The Art Elevator

In this episode of the Art Elevator Podcast, Larissa interviews Doug Bort on Art and Money Laundering. In this third episode of a three part series on art crime, they discuss:

- What is restitution?

- What are some scenarios and how does the process work for restitution?

- What is it like to go undercover, posing as a middleman?

Founder and Managing Partner of Odyssey Global Consulting, LLC, Doug Bort spent twenty-one years as a Special Agent with the United States Customs Service and Homeland Security Investigations. Doug is a Subject Matter Expert in the investigation of art and cultural property crimes.

During his tenure with Homeland Security Investigations, Doug represented the United States in international investigations around the world and was heavily involved in United States national policy decisions and international diplomacy. With a proven record of successfully leading complex international investigations, his work has resulted in the recovery and return of over $3 million worth of cultural property to its rightful owners.

Notably, Doug developed and operated an extremely effective undercover platform which targeted the illegal sales of cultural property, art and antiquities, including sales that funded international terrorist organizations. He was also instrumental in cultivating, developing, and conducting training for other Special Agents and law enforcement agencies, both in the United States and abroad, pertaining to the investigation of art and cultural property crimes.

Now in the private sector, Doug uses his vast knowledge and extensive experience to provide expert services to museums, private collectors, insurance companies and other individual clients.

Learn more about Doug Bort:

Odyssey Consulting

In this episode of the Art Elevator Podcast, Larissa interviews Doug Bort on Art and Money Laundering. In this first episode of a three part series on art crime, they discuss:

- What is the difference between a fake and a forgery?

- What is the process for figuring out if a painting is fake?

- Some case studies with the different motives behind each of them.

Founder and Managing Partner of Odyssey Global Consulting, LLC, Doug Bort spent twenty-one years as a Special Agent with the United States Customs Service and Homeland Security Investigations. Doug is a Subject Matter Expert in the investigation of art and cultural property crimes.

During his tenure with Homeland Security Investigations, Doug represented the United States in international investigations around the world and was heavily involved in United States national policy decisions and international diplomacy. With a proven record of successfully leading complex international investigations, his work has resulted in the recovery and return of over $3 million worth of cultural property to its rightful owners.

Notably, Doug developed and operated an extremely effective undercover platform which targeted the illegal sales of cultural property, art and antiquities, including sales that funded international terrorist organizations. He was also instrumental in cultivating, developing, and conducting training for other Special Agents and law enforcement agencies, both in the United States and abroad, pertaining to the investigation of art and cultural property crimes.

Now in the private sector, Doug uses his vast knowledge and extensive experience to provide expert services to museums, private collectors, insurance companies and other individual clients.

Learn more about Doug Bort:

Odyssey Consulting

In this episode of the Art Elevator Podcast, Larissa interviews Doug Bort on Art and Money Laundering. In this first episode of a three part series on art crime, they discuss:

- What money laundering is

- How art is used in money laundering

- Some case studies and surprising statistics on art and money laundering

Founder and Managing Partner of Odyssey Global Consulting, LLC, Doug Bort spent twenty-one years as a Special Agent with the United States Customs Service and Homeland Security Investigations. Doug is a Subject Matter Expert in the investigation of art and cultural property crimes.

During his tenure with Homeland Security Investigations, Doug represented the United States in international investigations around the world and was heavily involved in United States national policy decisions and international diplomacy. With a proven record of successfully leading complex international investigations, his work has resulted in the recovery and return of over $3 million worth of cultural property to its rightful owners.

Notably, Doug developed and operated an extremely effective undercover platform which targeted the illegal sales of cultural property, art and antiquities, including sales that funded international terrorist organizations. He was also instrumental in cultivating, developing, and conducting training for other Special Agents and law enforcement agencies, both in the United States and abroad, pertaining to the investigation of art and cultural property crimes.

Now in the private sector, Doug uses his vast knowledge and extensive experience to provide expert services to museums, private collectors, insurance companies and other individual clients.

Heather Bhandari (she/her) is the Co-Founder of Art World Learning (AWL): a subscription-based, online education platform to help those in the creative sector thrive by making intelligent business and financial decisions. It grew from a business and financial health conference for visual artists, named Art World Conference (AWC), which debuted in NYC in April of 2019, Los Angeles in February of 2020, and online in October of 2020. She and her AWL co-founder, Dexter Wimberly, were listed in the Observer's "Arts Power 50: Changemakers Shaping the Art World in 2019."

