Speaking of syndromes, here’s a new one coined by art and culture blogger Greg Allen: Gigli Syndrome.  This unusual yet pervasive affliction is a condition where you avoid saying an artist’s or designer’s name because you’re not sure of the pronunciation. (Allen named it for the 2003 Hollywood bomb, Gigli, starring Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck since no one could pronounce the title properly.)

Compliments of Allen, here is a run-down of ‘high-risk’ art world names and their correct pronunciations by curators, interviewers, and even the artists themselves:

• Eija-Liisa Ahtila: AY-ya-lisa AHH-tilah (video artist from Finland)
• Richard Anuszkiewicz: AN-ehs-KAY-vitch (one of the American founders of the Op Art movement)
• Giuseppe Arcimboldo: Arch-im-BOLD-oh (16th century off-the-wall Italian portrait painter)

Arcimboldo, Vertumnus, 1590

• Kutlug Ataman: KOOT-loo ATTA-mun
• Huma Bhabha: HOO-mah BAH-bah (contemporty NYC-based Pakistani born sculpture)
• Alighiero e Boetti: Ali-GYAIR-oh BO-etty (Italian conceptual artist)
• Eli Broad: rhymes with road (well-known art collector and one of the richest people in the US)
• Marcel Broodthaers: ooh, a Britdown between BROAT-haus and BROOT-ers, with a bit of long O thrown in. I [as in Allen] vote for the latter
• Vija Celmins: VEE-ya Sell-muns
• Chinati: Chih-NAUGHT-y, not Shih-Naughty or Kih-Naughty
• Dan Colen: CO-lin
• Walter De Maria: de Ma-REE-uh
• De Stijl: de STALE, maybe Dutch it up a bit with a little h: ShTALE (as in the post-WWI Dutch artistic movement)
• Marlene Dumas: Mar-LANE du-MAH
• Rineke Dijkstra: RIN-uh-kuh DIKE-strah
• Omer Fast: Homer without the H, not Omar
• Os Gémeos: Ose like dose, ZHEH-meh-ose (graffiti-artist twin brothers from Brazil)
  

Urban mural by Os-gemeos

• Joseph Grigely: Grig-lee
• Cai Guo-Qiang: Cy, like Twombly, Gwoh, long O, Tsee-ahng, somewhere between a Ch and a Ts
• Francesca von Habsburg-Lothringen: Hops-burg Lote-ring-en, though I’ve never heard the Lothringen used/said
• Thomas Houseago: House-ago, like it was two words
• Pierre Huyghe: Allen says Hweeg to his face, but he almost hears Peter Eleey say Whee
• Dakis Joannou: DOCK-iss ZHO-new
  
• Emilia and Ilya Kabakov: KA-buh-Koff, Ka like Kat
• On Kawara: Own, as in rent-to-. Kawara is his family name, so it’s Kawara On (河原温) in Japanese
• Paul Klee: Clay
• Guillermo Kuitca: GYAIR-mo hard G, KWEET-kuh in Minneapolis and Buffalo, anyway. In London, they say KWIT-kah
• Yayoi Kusama: Yah-yoy Koo-saw-mah. Again, Kusama is her family name, so Kusama Yayoi (草間彌生)
• Laocoön: Lay-UH-kuh-wahn, rhymes with go on. (britishmuseum.org)
• Aristide Maillol: My-yole
• Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle: In-EE-go Mawn-glawn-o O-VA-yay
• Modigliani: Mo-DEE-lee-Ah-nee

Modigliani, Jeanne Hebuterne with Hat

• Laszlo Moholy-Nagy: LAZ-low rhymes with Hasbro, Moley as in holy, Nazh, like gnaws, with a zh on the end
• Vik Muniz: Moo-NEES
• Edvard Munch: Moonk
• Albert Oehlen: Uhrlen, classic umlaut O
• Maja Oeri, of the Schaulager: Ury, like Early without the “L”; Show- like shower and lager like beer
• Meret Oppenheim: Merit (Swiss surrealist painter)
• Francis Picabia: Pih-CAW-bee-uh
• Otto Piene: PEEN-uh
• Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo: Ray-Ray-bo-DANG-go, a little like Bojangles
• Gerhard Richter: For Americans, it’s like the scale. For the Teutonically inclined, go ahead and let’er rip, GAIR-haht REESH-tah
• Gerrit Rietveld: two R’s, one T, people. REET like street, feld, like fell down the stairs.
• Dieter Roth: Rote
• Edward Ruscha: Ed-werd Rew-shay
• Anri Sala: ON-ree SAHL-LAH
• Yinka Shonibare: YEEN-kuh SHOW-nih-Bar-eh
• Sperone: Spare-ownee
• Alina Szapocznikow: Ah-LEE-nuh Shah-POTS-nick-off
• Thyssen-Bornemisza: Tissen BORN-uh-Meesa
• Rirkrit Tiravanija: Tier-uh-vah-NEE-juh, there’s a reason people just say Rick-rit
• Günther Uecker: GOON-ter OO-ker, like a clipped booker
• Joep van Lieshout: Yoop fawn LEASE-howt, not ‘van LEES-hote’
• Ai Weiwei (艾未未): Eye way way, family name is Ai
• Rachel Whiteread: reed, not red
• Witte de With: VITT-uh de VIT
• Lisa Yuskavage: Yuh-SKA-vedge, sounds like savage

If you remember any of the pronunciations on this list, please don’t forget NOT to say the “G” in Modigliani and that Paul Klee’s last name rhymes with “play.”  Do you have other art pronunciations to clarify?  Share them, please!

You can find Greg Allen’s blog here.