Roundup: The remains of Palmyra, an oil well in a national monument, rubber duck artist not happy about Brazil protest duck

Evaluating Palmyra’s wreckage. An oil well springs inside a new national monument. Rubber duck artist irritated by rubber duck protesters. Plus, shows by women are changing the story of art. Or are they? Also: recording Mexico’s violence, wild churches and the California of Philip K. Dick.

— A spate of recent shows featuring art by women has helped raise the profile of some artists, but doesn’t make up for unequal treatment by museums and the market.

— A series of photographs shows the extent of the damage Islamic State militants unleashed on the ancient ruins at Palmyra. Heartbreaking.

— An oil well is about to be drilled in that new Nevada national monument that protects Michael Heizer’s “City.”

— Last year, art speculator Stefan Simchowitz and business partner Jonathan Ellis sued Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama after the artist reportedly disowned work that he had given them to sell. Now Mahama has countersued.

A part of the border fence near Naco, Ariz. An architectural competition for a new wall design has ignited a controversy.

(Astrid Galvan / Associated Press)

— An architectural competition to design a U.S.-Mexico border wall has stirred controversy among some designers who say it adds little to design knowledge while overlooking the border’s history, people, problems and dynamism.

— Dutch rubber duck artist totally upset over similar version of rubber duck being used by Brazilian protesters. This reminds me of the time Jeff Koons went after a company making balloon dog bookends. What does the manufacturer of the original rubber duck have to say about this?

— Plus, Columbia University students totally upset over Henry Moore sculpture — the sort of story that seems like it could be a story in the Onion, except it isn’t.

— The Untitled Art Fair is scheduled to land in San Francisco in January of 2017.

— In Miami, an art dealer versus developer smackdown.

Celia Tran of West Covina, Kathy Tran of Glendale and Dee Tran of El Monte take a photograph in the reflection of Jeff Koons’ “Tulips” at the Broad.

(Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

— William Poundstone offers a good theory on why the Broad is so popular: The greatest-hits focus of the museum may appeal to those who are just beginning to learn about art.

— A highly intriguing essay from John Yau on why the Whitney Museum should do an exhibition in honor of Herman Melville.

— Ellsworth Kelly’s little-seen photos evoke his paintings.

— Plus: Photos that record one family’s loss to Mexico’s violence.

— And intimate images of a gay motorcycle club in the 1960s.

— From the annals of incredibly harsh editorial practices: The editor who used to kill his photographers’ negatives with a hole punch. (Weisslink)

— E-flux is opening a café and bar in Brooklyn. Looking forward to the artspeak cocktail and the recontextualization bagel.

— Reasons I need to go to Norway: Stave churches. (ArtsJournal)

— “A Stygian pool reeking with ineffable and unbearable horror.” Or how London’s sewage system, a remarkable work of Victorian urban planning, came to be.

— A video game that channels the California of Philip K. Dick.

— Last but not least: “Everyone’s Painting Their Own Abstract Art and You Should Too.” Sample sentence: “When it comes to abstract art, it really can be as easy as taking a paintbrush to canvas and going to town.”

Find me on Twitter @cmonstah.