Heather is also an independent curator; a co-founder of the project-based curatorial team and podcast, The Remix; a trustee of Art Omi (an international artist residency in Ghent, NY); and an adjunct lecturer at Brown University where she teaches professional practice to visual arts majors. The second edition of her book, ART/WORK, was published by Simon and Schuster in October of 2017.

From 2000 to 2016 Heather was a director of Mixed Greens, a commercial gallery in Chelsea where she curated well over one hundred exhibitions while managing a roster of nearly two-dozen emerging to mid-career artists. Most recently, she was the Director of Exhibitions at Smack Mellon, a nonprofit in Brooklyn. Heather received a BA from Brown University and an MFA from Pennsylvania State University where she recently received their College of Arts and Architecture Distinguished Alumni Award. Her career began at contemporary galleries Sonnabend and Lehmann Maupin, both in New York City.

- The reality for most artists is they need to run a business as well as create masterpieces, and often incredible artists aren't wired for the former skillset. Heather covers some of the fundamentals an artist needs to have a viable career from a business standpoint

- Learn the benefit to society at large from providing this education for artists

- While we can question the root problems that have plagued "starving" artists in making a living to survive and thrive, hear what Heather Bhandari and Dexter Wimberly are doing to turn this around and empower artists through Art World Learning

With 3D printing, virtual reality and other technologies available, sculptors have an opportunity to explore the three dimensional in a way not previously possible. Join me as I chat with Nick Ervinck on how he harnesses these technologies to create works that speak to the present and the future, though remain grounded in the lineage of sculpture through time.

As an artist I am particularly interested in the tension between nature and culture, between tradition and innovation.

I try to push the limits of digital possibilities, while maintaining respect for the (art) historical legacy.

When creating a work I investigate the possibilities between the organic and the digital, between the virtual and the physical. I explore classical themes such as man (with a focus on the anatomy and the emergence of cyborgs), plants (especially their genetic manipulation), masks and animals, always starting from an (art) historical background that I cut with contemporary pop and sci-fi culture.

- Nick Ervinck

For this episode I had the pleasure of discussing the connections between art and transformation with artist Miriam Vlaming, whose work explores the human experience through figurative subject matter. Join us in this exploration of how art can create pathways for us to see ourselves more clearly, from different perspectives and ultimately lead to transformation.

Ever wondered what it is exactly that an art consultant does? I know I get the question all the time. In this episode the one and only Sarah Reeder of Artifactual History Appraisals and Worthwhile Magazine interviews me to pick my brain on what it is that I do. Here are some of the key points:

• Guide you to develop your interests, style, taste and awareness of what artwork is out there
• Help you understand the larger art world and how the pieces you are interested in fit into that picture
• Guide you on how to understand price and value, and then balance your collection to embrace both passion and your financial interest.
• Understand that the most important things when selecting an art consultant are: finding a good personality fit, as well as identifying one that has the education and background to help you navigate the art world intelligently and with meaning.

There are so many arenas in which the visual arts can intersect with a community. It doesn't always have to be about creating a finished looking object for the wall or a pedestal. Sometimes it's about the journey, the way a united vision can bring people together to consider and solve big questions in the real world. It can be about connection, a way of processing thoughts and mapping out future dreams. In this interview, we are traveling to Lamu in Kenya, where Ajax Axe has set up Space Station #2 to invite local residents to collaborate in imagining and designing a framework for a shared vision of the future.

Dr. Mass is a cultural heritage science professional with over 20 years of research, teaching, and museum experience. She has held positions working with both major encyclopedic museum collections and in the decorative arts world, as well as teaching conservation science in both the Buffalo and Delaware Master's Degree Programs in Art Conservation. She specializes in studying questions of authenticity, state of preservation, attribution, and using innovative methods of analysis to address these questions.

In this episode you will learn:

• How certain materials change over time and react to the environment
• How to read the clues left behind in materials
• A peek inside the forensic processes used to determine fakes and forgeries
• The importance of vetting for art fairs to protect the consumer

And much more!

Utilizing more than 30 years of art market experience, Cindy has written and presented widely on complex art appraisal methodology, diligent art collection practices and meaningful appraiser qualification criteria for a broad range of audiences. She has won numerous national awards for thought leadership and service to the appraisal profession.

In this episode you will learn:

How can a buyer of art protect themselves from being taken for a ride?

What is the basis for saying this is authentic and needs no further examination or research?

What does not constitute proof of authenticity?

And much more!