Category: History

  • Amara Andrew

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    Rarest Image of Trojan War Found! // Is the art market fair to women? // Frank Lloyd Wright home for sale! // Missing Cubist work hidden in plain sight!

    Rarest Image of Trojan War Found! // Is the art market fair to women? // Frank Lloyd Wright home for sale! // Missing Cubist work hidden in plain sight!

    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 discussing the rarest image of the Trojan War has just been found, is the art market actually fair to women?, a Frank Lloyd Wright home lists for a shocking price, and a missing Cubist painting hidden in plain sight!

    🎧 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.

    Read More: Rarest Image of Trojan War Found! // Is the art market fair to women? // Frank Lloyd Wright home for sale! // Missing Cubist work hidden in plain sight!

  • Amara Andrew

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    RIP Cartoon Network?!

    Since the merger of Warner Bros. and Discovery in April 2022, a lot of changes have been made! But, most importantly, is this the end of Cartoon Network as we knew it?!

    Transcript

    Cartoon Network–are they dead?

    Fans got quite a shock this past week when rumors started circulating that Cartoon Network was no more. People were even using “#RIPCartoonNetwork” on Twitter.

    While Cartoon Network isn’t leaving us, something equally as terrible is happening.

    Eighty-two staffers in its scripted, unscripted, and animation departments got laid off last week. There are also 43 other vacant positions that are going to go unfilled.

    These are part of a $3 billion project that started April 2022 with the merger of Warner Bros. and Discovery.

    Another interesting part of this merger is that Cartoon Network had its own level of autonomy, so they could make decisions in creative and operational matters. Now, however, they will not be able to do that. It’s just getting folded into the rest of the major company.

    That’s never happened before in the history of Cartoon Network.

    🎧 Listen to the full episode here.

    Read More: RIP Cartoon Network?!

  • Amara Andrew

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    Are NFTs stocks? The U.S. government might think so…

    If you have any NFTs, you might wanna see this 😅 The United States Securities and Exchange Commission is currently investigating whether or not NFTs are securities (a.k.a. kind of like stocks).

    Transcript

    Yuga Labs, the creators of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), is being investigated to figure out whether they violated federal law.

    The United States Securities and Exchanges Commission (USSEC) is investigating if a few NFTs that were sold are similar to securities.

    Securities are something that has monetary value and can be traded, so kind of like a stock. The USSEC is also investigating the currency that Yuga Labs created within the BAYC universe called “Apecoin.”

    🎧 Listen to the full episode here.

    Read More: Are NFTs stocks? The U.S. government might think so…

  • Amara Andrew

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    A pair of 140-year-old jeans with a dark past!

    A pair of 140-year-old jeans just sold at auction for $87,400. Not only are they one of the most expensive pairs of jeans to have sold at auction, but they also tell a story about a horrific time in American history.

    Transcript

    This week, we’re discussing a pair of jeans and this isn’t just any old pair of jeans. These actually capture a crucial and terrible part of American history.

    On October 1, 2022, a pair of Levi’s jeans from the 1880s sold at auction for $87,400. On the interior is the phrase: “the only kind made by white labor.”

    According to a Levi’s representative, the company used this slogan following the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, which barred Chinese laborers from entering the U.S. during the heyday of anti-Chinese sentiment and discrimination.

    Levi’s also adopted an anti-Chinese labor policy, but in the 1890s Levi’s actually scrapped this policy and dropped the tagline.

    These aren’t just a pair of vintage jeans. They’re a lot more than that.

    🎧 Listen to the full episode here.

    Read More: A pair of 140-year-old jeans with a dark past!

  • Amara Andrew

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    Pair of Jeans with a Dark Past // BAYC NFT Sued! // RIP Cartoon Network?! // Andy Warhol: Copyright Infringer

    Pair of Jeans with a Dark Past // BAYC NFT Sued! // RIP Cartoon Network?! // Andy Warhol: Copyright Infringer

    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 discussing a 140-year-old pair of jeans with a dark past, are NFTs stocks?, RIP Cartoon Network, and Andy Warhol: Copyright Infringer!

    🎧 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.

    Read More: Pair of Jeans with a Dark Past // BAYC NFT Sued! // RIP Cartoon Network?! // Andy Warhol: Copyright Infringer

  • Amara Andrew

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    A fake Vermeer painting found in a major museum!

    A fake Vermeer painting has been found at the National Gallery of Art…but who created it? 🤔

    Transcript

    I love a good reattribution story!

    A well-known piece by Johannes Vermeer called “Girl with a Flute” has been identified as having not been created by Vermeer.

    You can see in “Girl with a Flute” that the technical quality of it is very different when compared to another piece that’s at the National Gallery of Art, “Girl with a Red Hat.”

