Category: Art History

  • Archaeologists in Turkey recently discovered an 11,000-year-old stone carving of a man holding his wiener while fighting off leopards…yes, you read that right.

    Transcript

    We’re gonna be talking about the oldest narrative scene we have in documented history and it’s of a man holding his wiener. Yes, I said wiener.

    Apparently, the stone two-panel carving was discovered by archaeologists in Turkey in an 11,000-year-old complex. This engraving of a man holding his wiener was found on benches that lined the walls in a communal area.

    So this guy holding his dick, though, wasn’t the main focal point of this engraving. There were two panels. Both panels, though, portray a person in the middle facing dangerous animals and this is where the narrative scene comes into play.

    So on the left panel, we see a squatting male figure who holds something like a snake kind of in his hand, and he’s going up against a bull.

    The right panel, with the man grabbing his schlong, has leopards approaching him from either side. It’s supposed to be a very, like, scary kind of scene a little bit.

    These Turkish panels, though, are believed by archaeologists to be the first known progression of a story narrative.


  • As climate change continues to take a toll on our planet, art insurance is becoming increasingly expensive!!

    If you visit a museum or buy an art piece from a gallery, these expenses will trickle down to you, the consumer.

    Transcript

    Art insurance around the world is expected in conjunction with climate change. Art insurance is typically bought by art museums, galleries, and collectors to help protect not only against theft and damage to the piece, but also for natural disasters.

    Between 1980-2021, there was an average number of 7.7 weather and climate disaster events. That’s just in the U.S.

    So, because of this, premiums are expected to rise consistently to match the denser quantity of weather and climate-related disasters.

    The worse climate change gets, the more expensive things will be in the world.


  • Apparently, the British Museum has been in talks with Greece to return the Elgin (Parthenon) marbles!

    Negotiations have finally been opened between the chairman of the British Museum and the Greek prime minister…but there’s a catch.

    Transcript

    Apparently, the British Museum is currently in talks with Greece to return the (Elgin) Parthenon Marbles.

    Greece has been asking for the Marbles back from the British Museum for a very, very long time.

    Negotiations between the British Museum Chairman and the Greek Prime Minister have been taking place since November 2021. An insider said that an agreement is 90% complete.

    This situation is complicated, though. Apparently, there is an act by the British Parliament that prohibits the museum from selling, giving away, or otherwise disposing of any items in the collection unless they’re duplicates or not needed for study.

    Surely, there can be some sort of concession or amendment, though, right?


  • Giant ancient kitty/Van Gogh forcibly sold/Return of the bog bodies/Christie’s shocking profits 2022

    By Amara is a weekly art and history podcast hosted by Amara Andrew. Each week, we’ll take a quick look at the goings on in the art and history world.

    This week, we’re looking at a giant ancient kitty, a van Gogh painting that was forcibly sold, return of the bog bodies, and guess how much Christie’s made this year!

    🎧 Subscribe on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts!

    MY MINIMALIST PODCAST KIT

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    Who is Amara Andrew?

    Hi there! My name’s Amara and I’m a videographer, historian, illustrator, and creator living in Chicago.


  • Every year, there’s a showstopper piece from Art Basel Miami Beach. This year, it was ATM Leaderboard by MSCHF.

    No longer do we have to wonder how much someone makes, because this little ATM has all the answers. 👀

    Transcript

    At the Miami Beach Art Basel every year, there’s always that one show-stopper piece. This year, the show-stopping piece was ATM Leaderboard by MSCHF.

    No longer do we have to size each other up and wonder how much each other makes. This little ATM tells us.

    So, this is how the machine works: you walk up to it, insert your debit card, and input your pin. The machine, then, takes a photo of you to display next to your bank balance.

    When the machine isn’t in use, it’s continuously flashing through the “high scores.”

    This artwork was purchased by a Miami collector for $75,000. They intend to display the work in a way that the public can interact with it.

    I’d like to recommend that they put it somewhere in South Beach!


  • Two pieces of furniture from Marie Antoinette sold for MAJOR prices! 👀💰

    Transcript

    Two pieces that were from Marie Antoinette’s personal collection were up for auction.

    These two pieces, also, have really special meaning to Marie Antoinette’s life.

