Vermeer: The final tally, with a twist

"The Procuress" by Vermeer, 1656, oil on canvas, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Alte Meister (Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister), Dresden/Essential Vermeer

By Laura Grimes

The story so far: The Pantsless Brother has been on a whirlwind tour of Europe, dubbed the Sleep-Is-Not-an-Option Tour, to see 16 Vermeer paintings.

The goal: To take in the final 12 Vermeer paintings that The PB hasn’t seen, out of 34 (some say 36) paintings in the world that can be viewed.

How whirlwind? Ten cities in two weeks.

How sleepless? Nine cities in nine days, but that’s just the Vermeers.

What’s the news? Another unexpected twist put a crimp in his plans.

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Code o’ the West, rodeo clown edition

By Bob Hicks

The other day we posted news of the Oregon Legislature’s impending adoption of the Code of the West as the official state, um, thing we adopt.

Rodeo clown Flint Rasmussen, April 14, 2007. Photo: Dave Hogg/Wikimedia Commons.The code’s as rugged as rawhide, which means it tends to get frayed if you leave it out in the rain. And it does rain hereabouts. Besides, some fella in Texas came up with the idea, and sells merchandise to go along with it. (We might actually go for a Code o’ the West jeans-pocket whiskey flask.)

The thing’s pretty much stampeded through the state House and is now sitting in the Senate holding pen. And while it’s tough to argue with the likes of “take pride in your work” and “do what has to be done,” in the interest of healthy public debate we’d like to propose for the Senate’s consideration a Counter Code o’ the West — something the rodeo clown in all of us might appreciate. (And let’s just say right here and now that being a rodeo clown requires an immense amount of grit, fortitude, courage and foolhardiness, not to mention a good supply of chewin’ tobacco.)

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Egypt’s Hawass is back in the saddle

By Bob Hicks

How quickly the worm turns.

Less than a month ago, in a post detailing the ouster (or resignation: stories varied) of the legendary archaeologist Zahi Hawass as Egypt’s powerful chief of antiquities, we made this observation: “(T)he revolution is real, and Hawass, barring yet another turnabout, won’t be making any of its crucial decisions.”

The Great Sphinx, still partly buried in sand, ca. 1880. Wikimedia Commons.Well, the turnabout’s happened. As Kate Taylor reports here in the New York Times, Hawass is back in the saddle, reappointed by the new prime minister, Essam A. Sharaf. Hawass has made his share of enemies over the years, and was held in suspicion because of his close ties to the Mubarak regime, but was also known as a fierce and effective defender of and spokesman for Egypt’s cultural treasures. Plus, he’s a wily fox.

Separately, antiquities inspector Sarah Marei, one of the people trying to deal with safeguarding the nation’s collections during and after the revolution, wrote this piece for The Art Newspaper decrying the looting of museums and archaeological sites. “(T)he police presence vanished in the revolution and has yet to return to the sites,” wrote Marei, who’s been working in Giza. “The individual initiatives on the part of site inspectors and the townspeople from the remote areas is often the only current protection afforded to some of the world’s most unique and magnificent monuments.” Marei kicked up a bit of controversy by suggesting that collectors and institutions outside of Egypt might be providing a ready market for the looters.

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Good Korean dance: I have this review in this morning’s Oregonian of the South Korean contemporary dance troupe Laboratory Dance Project, which is finishing a three-night run on White Bird‘s Uncaged series. It’s a good company with excellent dancers and fresh ideas, and the Portland run is its West Coast premiere. Final show tonight (Saturday), 8 p.m., Lincoln Performance Hall.

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Photo: The Great Sphinx, still partly buried in sand, ca. 1880. Wikimedia Commons.

So this dyslexic guy walks into a bra …

By Bob Hicks

You might have noted that today is April 1, also known as April Fool’s Day.

No foolin': Thirty-five grand worth of mouse.That accounts for the headline above.

But we’re not foolin’ about the picture. Artdaily reports here that this 1932 poster of Mickey Mouse, when he was a mere mouseling only 4 years old, pulled in $35,850 in a recent Heritage Auctions sale of vintage movie posters. Overall, the auction notched $1.5 million in sales, which also included a 1953 Paramount half-sheet for The War of the Worlds and a primo 1938 Boris Karloff Frankenstein.

Here at Art Scatter World Headquarters we can think of other ways to drop 35 grand — a term or two of college tuition for one of the Large Smelly Boys, for instance. But we admire the passion that drives a collector to such extremes.

If the folks at Disney will pardon the expression, that’s a mighty mouse.

One question: Is it OK to tack it to the bedroom wall?