“One of the oldest buildings on the National Mall, closed since 2004 because of structural problems, could become a high-tech education center for the Smithsonian Institution under a concept presented Monday. Smithsonian Secretary Wayne Clough unveiled the draft plan for the 129-year-old Arts and Industries Building to the board governing the museum complex.”
Tag: 04.12.10
400-Year-Old Graffiti (Occult Designs, No Less) In The Tower Of London
“Hew Draper was a 16th-century Bristol innkeeper who got sent to the Tower for attempted sorcery. He claimed that although he had been interested in magic, he had burnt all his magical books – but his engravings, cut into the very stone of the Salt Tower, reveal he knew plenty about the occult.”
Bill Walker, 78, Met Baritone Who Saved Forth Worth Opera
After a singing career that included more than 300 performances at the Metropolitan Opera and 60 appearances on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show, he served from 1991 to 2001 as general director of Fort Worth Opera, where he stabilized the company’s finances and revived its flagging reputation.
Meryl Streep, James Levine Elected To American Academy Of Arts And Letters
The 112-year-old academy announced Monday that Streep and conductor James Levine had been elected to a special category, established in 1983, for ‘Americans of great distinction in the arts whose work falls outside the traditional departments’ of music (composition), literature and art.” Nine others, including Francine Prose, Thom Mayne and Marilynne Robinson, were made members in the regular way.
Royal Shakespeare Co. Launches Twitter ‘Romeo & Juliet’
With a message from @julietcap16 last Sunday, the RSC has begun a new adaptation of the star-crossed lovers’ tragedy, “improvised by a cast of six RSC actors from a story grid, taking in audience responses and real events,” played out entirely via Twitter over the course of five weeks. The title of this version is … wait for it … Such Tweet Sorrow.
They Found The Gardner’s Stolen Paintings! (Mr. Burns Did It)
In last weekend’s episode of The Simpsons, “Homer, Carl and Lenny were loudly partying down in billionaire misanthrope Burns’ mansion – long story – and Burns called the cops. But when Springfield’s finest arrived,” they recognized Vermeer’s The Concert and several other canvases stolen from Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990. (Click through for Mr. Burns’s self-justification.)
Arts’ Prominence In Labour Manifesto Is Unprecedented
It includes “a handful of initiatives and policies: a biennial Festival of Britain to celebrate British achievements in the arts from 2013; a £10 theatre ticket scheme to be rolled out nationally to ape the National Theatre’s Travelex £10 tickets; primary legislation for national museums so that their independence may be increased; and new incentives for philanthropy.”
Objections May Torpedo Laramie Project In East Texas
“We are told the Tyler Civic Theatre received at least three letters from citizens expressing concern about the subject matter of the play. Just days ago, the information on the upcoming play was pulled from the civic theatre’s website.”
Pulitzer Winner Jennifer Higdon Says Thank You
“I had the good fortune to attend an important concert just a few hours after getting the news that I had won. … That’s when it occurred to me that the Pulitzer isn’t just about me or the Violin Concerto. It’s also about something that was reflected in the concert tonight: the myriads of folks who have taught me in various ways.”
Govt. Report Questions Piracy Dollar Figures
“The GAO report says that impact of piracy” in the movie industry and elsewhere “is ‘sizable,’ but determining its exact impact on the economy is next to impossible.” The report suggests “that oft-mentioned government figures about piracy either don’t really exist or aren’t fully supported by studies.”