Last Week's Biggest Sales
1. FORT GREENE $2,800,000 180 Washington Park GMAP A House of the Day back in August, the 22-foot brownstone was owned by Spike Lee in the ’90s and hit the market with a price tag of $2,750,000. The new owner is British painter Chris Ofili, whom you might remember as the guy who offended Rudy…
1. FORT GREENE $2,800,000
180 Washington Park GMAP
A House of the Day back in August, the 22-foot brownstone was owned by Spike Lee in the ’90s and hit the market with a price tag of $2,750,000. The new owner is British painter Chris Ofili, whom you might remember as the guy who offended Rudy Giuliani in 1999 when his Holy Virgin Mary” exhibited in the Brooklyn Museum. The NYT In Transit blog describes the controversial painting as “a black Madonna that included a clump of elephant dung and a background of pornographic images from magazines.” Entered into contract on 11/10/09; closed on 1/14/10; deed recorded on 2/17/10.
2. PARK SLOPE $1,800,000
540 4th Street GMAP
When this limestone row house—filled with original details and located on a park block—was House of the Day back in November, it was listed for $2,000,000. Entered into contract on 1/23/10; closed on 2/8/10; deed recorded on 2/16/10.
3. GRAVESEND $1,800,000
2022 West Street GMAP
According to Prop Shark, this is a 5,670 square-foot 1-family house. Entered into contract on 8/6/09; closed on 2/12/10; deed recorded on 2/19/10.
4. WILLIAMSBURG $1,562,500
156 Bedford Avenue GMAP
This 3-unit building with retail space on the first floor was once home to the Print Shop, which closed in March ’09. It was listed for $1,850,000 on February 4, according to StreetEasy. But according to the deed, it entered into contract on 2/1/09; closed on 2/1/10; deed recorded on 2/19/10.
5. BOERUM HILL $1,400,000
295 Pacific Street GMAP
This four-story, 2,744 square-foot home was House of the Day when it hit the market in January ’09 with a price tag of $1,899,000 — and was named HOTD again in October ’09 when it returned to the market priced at $1,595,000. Entered into contract on 12/15/09; closed on 2/9/10; deed recorded on 2/16/10.
Photo from Property Shark.
> would the artistic expression be the same today?
No, it probably would not. Circumstance and experience are key, as you said.
> The only truth a smear of excrement on a religious figure…
I have no comment on Chris Ofili. I only began this sub-thread to counter the comment that “Michelangelo would stand little chance in today’s art world.”
DitmasSnark,
I see what you are saying,
but at the same time, you have to ask yourself
would the artistic expression be the same today?
Inspiration is a fleeting and tempermental thing,
born of circumstance and experience,
of a certain time and place.
That is to say, would a Pieta be even possible
today? or a Great Pyramid at Giza for that matter?
Michelangelo knew of his time and place and from
what I’ve read, expressed himself to his fullest.
Threats of heresy were mixed into the pigments he
used on the church walls.
Perhaps we could argue that this “artist” was pushing
his limits against this society, but there is a difference
between art and contrivance in my humble opinion.
Today’s Michelangelo is perhaps toiling away on a computer program as we speak that will transcend our time.
The only truth a smear of excrement on a religious figure will reveal today is the baseness of our own society.
Michelangelo was reincarnated as Andy Warhol.
Legion,
Yes, I do believe he would have more artistic and sexual freedom now. You mentioned he “was nearly excommunicated.” Would that happen now? And if it did, would it have the same significance?
As for his sexual orientation, this article is interesting in total, but begin at the heading “Michelangelo’s Sexuality”:
– http://www.glbtq.com/arts/michelangelo_art,2.html
DitmasSnark,
Michelangelo was certainly a man of his time, the renaissance, but he was always his own man.
If you mean to suggest that he would have had
more artistic and sexual freedom today, I would disagree
as he was nearly excommunicated for this work
in the Sisteen Chapel, The Last Judgement:
http://www.italian-renaissance-art.com/Last-Judgement.html
The Pope had his back though, they were more like
politicians back then,
And Michelangelo’s sexuality did not seem to be a major issue,
as he wrote freely about it.
He pushed the limits,
and was celebrated in his own time.
He was a Catholic as well, but
didn’t find the need to insult his own
or other’s beliefs through his genius.
> Michelangelo would stand little chance in today’s art world
Oh, I doubt that. He knew how to navigate the art world of his time, and had no shortage of patrons. If alive today, he would probably be sufficiently savvy to adapt to the current market model. In fact he might be able to do more work that was truer to his own desires and vision, rather than work commissioned by patrons.
Wasder, loos people biulding in price reductions based on outmoded concepts of the neighborhood. See yesterdays discussion of gentrification book, The What, Miss Muffet, etc.
Legion,
Michelangelo would stand little chance in today’s art world unless he came up with a new angle… a way to garner press.
Sad but true.
Speaking of the Catholic Church and vampires, has anybody else noticed how much the current pope resembles Nosferatu?
Posted by: Oleg at February 23, 2010 2:45 PM
…well they are both German (the pope and Max Shreck the actor who played Nosferatu).
…uhhhh, spellcheck again replace “iconagrophy” with iconography. I really am bad at this.
Arkady;
No. You’ve got it wrong there. Ofili’s painting of the Madonna with a smear of elephant dung was neither opulent, glittery nor dazzling. It was too marred by the artist’s ignorance of faith.
For an inspired expression of faith try this one;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piet%C3%A0_(Michelangelo)
he seemed to have got it right without the need for excrement.