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Roundup: Marina Abramovic’s no-kid policy, Boyle Heights gentrification (again), good design and affordable housing

Marina Abramovic watches prospective performers during auditions at the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles in 2011.
(Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)
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Gallerists suing gallerists. A photographer suing a photo agency. A never-written novel about art world corruption. Plus: A Roman mosaic uncovered, more on art and gentrification in Boyle Heights, and Marina Abramovic tells the world she is not into baby-making. The art world, as always, is keeping it surreal. Here’s the Roundup:

New York gallerist Mary Boone has filed a suit against art dealer Vanessa Buia over the sale of works by Kaws. Buia has filed a countersuit. (And it’s juicy.)

— Photographer Carol Highsmith has filed a $1 billion suit against Getty Images that contends it is selling work she had placed in the public domain.

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— The Dede Wilsey controversy at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco is a sign of bigger governance problems at the board level, writes San Francisco Chronicle critic Charles Desmarais.

— Paintings by Salvador Dalí and Tamara de Lempicka have been recovered seven years after being stolen from a Dutch art museum. Likewise, Mayan artifacts, which were believed to have been looted, are returned to Guatemala.

— Workers in Cyprus find a 1,400 square foot Roman mosaic depicting the labors of Hercules.

An archaeologist sprays water on a rare Roman mosaic that has been uncovered in the Mediterranean town of Larnaca, Cyprus.
An archaeologist sprays water on a rare Roman mosaic that has been uncovered in the Mediterranean town of Larnaca, Cyprus.
(Iakovos Hatzistavrou / AFP Photo )

— In Boyle Heights, anti-gentrification efforts raise questions about the absence of city officials and developers from the debate, writes Hyperallergic’s Matt Stromberg.

Segregation: A study analyzes how even when neighborhoods gentrify, they can ultimately maintain the hard racial boundaries of segregation.

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Art and AIDS.

— An artist on their city: Doris Salcedo in Bogotá.

— The oppressive gospel of minimalism.

— Hats off to whoever is running the Getty’s awesome Tumblr account, which responds to questions about medieval everything, from medieval Pokémon to favorite historical GIF memes to the story behind butt trumpets to this naughty picture of nuns picking “fruit” (the latter of which may or may not be safe for work, depending on where you work).

— Speaking of Tumblrs, the Huntington has put Octavia Butler’s notes about her time travel novel, “Kindred,” online. (If you haven’t read the novel, stop whatever you are doing and read it.)

— A late art critic’s unwritten novel about art world corruption.

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— Because you gotta believe that any art story that features the phrase “I can shelter capital gains” is gonna be super inspiring.

Marina Abramovic says having kids would have made her career impossible. Apparently, our society is still surprised by women who choose not to have children.

— Why good design is so important in the construction of affordable housing. KCRW’s Frances Anderton has a thoughtful piece on the subject. If you work in the area of housing, do not miss this story.

A homeless man wheels his belongings past the Michael Maltzan-designed Star Apartments on skid row.
A homeless man wheels his belongings past the Michael Maltzan-designed Star Apartments on skid row.
(Irfan Kahn / Los Angeles Times )

— Citylab’s Kriston Capps writes about a major issue that received no air time at either the Republican or Democratic national conventions: Affordable housing.

— The Cultural Heritage Commission has voted to review Rudolph Schindler’s Falk Apartments in Silver Lake for landmark status.

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— Sort of related: Essayist Ann Friedman writes about preserving culturally important yet architecturally insignificant buildings — such as Studio One, the now defunct gay dance club in West Hollywood.

— And last but not least: John Cage’s “4’33”” — death metal style.

Find me on Twitter @cmonstah.

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