“During the past week, a team of experts appointed by India’s supreme court has opened five vaults dedicated to the deity Lord Vishnu to uncover an enormous hoard of gold idols, jewellery studded with diamonds, emeralds and other precious stones, antique silver, and even two golden coconut shells studded with rubies and emeralds.”
Category: today’s top story
Cy Twombly, 83
The cause was not immediately known, although Mr. Twombly had suffered from cancer. His death was announced by the Gagosian Gallery, which represents his work.
Joffrey Ballet Writes Letter Cancelling Beginning Of Season, Locks Out Dancers
“The drastic action — which constitutes a lockout not dissimilar to what the NFL is facing — is the result of an ongoing, unresolved contract negotiation between the ballet company and the dancers union, the American Guild of Musical Artists, which also represents major companies such as American Ballet Theatre in New York.”
Rose Art Museum Settles Lawsuit, Won’t Sell Art
The sad saga of the Brandeis University museum, “whose collection university trustees had voted to sell in 2009, ended today when the university announced the settlement of a lawsuit filed by museum supporters and the promise to keep the museum open without putting any of its art up for sale.”
The Orchestra’s Decline (And Why It Won’t Go Away)
“I have reached the irreversible conclusion that the symphony orchestra will always survive — not on the weary old argument that it is somehow “good for you” to listen to “good music”, nor on any cod theories that classical music breeds clever kids and better citizens, but simply because there is a cogent human need for what an orchestra adds to the relief of city life. That need becomes ever clearer as the world speeds up.”
South Carolina Arts Commission, Public Television Saved By Legislature
“The S.C. House overrode Gov. Nikki Haley’s vetoes to cut education spending, the state Arts Commission, S.C. ETV and the GOP presidential primary today.”
China Orders Ai Weiwei To Pay Nearly $2M
“Beijing’s tax authorities have asked the dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, released recently from more than two months in detention, to pay 12 million yuan ($1.85 million) in back taxes and fines.”
Supreme Court Rejects Nazi-Looted-Art Case Against Norton Simon Museum
“The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday decided not to take up an appeal from Marei Von Saher, who is trying to wrest a prized, 480-year-old Adam and Eve diptych by Lucas Cranach the Elder from the Norton Simon Museum, where the paintings have hung since the 1970s.”
Monty Python Will Bring Graham Chapman Back From The Dead (In 3D, No Less)
“Chapman, whose death from cancer in 1989 forever closed the door on a full reunion of the Monty Python comedy troupe, will soon be back in what might be the next best thing: he will star in a 3-D animated version of his absurdist memoir, A Liar’s Autobiography: Volume VI.”
So, How Exactly Are They Going To Move The Barnes Foundation’s Art?
“The museum’s collection could be among the most valuable physical assets relocated in American history, rolling down Philadelphia’s ulcer-inducing Schuylkill Expressway, or via shortcuts through sketchy Fairmount Park.”