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22 November 2023 Wednesday

Quondam's 2nd day of its 28th year was an unexpected creative-work-less day. Perhaps these late night notes will provide some redemption (in terms of creative work).

Well, today, another headline from The Arts Newspaper needs addressing (from me)--Fears for artistic expression in Russia as ministry files motion to classify 'the international LGBT public movement' as 'extremist'. First paragraph: "Russia’s ministry of justice announced on 17 November that it had filed a motion with the Supreme Court to declare the LGBTQ “international public movement” as extremist and outlaw it, posing a direct threat to activists and any cultural and visual expressions construable as supporting of LGBTQ rights."

As it turns out, The Timepiece of Humanity, presently on exhibit at GES-2 House of Culture, Moscow, is a cultural expression, of mine, that indeed supports LGBTQ rights, because LGBTQ rights are also my rights.

Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today [14 February 2019] that Manhattan art gallery owner MARY BOONE was sentenced to 30 months in prison for filing false tax returns as part of a multi-year tax fraud scheme that cost the U.S. Treasury over $3 million.

BOONE artificially inflated the Gallery’s stated expenses and, to a lesser degree, the Gallery’s stated income, in order to fraudulently generate business losses when, in reality, the Gallery was generating profits each year. In furtherance of this aspect of the tax fraud scheme, BOONE engaged in complex financial machinations and further falsification of the check registers that BOONE provided to her accountant. For example, in 2011, BOONE transferred approximately $9.5 million from one business bank account to another, and falsely characterized these transfers as tax-deductible business expenses, such as commissions to artists, on the check registers that Boone provided to the accountant.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Hellerstein ordered BOONE to serve one year of supervised release, including 180 hours of community service. Boone previously paid court-ordered restitution to the IRS in the amount of $3,097,160, which represents the additional tax due and owing as a result of BOONE’s filing of false individual and corporate income tax returns for calendar years 2009, 2010, and 2011.

On 17 February 2019 architect/artist STEPHEN LAUF commenced an art project spending 180 hours painting on Mary Boone Gallery advertisement pages taken from Art in America and Artforum International magazines.

Initially, each magazine page painting took about an hour to finish, although eventually, as the paintings became more involved, some took two to several hours to complete.

In the midst of the Mary Boone's 180 hours of community service painting project, on 27 December 2019, LAUF discovered the existence of two distinct printed versions of Giovanni Battista Piranesi's 'Pianta dell antico Foro Romano.'

This is the second such discovery for LAUF since, on 14 May 1999, he found the existence of two distinct printed versions of Piranesi's 'Ichnographia Campus Martius.'

Ultimately, the 180 hours of painting concluded 2 October 2020, manifesting a total of 94 individual paintings.

Mary Boone's 180 hours of community service
priced at
$9.5 million

31 May 2022

Dear Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxxx,

I'm writing to ask whether Xxx would be interested in publishing a densely illustrated expository essay entitled "The Discovery of Piranesi's Final Project." Since having discovered now three instances of Piranesi plans existing in altered, second states--the Ichnographia Campus Martius, the Pianta dell antico Foro Romano, and, as of two days ago, a third plan that has till now received no attention at all--the discovery of these changed plans, along with the specificity of what Piranesi changed, and how the new plans were ultimately published infer a singular project pursued by Piranesi the last year of his life. In fact, several features of the manifested/surviving documents suggest that the project was cut short by Piranesi's death, and, subsequently, Piranesi's two eldest children, Laura and Francesco, finished the project as best they could. That three heretofore unknown Piranesi printings were discovered within the past 23 years is in itself historically significant, but perhaps even more significant is that we can now reasonably postulate as to Piranesi's personal passion and obsession just before he died.

More than anything, this story of multiple architectural discoveries leading to a real glimpse into Piranesi's late process and thinking needs an editor that will bring all of it to its full potential. Xxxxxxx, I firmly believe that editor is you because you will come to know best how this story fits within our rapidly evolving times. On the other hand, if, the more things change, the more they stay the same, and Xxx will not be publishing this story, then at least keep me informed of that.

Sincerely yours,
Stephen Lauf

The purchase of Mary Boone's 180 hours of community service for $9.5 million comes with a free bonus of several dozen additional works of art, including The Size of the Horse's Balls, Wig Nut and Wig Not, Ridiculously Expensive, No Doubt the Artist Suffered as Well, The Advertising of Art, Update/Fit in Progress (Zoom Out}, Readymade in Japan with Laser Print on Transparency, Monument Hystérique, and more. Otherwise, the purchase of Mary Boone's 180 hours of community service without the free bonus of additional works of art is priced at $3,097,160.

Conceptual art that's tightly bound really is the best, or, all the world's a next stage.

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