July 2014

Art Basel came and went. It contains several works made by Factum Arte. Perhaps the two most prominant pieces were both for Mariko Mori. A mirror-polished stainless steel piece on the SCAI Bathhouse stand and a large painted resin piece with Sean Kelly gallery.
At Venice Architecture Biennale the Piranesi fireplace (recently on display at Sir John Soane’s Museum) occupies a central position in "Elements of Architecture", Rem Koolhaas’s display. During the Biennale Place and Displacement: Exhibiting Architecture (Lars Müller Publishers 2014 edited by Thordis Arrhenius and Mari Lending) was launched at the Nordic Pavillion containing an essay on the complex relationship between image and skin by Adam Lowe. A second collaboration with Mari Lending Modelling Time: The Permanent Collection 1925–2014 (edited by Mari Lending and Mari Hvattum) has been launched a few days ago in Castello del Valentino, Turin with a short text by Adam Lowe entitled Mapping the Lithosphere .

www.factum-arte.com   |   www.factumfoundation.org

Scanning

The historical side of the work that is being done by Factum Arte and Factum Foundation continues to grow at a relentless pace. An agreement has been made to scan the Gough Map and the Selden map in the Bodleian Library. Scanning is also scheduled to take place in July at Hampton Court Palace and a wooden panel painting will be recorded at the Courtauld Institute. It is becoming increasingly clear that scanning the surface of paintings is an essential part of their preservation - something that has been overlooked for too long. Multi-layered archives and ‘big data’ are hot topics - in this context the dimensionally accurate Lucida scanner (designed by Manuel Franquelo with a growing team in Factum Arte) has an important role to play. The results are capturing the imagination of all who see them and are set to introduce another level of forensic accuracy into historical research.

Mike Ward and the Muñoz press

Lucio Muñoz’s large-format etching press that has now been installed into the printing area. The plan is to bride between traditional intaglio processes, Factum arte's ability to generate CNC milled plates, tonally controlled aquatint and digital mezzotint (using a robot to burnish the copper plates). The workshop will be directed by Michael Ward who has worked with Adam Lowe since 1989 and was a key part of Permaprint (the printmaking studio in London that morphed into Factum Arte). In the 25 years since then a new world of possibilities has opened up as the boundries between 2 and 3 dimensions become increasingly fluid.

Lotus Magazine and other Media

Media - Reports continue to flow about the facsimile of the Tomb of Tutankhamun - all universally positive. In July there will be reports by RTS, CNN and more are being planned. The Milan based journal Lotus has published its latest edition (154) on the theme of Legacy in mid June - this features two stories that are either totally focused on our work documenting and protecting culture or contextualising Factum Arte’s work into a wider movement to re-think heritage management and the complex relationship between originality and authenticity.
There is a lot of very exciting news in the pipeline - keep and eye out for the next posting!

Lotus Magazine, Veronese vs Palladio
Lotus Magazine, The Clone in the Museum.

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