The World Jewish Congress says it will step up its efforts to recover artwork stolen by the Nazis and never returned to rightful owners. “The WJC says it plans to claim thousands of works of art from American museums using lists that were made by the U.S. Army after the Second World War.” – CBC
Tag: 07.20.00
SOME FUTURE
Venice’s Architecture Biennale is imagining the future. “The theme of this year’s exposition is the deep sense of disorder affecting a society in rapid transformation, where the architect’s reference points have been changed completely.” – Wired
READ THIS IN CZECH AND GET IN CHEAP
Several Prague museums charge foreigners between two and five times more for admission than they do local Czechs. The practice is against rules of the European Union and officially discouraged. But special signs written only in Czech signal that discounts are available. – Prague Post
HAVING A COW
Improbably, the 300-plus decorated cows that spent last summer on display throughout downtown Chicago raised some $3.5 million when they were auctioned off for charity. So much money was raised, the decorated fibreglass animals-on-parade thing has swept dozens of other cities this summer. Just what became of the Chicago art-cows that were sold last summer? – Chicago Tribune
ORIGINAL CHAUCER ANYONE?
In the 1560s Archbishop Thomas traveled England looking for the oldest books and manuscripts he could find to try to prove that the Church of England was the true church. That collection sat in a library in Cambridge, available only to scholars all these years. The school recently had the 500 manuscripts appraised and discovered they were worth about £500 million, forcing the school to try to build a proper home for the collection and open it to the public for the first time. – Financial Times
RECORD YEAR FOR MINNEAPOLIS MUSEUMS
The Walker Art Center and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts had record attendance this year. Shows of Andy Warhol drawings and Man Ray photos ranked “in the top 10 in all-time attendance” at the Walker. – The Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
KING OF THE WEB, PART II
Stephen King plans to publish his next novel online in installments, beginning Monday. Readers would pay through the honor system – “to send King a check or money order for $1 per installment in a direct transaction that King describes as a way to thumb your nose at the publishing industry.” – Seattle Times (AP)
A TWINKLE IN YOUR EYE, A TWINKLE IN YOUR TOE
In 1932 the Nicholas brothers were the youngest dancers ever to showcase at the Cotton Club and the first performers allowed to mix with a white audience. They danced with George Balanchine, Gene Kelly, and can count Gregory Hines and Mikhail Baryshnikov as some of their biggest fans. After a life of tap dancing around racial barriers, chasing women, and approaching life with gusto, Harold Nicholas died this month at age 79. – LA Weekly
BACK IN HOT WATER
Director Roman Polanski – exiled from the U.S. since a 1978 conviction for statutory rape – is now being sued by Artisan Entertainment which claims he siphoned $1 million in VAT refunds into a private bank account after the release of the film “The Ninth Gate.” – Sydney Morning Herald
THE INTERNET FOR FAME AND FORTUNE
“As the recording industry and commercial artists try to stamp out the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted music in the form of computer files known as MP3’s, tens of thousands of aspiring rock stars are happily using the technology to give their music away – and more than a few are beginning to see some payoff.” – New York Times