Thursday’s Art Notes

A gallery assistant at the Saatchi Gallery admires a sculpture by artist Martin Honert entitled ‘Riesen (Giants)’ on May 26, 2011 in London, England. The sculpture features in the Saatchi Gallery’s exhibition, ‘The Shape of Things to Come: New Sculpture’ which showcases work from 20 international artists. Photo by Oli Scarff/ Getty Images

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The New York Times sums up this year’s Book Expo America, which it describes as having a “Wild West” feel to it, given the huge shifts in the publishing industry.

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The Los Angeles Times looks at the way the current Russian ban on loaning art works to American institutions will effect an upcoming show at LACMA.

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The Wall Street Journal describes a national crackdown on grafitti artists by police, who are pursuing harsher sentences.

In Alaska, a prominent street artist named Meno was arrested on Tuesday, via the Alaska Dispatch.

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In Los Angeles County, a sprawling outsider art landmark called Phonehenge West is being challenged by building code officials, via the Los Angeles Times.

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NPR shares the mystery of the Leatherman, a kind of 19th century Connecticut folk hero who spawned a modern quest to figure out who he really was.