is patrolling in the South China Sea, the US Navy said Saturday, days after Beijing told Washington not to challenge its sovereignty in the waterway.

China asserts ownership of almost all of the resource-rich waters despite rival claims from several Southeast Asian countries. It has rapidly built reefs into artificial islands capable of hosting military planes.

The USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier group was engaging in "routine operations in the South China Sea," the navy said in a statement on its website.

It noted that the ships and aircraft had recently conducted exercises off Hawaii and Guam to "maintain and improve their readiness and develop cohesion as a strike group."

"We are looking forward to demonstrating those capabilities while building upon existing strong relationships with our allies, partners and friends in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region," strike group commander Rear Admiral James Kilby said in the statement.

China's foreign ministry said ships and aircraft were allowed to operate in the area according to international law.

But Beijing "firmly opposes any country's attempt to undermine China's sovereignty and security in the name of the freedom of navigation and overflight," spokesman Geng Shuang told journalists Wednesday, responding to reports that the Vinson was headed to the South China Sea.

"We also urge the US to refrain from challenging China's sovereignty and security and to respect regional countries' efforts to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea," he said.

The Vinson has deployed to the South China Sea 16 times in its 35-year history, the US Navy said.

Washington says it does not take sides in the territorial disputes but has several times sent warships and planes to assert freedom of navigation in the Sea, sparking protests from Beijing.

Avalanche kills seven in northern Pakistan

An avalanche killed at least seven labourers in northern Pakistan yesterday, with up to four __more trapped beneath the snow. The accident, which also injured seven, happened near the Lowari Tunnel which connects the districts of Dir and Chitral in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, senior local administration official Shahab Hameed told AFP.

Samsung Electronics inaugurates its first flagship brand shop in Gulshan-2

Samsung Electronics opened their first 'Flagship Brand Shop' in Gulshan-2 with exclusive experience zones to cater the needs of people with genuine Samsung products under one roof. This flagship brand shop, located at Zahed Plaza, 1st Floor, 30 Gulshan Avenue North C/A, Dhaka, is operated by one of Samsung's authorized distributors-Fair Electronics Limited (FEL). The 2,250 sq.ft. flagship brand shop in Gulshan-2 circle, is showcasing the entire range of Samsung products—televisions, refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines, microwave ovens, Large Format Displays (LFD), Digital Variable Multi (DVM) air conditioners, and smart phones.

Last birthday with my father was unforgettable - Tisha

With a few acclaimed film performances behind her, versatile actor Tisha is a celebrated face in the showbiz world. With a successful modeling career as well as being an actor of the big and small screens, her popularity has been growing steadily over the years. Today marks a very special day for the star as it is her birthday, and in a recent conversation with The Daily Star, Tisha shared her plans for the occasion, as well as memorable birthday stories.

“To be honest, I don't have big plans for the day. It is a day that fills me with great joy every year, but I've stopped having grand celebrations since the demise of my father. While he was alive, we would make big plans and have fun together. 

“When father was alive, we would begin festivities the day before which would continue to the next day. All birthdays were a two-day celebratory occasion, and I will never forget how we observed it each year. 

“The last birthday I spent with him is something I shall never forget. He gave me an apartment as a birthday present, and that was his last grand gesture for me. My father's absence is a constant painful reminder, and I miss him all the time. However, in my heart I feel his presence, blessing me from afar. I miss him the most on my birthdays.

“Since my marriage, my husband (filmmaker Mostofa Sarwar Farooki) goes out of his way to make each birthday memorable. Last year, he tried his hardest to surprise me, but his plans were foiled when I found out. I found it quite funny, but his efforts touched me. He gives me wonderful presents every year which I love.

“There were times when my birthdays coincided with shooting schedules. My husband bought a cake and waited for me at home which meant a lot to me. We cut the cake together when I returned home, and the wait was worth it.

“Although I love receiving presents, nothing makes me happier than someone keeping me in their prayers on the day. It doesn't take a lot to make me happy. 

“My childhood birthday celebrations are still etched in my mind. On those days all my friends from school were invited and we would have a lot of fun and games. My parents would arrange an elaborate meal and it was all quite grand.

“I'd like to share something interesting outside birthdays. When I was a child, I wanted to be a doctor when I grew up. I don't regret it as my goals changed over the years and I aspired to become a painter, and then a dancer. Now finally, I am an actor, and I believe this was the destiny God intended for me, and I am very content with what I have.

“I don't believe in planning for the future, as no one knows what will happen 10 or 20 years down the road. I live for the present, and it is __more important to be a good human being. If you commit yourself to doing good, good things will happen. 

“I would like to leave my fans with one wish. I hope that you all keep me in your prayers on my birthday, and be charitable to others, especially those that are less fortunate. Nothing will make me happier than this.”

Books in Santal language still a far cry

Lack of textbooks in mother language and shortage of teachers of their own communities hamper schooling of a large number of indigenous children, mostly the Santals, in different areas of Sadar, Gomostapur and Nachole upazilas under the district. 

