Robert Redford told reporters at the opening night of the Sundance Film Festival that he believes that the art market will not be greatly affected by the economic slowdown, because the demand is always there. Redford recently campaigned in Washington to increase funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, but was not very successful. He told reporters that he hopes Obama's presidency will recognize the importance of arts and culture to America. Join discussion...

The most popular online art gallery, www.overstockart.com, recently released a list ranking the top most popular artists for the site. Although Van Gogh has been the most popular for some time, new artist Gustav Klimt reached the number one spot for oil paintings for his work "The Kiss." The rest of the top ten list is made up of paintings by Monet, Dali, Picasso, Da Vinci, Renoir, and of course Van Gogh, who has three of the paintings on the list. Join discussion...

The Westminster Council in London have determined that a giant mural painted by grafitti artist Banksy is vandalism, not art, and must be removed. The Council says that any grafitti is illegal, and the message behind it, the artistic quality, or the reputation of the artist don't matter. Join discussion...

British newspaper the Daily Mail believes it has identified the anonymous grafitti artist Banksy as Bristol native Robin Gunningham. The newspaper has substantial reason to believe Banksy and Gunningham to be the same person, but Gunningham himself has still not been located. People have speculated that Banksy may not even be one person, but a collective of artists, or may have artists working for him. Join discussion...

Andy Warhol, who died in 1987, was best known for his paintings and screen-prints of images from popular culture, including celebrities and food. However, he also had an interest with violent death, especially after he was shot and wounded in his studio by Valerie Solanis in 1968. Many of his lesser-known works depict electric chairs, skulls, plane crashes, and drug paraphernalia. Some of these more disturbing works are now being displayed at Grand Rapids Art Studio, in Grand Rapids Michigan. Join discussion...

A Namibian art student named Diani Van Zyl won a gold medal for sculpture and a silver medal for a quilt she made in the Africa Student Convention in South Africa last year. Because of this she was chosen to represent the country in May at the International Student Convention at the University of Central Missouri in the United States. Diani is the only Namibian chosen for the international competition. Diani is a ceramics-pottery student at the College of the Arts in Namibia and according to judges from the African competition she has a good chance of doing well in the international contest. However, participants must pay for their own air fare and accomodations in order to exhibit their art in the competition. Currently, Diani Van Zyl and her mother are awaiting sponsorship in order to make the trip to America. Join discussion...

Cuban artist Kcho, whose work is on display this month in New York, uses imagery of rafts, boats, and people fleeing from Cuba in his work. His work is surrounded by controversy because of his public support of Fidel Castro, although internationally most people misinterpret his messages as protests against the Cuban government. Kcho wasn't able to be at the opening of his show because he was denied a visa to the United States, but according to the artist, "I am there in the way that I can." Join discussion...

In the past few months prices of art in India have lowered about 20-30%, making it easier for art collectors to buy paintings that had been harder to get a few months ago. An art market official says that part of the reasons prices fell to a more "reasonable" rate is that more people are buying art for reasons other than their monetary worth. This is because during the time when art prices are higher, many art collectors bought the paintings to make money. Because the market is lower, these type of buyers are leaving the market and more people interested in the quality of the work are entering. Western countries have had this kind of market for some time so it could signal the maturing of India's art market. Join discussion...

In April, 250 of California artist John Cosby's paintings were stolen out of his home. Recently a collector of his work discovered one of the paintings, titled "An Honest Living," on Ebay. The collector notified Cosby, who told the police. Two men were arrested for the theft of the paintings and are on trial now. The rest of the paintings were found in the men's apartment and a storage facility. Join discussion...