Tower of Sleep

The Whitney recognizes that the financial speculation on art taking place in secondary sales of works benefits wealthy investors far more than the artists who created the works, let alone the workers who craft, move, install, maintain, or guard them. The Museum understands the importance of providing working people—including artists who must work second jobs to support their careers—with the livable wages and healthcare for which the Sotheby’s art handlers are fighting. Sotheby’s actions are a direct attack on the Museum’s mission to support and collect the work of living artists. For these reasons, the Whitney cannot allow Sotheby’s to tarnish the image of the Biennial any longer.

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Whitney Biennial Breaks with Corporate Sponsors; Apologizes to Participating Artists

Despite the amazingly convincing website and legit appearance of this press release, it is regrettably not real. Instead, it is an incredibly well-executed piece of agit-prop. The perpetrators are as yet unknown. The Arts & Labour wing of Occupy Wall Street also issued a letter today demanding the Biennial’s termination on similar grounds, though I think this fake press release is much more savvy.

(via aaronleaf)