Category: visual

The Detroit Institute of the Arts is midway through a decade-long fundraising campaign intended to put the museum on firm fiscal ground for the foreseeable future, and many in the community had assumed that the DIA was well on its way to success. But last week, executives announced that its original goal of $331 million was not nearly enough to cope with structural issues and unforeseen costs (such as $40 million for asbestos removal.) The new goal is $410 million, to be raised within the next ten years.

It’s official – the Victoria & Albert Museum has shelved plans for the dramatic £70 million Daniel Libeskind-designed expansion. “The museum’s board of trustees voted to abandon the ambitious design after the Heritage Lottery Fund rejected its £15m application.”

This week the Nationa Museum of the American opens in DC. Last month the The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center opened in Cincinnati. “It’s a particularly American irony that two groups that have struggled since our nation was formed to find their place in its cultural fabric now have national institutions that are uniquely their own. Both museums offer much more than history…”

How successful is the building for the new Museum of the American Indian in Washington? “It is pleasing to report that the architecture is very good, and quite strange. The building rises above the elm trees of the Mall like a monumental apparition. Its curving walls shout, “Look at me!” And the more you do, the more there is to see and think about. Even more satisfying is the conclusion that, physically and philosophically, the new building creates a strong, tension-filled dialogue with its setting, and carries it off with amazing grace.”

Nearly 40 years ago, architect Jorn Utzon walked away from his most famous project, the Sydney Opera House. The interior of the building was finished by others – but not in a successful way. In 1999 Utzon was finally convinced to complete the inside in an extensive renovation. Now the first results of that work are being unveiled.

A show of skyscrapers at the Museum of Modern Art is a rare exhibition that actually is better to see on the web than in person. “Choose a building, and the site presents a full page portrait of the subject, along with such facts as height, date-of-design (and projected date-of-completion if applicable), and links to detailed information.”

So famous your face is on a US postal stamp? Fame just got a whole lot cheaper. A new service lets you take a snapshot with a digital camera and send it by computer to a website. “Within five to seven business days, usually sooner, the stamps arrive… in the mail. But you can’t take an action shot of your favorite Eagle, or an unflattering photo of your pesky next-door neighbor. No celebs, no politicians, no nudity.”

Who owns the rare Vermeer that’s been hanging at the Philadelphia Museum of Art for the past month? “The painting was lent to the museum anonymously after changing hands at a London auction early in July. A Young Woman Seated at the Virginals (an early harpsichord) was the first Vermeer to be offered at auction since 1921.” And the speculation on who owns it is…

The Seattle Art Museum announces art for its ambitious new $85 million sculpture park. Works by Calder and Serra will anchor the park, on the shores of Puget Sound. The park is scheduled to open in 2006, after several years of delay.

“Is there any space left on the Mall? With the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian Sept. 21, the officials in charge of Washington’s main savanna have hoisted a “No Vacancy” sign.”