    If you look at “Girl with a Red Hat,” the colors are extremely vivid, the tapestry is more precisely painted, and the highlights are more pronounced.

    In “Girl with a Flute,” though, the scene is muddier, her facial features are not as vibrant, and the overall painting looks more static.

    “Girl with a Flute,” is now attributed to Vermeer’s studio, instead of the artist. And it’s not a bad thing that it isn’t made by Vermeer. It just changes the story as well as the monetary value of the piece.

    🎧 Listen to the full episode here.

    Read More: A fake Vermeer painting found in a major museum!

  • Amara Andrew

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    Should the Rosetta Stone be returned to Egypt?

    The Rosetta Stone, just like the Koh-i-Noor diamond we discussed a few episodes back, is a hot button repatriation issue.

    What do you think: should the Rosetta Stone be returned to Egypt or kept at the British Museum? 🤔

    Transcript

    The Rosetta Stone is currently located at the British Museum. There is a huge problem with the fact that the have the Rosetta Stone. The Stone is significant because it helped us decipher Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs.

    So, what happened, though, is that in 1799, on one of Napoleon’s campaigns throughout Egypt, they stumbled upon this stele.

    This was then packaged up, stolen from Egypt, and then taken to France. In 1802, it was then gifted to the British Museum.

    Like with the Koh-i-Noor diamond, which is being asked for by the people of India, the Rosetta Stone is being asked for by the Egyptian people. The British Museum, though, has stated and stands by their statement that the Egyptian government has never asked for the stele’s return.

    The currently petition that’s circulating amongst archaeologists not only asks for the return of the Rosetta Stone, but also 16 other artifacts that were either illegally or unethically removed from Egypt.

    🎧 Listen to the full episode here.

    Read More: Should the Rosetta Stone be returned to Egypt?

  • Amara Andrew

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    How an art museum gets rid of art – what’s deaccessioning?

    How does an art museum get rid of an artwork and what do they do with the money from that sale? 🤔

    Transcript

    When an institution deaccessions something, they’re removing something from their repository so they don’t own it anymore. They then put that artwork up for sale for another institution to purchase it.

    As stated by the AAMD (the Association for American Museum Directors), in their guidelines they state that the funds from selling the artwork can only be put toward the acquisition of another artwork.

    During COVID, though, the guidelines were temporarily edited to allow museums to use the money the got from deaccessioning to pay for staff wages.

    Now, however, the AAMD have, again, edited their guidelines to state that “Direct care for purposes of this section means the direct costs associated with the storage or preservation of works of art.”

    The funds, now, cannot be used for saving jobs or for temporary display of an artwork.

    🎧 Listen to the full episode here.

    Read More: How an art museum gets rid of art – what’s deaccessioning?

  • Amara Andrew

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    Major Ancient Mayan Discovery!

    This discovery off the coast of Belize provides MAJOR context to how ancient Mayan communities functioned! 😱

    Transcript

    This is very exciting! Something amazing was found in the Paynes Creek National Park in southern Belize.

    This discovery actually shows us multiple things about ancient Mayan civilization.

    Archaeologists at Ta’ab Nuk Na found a grouping of underwater late Classic Mayan structures. These dated from 6th century CE. Archaeologists found not only large residential buildings, but three salt kitchens.

    Archaeologists were able to see real-life Classical Mayan pole-and-thatch wooden buildings. That isn’t the only thing that’s super exciting. Salt kitchens were also found!

    People would live and work at these salt kitchen sites and provide salt to inland communities. At this site, a wide variety of different pottery was found.

    What peaked archaeologists interest most was a rare okarina, or a figurine whistle, that was found at this site. The fact that an okarina was found in this community shows that there was some trade going on with other nearby communities.

    🎧 Listen to the full episode here.

    Read More: Major Ancient Mayan Discovery!

  • Amara Andrew

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    7,000-year-old mystery structure found!

    A 7,000-year-old mystery was found right outside Prague…but just what the hell is this?!

    Transcript

    Archaeologists in Vinor, just outside Prague, discovered something super, super major.

    They found a 7,000-year-old circular structure known as a roundel. It measures approximately 180 feet in diameter. A roundel is, essentially, just a big, flat, round space.

    Archaeologists have dated this large area between 4900 BCE to 4600 BCE. For context, that’s about 2 times older than the Great Pyramids of Giza and about 2,000 years older than Stonehenge.

    Apparently, though, there are many other roundels in Europe. There are 35 of them, alone, just in the Czech Republic. So, archaeologists are trying to figure out what the significance of these is.

    One theory is that these were commercial centers for trading goods. Another is that this was a site for religious worship.

    🎧 Listen to the full episode here.

    Read More: 7,000-year-old mystery structure found!