If art journalism is in trouble, what about publishing?

Jamie Camplin is the managing director of Thames & Hudson, a publishing firm based in London, England. He wrote an opinion piece for the June 2009 Art Newspaper that may interest general art readers and museum publishers. Camplin raises the question: if art book publishing is to remain vital, how do we keep producing fresh, thoughtful publications at a reasonable price point? He begins: Is there a crisis in art book publishing? Most people who love art—collectors, gallery-goers, curators, critics, dealers and artists themselves—understandably take it for granted that there is an audience for books about it. There’s a touch of arrogance about this, though an engaging version of arrogance because of the positive emotions involved. If your passion is Greek bronzes or Winslow Homer or Olafur Eliasson, you needn’t worry whether your enthusiasm is shared—unless, of course, you publish art books.

Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code: One False Louvre

Allan Cameron, the production designer of the 2006 movie,  The Da Vinci Code, starring Tom Hanks and Audrey Tatou,  had an interesting task at hand. His job was to recreate the Louvre museum  for Ron Howard’s movie even if they were  given the permission from the Louvre director Henri Loyette to shoot inside the museum itself. 

As he reasoned that they were unable to shine artificial light on the paintings, pour fake blood on the floor or have the actors rip Leonardo da Vinci’s paintings off the wall, Cameron and his crew set about recreating the Grand Gallery on a sound stage in Great Britain.  One of his most challenging task was maintaining the room’s scale. His staff not only photographed every wall in the gallery, they also measured each painting’s frame and its distance from the floor. Cameron also hired James Gemmill to recreate 150 paintings to place on the set by using digital photographs of each work as a base. Gemmil overpainted and glazed each work on aged boards or silk, adding layers of paint to match the craquelure of the originals. “The Mona Lisa itself was almost totally painted from scratch,” says Cameron, adding that his team made three versions to use in multiple takes. “Even the frames took time to accomplish. Some of them were very ornate and had very complicated wood carvings. The gold leaf, burnishing and aging each frame took weeks to finish. We even went far as to put wood-worm holes in them.”

Cameron added that certain parts of the movie were shot inside the Louvre and they were all “military maneuver.” They were extra careful when the lights and cables were carried around so they won’t go anywhere near the paintings. The curator and the Louvre security were there all the time. “To avoid scratching the floor, we used mats, put rubber balls on tripods, and made the bare-bones crew of 15 instead of the usual 150, wear soft shoes. Allan Cameron hopes that while watching the movie, people won’t know which is the set and which is the real Louvre.

Book Review: Edifice Complex: Power, Myth, and the Marcos State Architecture by Gerard Lico

The book is about Marcosian Architecture. The author started each chapter with quotes from different scholars as an introduction to his discussions. The book is very much influenced by Michel Foucaults discourse on power and knowledge. Lico says that Marcos regime recognized the nexus of architecture and society, its potential for influencing the community, and wielded this weapon to promote the aesthetics of power in the built form. The book seeks to contribute to theoretical work on the relationship between architecture and power. It documents some of the socio-historical dimensions of the Marcos regimes major architectural accomplishments which include the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Folk Arts Theater, PHILCITE, Philippine International Convention Center, Philippine Trade Pavillons, Tahanang Pilipino (Coconut Palace), and the Manila Film Center. Through this book, Lico hopes to generate awareness of the unrecognized power of architecture.

Private Collections Art Book Officially Launched

October 20, 2009 -- EACOMM Corporation hosted a cocktail reception to celebrate the publication of its first book project, Private Collections. Almost three hundred guests turned up at the Isla Ballroom 3 of Edsa Shangri-La Hotel to welcome the release of the limited edition art book and to have it signed by the art collectors.

The audience had a warm and unforgettable moment that Tuesday evening. Artists and distinguished guests from the business, arts and society stood in lines to meet and have a chat with Washington SyCip, Hans Sy, David Consunji, Joey de Leon, Napoleon Abueva, Charlie Cojuangco, Joel Jimenez, Eddie Chua, Patrick Reyno, Mark Villar, Julius Babao, Arsenio Tanco, Jovenal Santiago, Manny Zialcita, Gilbert Santos, Wilmer Hontiveros, Louie Ojeda, Mikee Romero and Alexander Tan, who were recognized and honored that night.

Private Collections is available online and at Fully Booked and Powerbooks.