– The Art Invasion Begins: Cuddly sheep by Kyu Seok Oh, a giant mouse by Tom Otterness, and a big, colorful lady by Niki de Saint Phalle — the sheep-and-mouse-shepherdess? — have swarmed New York's Times Square for the city's annual Armory Week
extravaganza. [NYT]

– Zahi Hawass May Resign: The Egyptian antiquities minister may
quit after his department failed to protect many of his country's sites
and artifacts in the midst of the revolution. "During the revolution
nothing happened, but after the revolution many things are happening
everywhere," Hawass said. "People building houses, taking archaeological
land, excavating at night — it's like a nightmare, and I don't know
what I can do." [NYT] 

– Netflix for Art?: A new Web site, Artsicle, has debuted
with the mission of allowing anyone who wants some art to adorn their
home to rent apparently eh-quality works (if the viewable examples are
any indicator) for $50 a month. [Artsicle]

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– Something Fishy With Record Vase?: The latest twist in the saga of the ugly yellow Qianlong-era fish vase that sold for $85.9 million at Bainbridges auction house in England last November — becoming the most expensive Chinese artwork ever at auction — is that the two Brits said to have discovered it in an "explorer type" relative's attic still have not received the money. While some chalk up the delay to a case of "cold feet" on the part of the "extremely wealthy" Chinese buyer, and others say it's natural to need time to raise such a sum, skeptics see this as further indication that there's something very suspicious going on with the improbable sale. [Telegraph]

– Obama Gives Medal to Metalworker: Today New York-based sculptor Mark di Suvero, who can be found hammering away at his gargantuan feral I-beam sculptures in his studio abutting Socrates Sculpture Park, will receive the National Medal for the Arts from President Obama alongside fellow honorees as Philip Roth, Meryl Streep, Quincy Jones, and poet Donald Hall. [WaPo] 

– Movin' On Up: The Museum of the Moving Image officially welcomed
new director Carl Goodman yesterday. The former senior deputy director
was behind many of the museum's new media initiatives, including
nerd-magnet exhibitions "Computer Space" (a history of video games) and "DigitalMedia," a gallery of software-based art. It's been a busy few
months for the institution, which unveiled a sweeping renovation and
expansion last month and announced the resignation of founding director
Michelle Slovin in November. [Press Release]

– Sottsass Sell-off: Los Angeles's Modern Auctions has beaten Christie's to score a trove of nearly 20 works by the Italian designer Etore Sottsass, scheduled to be sold off in a March 6 sale. The works come from the estate of L.A. technology pioneer and art collector Max Palevsky, one of Sottsass's most loyal patrons. [LAT]

– Zaha Hadid Opera House for Guangzhou: Architecture critic Jonathan Glancey takes us on a tour of the impressive and as-always ambitious new structure in the budding Chinese art hub. [Guardian]

– "The Greatest" Work of Public Art: L.A. artist Michael Kalish is set to unveil a monumental public art work, "reALIze," in the City of Angels's Nokia Plaza on March 25: a 23-foot-high version of Muhammad Ali's face made out of some 1,300 speed bags. Viewers will not be allowed to interact with it. [LAT]

– A Day and a Half of Giotto: Reader-response columns are not usually known as locuses of bravura writing, but Jerry Saltz knocked his latest one out of the park, dueling with a petulant Edouard Manet, praising "The Clock" while burying Vezzoli's Gagosian show, and listing the longest times he has spent in front of works of art. These durations are very, very long, and make one want to book an immediate trip to Italy. [NYM]

– Brit Insurance Designs of the Year: Through August 7, London's Design Museum is showcasing winners of the annual multidisciplinary award program, which honors innovative creations from around the globe in the realms of architecture, fashion, furniture, graphics, interactive, product, and transport. Check out some rad low-energy light bulbs and Jil Sander's designs for Uniqlo, among other greatest hits from 2010. [T Mag]

– Jack White Digs Auctioneers: With the breakup of the White Stripes behind him, the rocker has confessed at last to one sound he really likes: the "bizarre language" of gavel-pounders. "Some people are standing there, silent in the crowd with someone in front of them talking a thousand miles an hour," White explains. "If, say, you could rewind the clock and say, in the future, there's going to be this scenario where one human being sells something to another human being — how would we want them to talk to one another? You can't predict that stuff." [NPR]

– VIDEO OF THE DAY: Russian art anarchists and Banksy cause célèbre Voina is at it again. [Global Post]