Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

  • AMMpro
  • AMM Fantasy Collecting Game
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us

Bacchanalian Battle in Queens

August 17, 2009 by Marion Maneker

The New York Times explains what’s going on in Felix Salmon’s video and the pictures from Gothamist below:

This was an art exhibition — a term that perhaps conjures a more subdued event. But the art in this show, called “Those About to Die Salute You,” involved humans in motion, boats on water and those tomatoes. It was the creation of Duke Riley, whose work skews aquatic and unpredictable: He once built a wood and fiberglass submarine, floated it too close to the Queen Mary 2 and was arrested.

His vision for Queens on Thursday night was a Roman-style staged naval battle among representatives of museums in four New York boroughs, who would face off in teams in the reflecting pool, paddling in boats built from recycled materials like reeds and salvaged Styrofoam.

At least, that was the general idea. There were no dress rehearsals; there was no script.

Art in a Recession (Reuters/Felix Salmon)

Tomatoes Fly at Museum Battle in Queens (Gothamist)

In Queens, a Battle on the Low Seas, and May the Best Artist Win (New York Times)

More from Art Market Monitor

  • Bonham's Attacks Auerbach MarketBonham's Attacks Auerbach Market
  • $1.2 M. Frazetta Work Tops Heritage Auction’s Comic Art Series$1.2 M. Frazetta Work Tops Heritage Auction’s Comic Art Series
  • Tobias Meyer's Guide to the Art MarketTobias Meyer's Guide to the Art Market
  • Reader Predictions for London’s Imp-Mod SalesReader Predictions for London’s Imp-Mod Sales
  • Sotheby's Credit Rating Goes to JunkSotheby's Credit Rating Goes to Junk
  • Simchowitz & Saltz, Separated at Birth?Simchowitz & Saltz, Separated at Birth?

Filed Under: Artists

About Marion Maneker

Want to get Art Market Monitor‘s posts sent to you in our email? Sign up below by clicking on the Subscribe button.

Top Posts

  • Keith Haring’s 1989 Retrospect Comes to Sotheby’s London Prints Sale
  • Roy Lichtenstein’s Top Ten Auction Prices
  • Tony Podesta's Secret Art Buying
  • Norman Rockwell's Not Gay. But Is He a Great Artist?
  • David Hockney's $20m Pacific Coast Highway & Santa Monica
  • Four of Picasso's Women Valued at $28m Come to Christie's from Rose-Walters Collection
  • Christie's Announces $70m Picasso Self Portrait
  • How to Chant Like an Auctioneer
  • Basquiat's Last Girlfriend
  • Mark Rothko, Tamara de Lempicka, Mickalene Thomas to Star in Phillips London Evening Sale
  • About Us/ Contact
  • Podcast
  • AMMpro
  • Newsletter
  • FAQ

twitterfacebooksoundcloud
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
California Privacy Rights
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Advertise on Art Market Monitor