“Silas H. Rhodes, co-founder of a trade school for cartoonists and illustrators in Manhattan that he built into the School of Visual Arts, one of the nation’s most important colleges for art and design, died on Wednesday at his home in Katonah, N.Y. … Mr. Rhodes, who remained active as chairman of the school’s board, died in his sleep after spending a full day at his office, said his son David, who is the school’s president.”
Author: Laura Collins Hughes
Booker Judges Condemn Denigration Of Rushdie
“Protests about author Salman Rushdie’s knighthood have been condemned by the Man Booker International Prize judges as they honoured this year’s winner. They said the ‘appalling reaction’ from religious extremists threatened ‘the principle of freedom of expression as a basic tenet of justice’.”
Debt Forces Closure Of Seattle’s NW Actors Studio
“After more than three decades of putting on shows, the Northwest Actors Studio made its final curtain call Thursday. The Capitol Hill nonprofit is closing, its founder said, after falling $35,000 in debt.”
Sydney Opera House Added To World Heritage List
“Australia’s most famous building, the Sydney Opera House, received World Heritage listing yesterday as a site of international cultural significance, taking its place alongside the Taj Mahal, the Pyramids and the Great Wall of China. The harbourside landmark, completed in 1973, is the youngest building on the list, and one of only 15 or so from the 20th century.”
Honoring Late Superstar In Venice Harms Living Artists
“Felix Gonzalez-Torres, who died of AIDS-related complications at 38 in 1996, is the second American to be posthumously represented in the high-profile American pavilion at the Venice Biennale. Unfortunately, the show mostly represents a lost opportunity for any of scores of living American artists,” Christopher Knight writes. A superstar, Gonzalez-Torres “hardly needs Venice to secure his reputation. Other artists do.”
Laguna Playhouse’s Longtime Exec Resigns
“Richard Stein resigned suddenly this week after 17 years as executive director of the Laguna Playhouse, saying in a statement Thursday that he ‘longed to spend more time on the artistic side’ of theater and couldn’t do that while handling his job’s business responsibilities. Stein, 54, was a key figure in the playhouse’s transformation … to one of Southern California’s front-rank professional companies….”
Concrete Poet Mary Ellen Solt Dies At 86
“Mary Ellen Solt, a poet and poetry critic who often arranged words on the page in a visual graphic, resulting in such works as ‘Forsythia,’ a poem that looks like a flowering shrub, has died. … She was a leader in the concrete poetry movement that emerged in the 1960s. It held that the visual effect of letters, words and phrases on a page is an important element in poetry.”
Textile Museum To Expand, More Than Doubling Space
“The Textile Museum, which has been tucked away in Washington’s Kalorama neighborhood for more than 80 years, is adding a second location, in the bustling Penn Quarter area. Museum officials announced yesterday that early next year they will open an exhibition space on three floors of a historic building owned by the Independent Order of Odd Fellows on Seventh Street NW. The move more than doubles the space of the original museum….”
Architect Margaret Helfand Dies At 59
“Margaret Helfand, a Manhattan architect and urban planner who served as president of the American Institute of Architects’ New York chapter, died on June 20. … The cause was complications of colon cancer, said her husband, Jon Turner. Ms. Helfand helped create the Center for Architecture, a hub for exhibitions in the field and the home of the New York chapter of the institute.”
$450 Tickets: What Would Frau Blücher Say?
“Given that the Mel Brooks musical ‘The Producers’ introduced the $480 ticket to Broadway, it’s no wonder that rumors are already spreading about the ticket pricing for ‘The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein….’ Well, here’s the official word: On Friday and Saturday evenings and at weekend matinees, you will be able to buy something called a premier seat — roughly, one of the best 100 seats in the theater — for $450.” (third item)