For those photographers headed to the Olympics this year, if you are going over to London and you were planning on taking some photos of the events, PopPhoto.com is just reporting this article about new restrictions on cameras and camera gear. According to the new rules, “large cameras and lenses, specifically those over 30cm in length, will not be permitted in the 2012 Olympic games. Tripods and monopods will also be banned.” There are some other important rules and restrictions so please look to the websites and find out before you go. The rules, of course, do not apply to those with credentials, so you might want to drum up some of those before heading off to London just, you know, just to be on the safe side of things.
Sadly (NOT!) other items on the banned list include my perennial favorite: the vuvuzela (Go team! I mean, um, “Yeah on the Olympic Committee for banning this oh-so-annoying-drone-like-sounding-device. My TV set, and my ears, thank you, kind British folks.”)
In other, perhaps even *stranger* (if you can believe it!) art news, Glasstire is reporting that a priceless Picasso was recently vandalized over in Houston at the Menil Collection. Those of you astute readers (and you know who you are. *Waves*) will recall that I favor visiting the Menil as part of my sojourns over to FotoFest.
This from the article:
“Pablo Picasso’s Woman in a Red Armchair (1929) was vandalized last week when a man in a dark suit approached the piece and stenciled the word “Conquista” and a picture of a bull across the figure’s face. A video uploaded to YouTube shows the whole thing, and dedicates the piece to “the art beast Pablo Picasso.” Fox News reports that the Menil has confirmed the vandalism, has already repaired the painting, and is working with the police. Both the sprayer and the videographer, who may have been a confederate, escaped without being identified.”
My response to their Facebook posting was to call the, ahem, “artist” in question a “jackass!” (And, yes, you can quote me on that!)
An interesting aside though, I have started to wonder what other artwork the vandals out there are targeting? Perhaps, I should take on a new artistic goal: make art so good it attracts vandals. Are you vandal worthy yet? Is your art so good that there are now oodles of people out there, lining up with cans of spray paint, waiting in the wings for some poor sap of a security guard to turn around, just for a second? Because, heck, mine sure isn’t. A new art goal indeed!
Unfortunately, there are probably way too many jackasses in the world. In fact, there’s probably more than enough idiots with cans of spray paint thinking themselves artists than there are great artworks out there to deface. Sad to say but I think this equation will not end well (at least not well enough, for the artists anyway.)
But, heck, it has given rise to a new motto: “Come on, spray me, baby…you know you want to!” (It beats blowing on my now banned vuvuzela any day.)
Until next time…