    The first piece that was sold was a beautiful chest of drawers. This piece was created shortly after Marie Antoinette arrived in France, but before she wed Louis XVI.

    And this was estimated to sell for €800,000 – €1.2 million, but it actually sold for €942,000 (so, about $945,000).

    The other piece that was for sale was a beautiful, pale blue chair. So, this was actually used in the Queen’s small apartment at Versailles.

    What’s so special about this chair, though, was that it was one of the last orders the Queen placed before the French Revolution. It was delivered in 1788, a few years before she died. I wonder if she was able to even enjoy it….

    It was estimated to sell for €100,000 – €200,000. It actually sold for €906,000, which is around $935,000.


  • 11,000-year-old man holding penis / Celebs sued for secret BAYC deal / 200+ objects returned to Mexico!

    By Amara is a weekly art and history podcast hosted by Amara Andrew. Each week, we’ll take a quick look at the goings on in the art and history world.

    This week, we’re looking at the oldest narrative scene which just so happens to depict a 11,000 year old man holding his wiener; a slew of celebrities who are being sued alongside NFT project, BAYC; and over 200 pre-Columbian artifacts were returned to Mexico from the Netherlands!

    Plus, I have a very special guest co-host this week, Jeff Sarris!

    🎧 Subscribe on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts!

    MY MINIMALIST PODCAST KIT

    For links to all the tools I use to make my podcast happen, check out the post here!

    Who is Amara Andrew?

    Hi there! My name’s Amara and I’m a videographer, historian, illustrator, and creator living in Chicago.


  • Fake dinosaur skeleton at auction! 🦖

    Christie’s was going to sell this T-Rex skeleton, but now they’re under fire after it was discovered that almost ¾ of the bones were copies of *another* T-Rex!

    Transcript

    Christie’s was slated to sell an entire T-Rex skeleton. The T-Rex, though, whose name is Shen, has now been removed from the catalog…why?

    A bunch of experts raised questions about the amount of replica bones and ambiguous language that was used in this catalog.

    What was funny about this, though, is that one expert noticed that Shen looked eerily similar to Stan. So, Stan was a T-Rex skeleton that had been excavated in 1992 and sold at Christie’s.

    These experts studied Shen and noticed that roughly ¾ of the bones in this skeleton resembled Stan’s.

    So, Christie’s removed this from their brochure and their website. They are, allegedly, in trouble for false marketing.


  • Banksy is pissed! Here’s why 👀

    So, a couple weeks ago, Banksy posted to Instagram accusing Guess of using his artwork without his permission. Guess, though, claims they have the rights to use his artwork because of their deal with Brandalised…but who’s right? 🤔

    Transcript

    Do not fuck with Banksy because they will fuck you back so hard.

    Banksy posted a photo to Instagram. It’s a photo of a GUESS store and it says: “Attention all shoplifters! Please go to GUESS on Regent Street. They’ve helped themselves to my artwork without asking. How can it be wrong for you to do the same with their clothes?”

    Mic drop!

    So, a little bit of backstory: GUESS has a licensing deal, apparently, with a company called Brandalised. They claim to have the licensing rights to the work of graffiti artists.

    Some copyright lawyers claim that it appears that GUESS properly sourced the rights from Brandalised.

    The story is still developing, so stay tuned!


  • Two of the largest anime conventions in the U.S. have now completely banned AI-generated artwork from their artists’ alleys.

    How do you feel about AI-generated art being banned from Anime NYC and Animé LA? 🤔

    Transcript

    We’re, again, talking about AI-generated artwork and copyright!

    Apparently, two of the largest anime conventions in the U.S., Anime NYC and AniméLA, have completely banned AI-generated artwork from their artists’ alleys.

    Anime NYC hasn’t made a formal announcement yet, but AniméLA’s statement reads:

    “Based on the current nature of its implementation and lack of regard toward artists, we cannot in good faith let this kind of product exist in our space. We at AniméLA do not condone or accept any form of AI-generated art piece being used in our promotional materials, nor being sold in our exhibit hall or artists’ alley.”

    They even go so far to say that they’ll consider this a form of counterfeit and it will be required to be removed from the event.