The fossils of dueling dinosaurs were found by commercial prospectors, who calls himself the “Dino Cowboy,” on on a private ranch in Montana. Since the U.S. only regulates fossils found on public lands, and the Dino Cowboy has not found a ready institutional buyer, the dinosaur fossils are going up for auction at Bonhoms in New York. The New York Times doesn’t offer a full shot but there is a great photo of the cowboy gazing hungrily into the distance.
Italian police seized more than 500 well-preserved, illegally excavated artifacts in Southern Italy. The tombaroli (essentially, Italian for “tomb raiders”) are a constant annoyance and concern to the authorities in a country where undiscovered Etruscan tombs are ripe for raiding. Fortunately, or more likely in reaction to the problem, Italy is at the forefront of cultural heritage police work with a dedicated Carabinieri Division for the Protection of Cultural Heritage. Bravi ragazzi.
Syrian artist, Youssef Abdelke was arrested by Assad forces at a checkpoint a few weeks ago. The campaign of violence against Syrian artists is gruesome and startling, yet the reasons for it are transparent. Sign the Facebook petition in support of Abdelke’s release.
The NYPD attempted to censor the Voice Tunnel, an art installation about free speech. The piece allows the public to say anything they wish into an intercom, which is then translated into waves of light and sound. The City sought to require a 6 second delay between speech and projection. Read Rafael Lozana-Hemmer’s interview with Art F City for more. I was planning on keeping it PG when I pay my visit but perhaps I’ll re-think…
Annnnnd in the realm of the interesting but non-art law related developments, Marina Abromovic participated in a Reddit AMA.
Fordham Art Law Society {FALS} 