Sajoni Hemrom, of Class IV, and Sumitra Tudu, of Class V of Jalahar Government Primary School in Sadar upazila are lucky enough as their teachers are Santals. Still they face problems as the textbooks are in Bangla and English.

"Most of the 70 students of this school are Santals as there are 60 families of the community at Jalahar village, a Santal-majority area. At school they learn Bangla and English and the teachers using Santal language help them to understand the texts. They would be __more interested to learn if the textbooks were in mother language," said Anas Saren, acting headmaster of the school.

This correspondent also visited Amnura Mission Non-Government Primary School, run by Norwegian Lutheran Mission, at Jhilim union under Sadar upazila on Saturday.

Of the 238 students, 132 kids, including 73 Santals, belong to different ethnic communities. All the five teachers are also of the minority communities. 

The ethnic kids read Bangla and English texts, but cannot speak the languages clearly.

Conditions of most other indigenous learners in the district are worse as they have to learn with Bangla speaking teachers.

According to indigenous leaders in Chapainawabganj, at least 25,000 indigenous people belonging to ethnic communities including Santal, Kole, Oraon, Mahato and Rajbangshi live in the district, the Santals being the largest among them.

The government should arrange textbooks for Santal kids in Roman alphabet, which is used for writing Santal language since 1863, said Hingu Murmu, president of Uttarbanga Adibasi Parishad.

Zimbabwe's Mugabe rules out retirement

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who turns 93 on Tuesday, has no plans to give up power, saying he has no "acceptable" successor in place. "The call to step down must come from my party, my party at congress, my party at central committee," Mugabe said in excerpts from a radio broadcast that will air this week and that were printed in the state-owned Sunday Mail newspaper.

Man to die for farmer murder

A court here yesterday sentenced a man to death for killing a farmer in 2008.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Al Mahmud Faijul Kabir declared the verdict.

The convicted Nurul Islam, 25, son of Hazrat Ali of Kafatia village of Sadar upazila, is absconding. The court, however, acquitted three others as the charges brought against them could not be proved.

Ainal Hossain, 48, of the village, was killed on October 3 in 2008 as Nurul Islam and some others hit him with iron rods and sharp weapons following a dispute over land boundary.

Two private dorms for Nazrul univ girls gutted

Two private dormitories for female students of Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University were burnt to ashes on Saturday evening, said police.

Police and Fire Brigade and Civil Defense personnel rushed to the spot and brought the fire under control, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Trishal Police Station Md Moniruzzaman said.

Around 60 female students had been residing in Shashi Chhatri Nibash and Aniruddha Chhatri Nibash at Namapara in Trishal upazila, the OC said.

“Soon after the incident, we asked the provost of Dulonchanpa, the lone residential hall for female students of the university, to accommodate the affected students on an emergency basis and she complied,” said Proctor Dr Md Jahidul Kabir.

A six-member probe body headed by the proctor has been asked to submit its report within four working days.

The fire might have started from an electric short circuit, Moniruzzaman said, adding all the belongings of the students, including books, papers and furniture, were burnt to ashes.

Bielsa lured back to Lille

Iconic Argentinian coach Marcelo Bielsa, known as 'el Loco' for his intense 'all in' style, is returning to France as manager of Lille, the newly bought out Ligue 1 club said on Sunday.

"Lille and the Argentine coach have signed a two years deal which comes into effect in July," Lille announced.

Rumours had been ripe that Bielsa, who handled Argentina and Chile before succesful stints at Athletic Bilbao and Marseille, would join the northerners who were French champions in 2011.

Ctg JCD leader held over snatching

A ward unit leader of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) was arrested in Chittagong city on Saturday night in connection with robbing a man of Tk 5 lakh four days back.

The arrestee, Nurul Alam Shipu, president of Chawkbazar ward unit of Chhatra Dal, is also brother of the ward's self-proclaimed Jubo League leader Nur Mostafa Tinu, who is locally known for leading a faction of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) in Chittagong College. 

The president of Jubo League's Chittagong city unit, Mohiuddin Bachchu, however, said there was no Jubo League leader in the ward by the name of Tinu. If someone abuses the name of Jubo League, police should take action against him, he told The Daily Star.

Requesting anonymity, a police official said around 10:00pm on Saturday night, Tinu went to Panchlaish Police Station along with his BCL followers to free his brother.

Denying that there was any pressure from BCL or Jubo League, Officer-in-Charge Mohiuddin Mahmud said Shipu was arrested based on information from two other arrestees who confessed to the crime. He, however, said two of the "criminal's family members" had requested him to free Shipu but he refused.

According to police, four to five snatchers robbed one Nur Uddin of Tk 5 lakh in Katalgonj Boudhha Mandir area on February 15. Based on the clues from closed-circuit TV cameras, police arrested Arif and Mamun, and following their statements detained Shipu.

Tinu could not be contacted for comment as his mobile phone was switched off.

His follower and former vice president of Chittagong College unit of BCL Abu Mohammed Arif, who accompanied Tinu to the police station, said Tinu went to see Shipu as his brother, not as a Jubo League leader.

He said they accompanied Tinu but did not try to free Shipu. He also claimed that Shipu was falsely accused for his political involvement and he did not commit the crime.