The director of the Irish Museum of Modern Art is taking the museum to court to prevent its board from advertising his job. The museum board recently failed to roll over the director’s contract when it expired and propose to open the post up for competition. – Irish Times
Month: November 2000
ONUS ON MUSEUMS
“Under the sweeping guidelines, which were approved last month by the American Association of Museums and the Association of Art Museum Directors, museums must research and disclose on their Web sites the backgrounds of all art works acquired after 1933, when the Nazis took power in Germany, and produced before the conclusion of World War II in 1945.” – New York Times
PLAYING IT SAFE FOR TURNER
Wolfgang Tillmans, who this week won the Turner Prize, “is on the fashionable cusp between photography, art, and fashion, and was a safe choice.” – Financial Times
BEFORE THE WATER COMES
China plans to spend $60 million on a new museum to house a treasure trove of relics being saved from the giant Three Gorges Dam.” – New Jersey Online (AP)
AUSTRIANS TO RETURN KLIMTS
The Austrian government recommends returning paintings by Gustav Klimt stolen during the Nazi era. One of the paintings is worth $9 million “The artworks to be returned include ‘Lady with Hat and Feather Boa’, a showpiece of the Austrian State Belvedere Museum in Vienna. – BBC
MICHELANGELO’S FLAW
A long-lost statue of Christ made by Michelangelo has been discovered in a small church outside of Rome. “It is well known that Michelangelo worked on an earlier version which he had to discard because of a black line in the marble which appeared on the face of Christ. But its whereabouts were never known.” – The Telegraph (UK)
SMILING SCIENCE
A neuroscientist believes the enigma of the Mona Lisa’s smile might be due to an optical trick. “If you look at the painting so that your gaze falls on the background or on Mona Lisa’s hands … it would appear much more cheerful than when you look directly at her mouth.” – Discovery
THE UNRETIRING ROSTROPOVICH
Since he left the directorship of the National Symphony five years ago, Rostropovich hasn’t slowed down. He still gives 100 performances a year, he teaches, and the foundation he started with his wife has provided about $5 million in medicine, food and equipment to children’s hospitals and clinics in Russia.” – Los Angeles Times
THEATRE IN AUSTRALIA
“In the 1970s and early 1980s Australian theatre was seen as part of an integral social debate about national identity and self confidence. The advent of serious arts funding came out of clearly articulated statements on the importance of the arts, and our politicians were well versed in the reasons why a funded arts environment was important to a social system. The arts were seen as a necessary expense, like roads or water.” Now we should enjoy the rewards. – Sydney Morning Herald 11/29/00
MATTHEW SHEPARD PLAY OPENS
A play about the murder of Matthew Shepard opens in Laramie Wyoming, less than five miles from where Shepard was killed. “Certain wounds attack so deep they can never fully heal but this certainly helps the healing a lot.” – CNN