Officers had said that the painting was stolen during Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990, but a source at the museum in the emirate said they had never housed such a work. “The National Museum had no Picasso paintings before the Iraqi invasion,” the official said on condition of anonymity. A tag on the back of the painting, one riddled with misspellings, names the work “The nakede” (sic) and says it was “sold by the louvre to the musum” (sic) of Kuwait 1979, with the words Louvre and Kuwait in lower case.
Tag: 08.30.09
Does The American Idol Desk Belong In The Smithsonian?
“It’s a problem that plagues American culture: the porous line between entertainment that is a corporate product and owned by someone or something, and entertainment that is a genuine product of authentic traditions and freely available to everyone.”
Does Google Have Publishers’ Interests At Heart?
“Google has scanned more than 10 million titles from libraries in America and Europe – including half a million volumes held by the Bodleian in Oxford. Why is Google undertaking such a venture, so seemingly out-of-kilter with its snazzy, hi-tech image? Why is it even interested in all those out-of-print library books, most of which have been gathering dust on forgotten shelves for decades?”
Does Race Matter For A Theatre Director?
“Key characters in this play are a white woman and her family. The director happens to be black, as does the playwright. Should it matter? If the answer seems simple, recent dialogue in the theater community suggests otherwise.”
Boston Ballet Hopes Opera House Stage Changes Help
“Boston Ballet leaders hope the Opera House deal brings stability to an organization that has had to deal with several years of financial turmoil which led to staffing cuts and a reduction in the number of dancers in the company.”
Brent Assink, Super Orchestra Manager
“He’s helped usher in a new era of congenial relations between the orchestra’s musicians and management. He’s shepherded the Symphony’s annual budget of almost $60 million through the upheavals of recent years without letting red ink accumulate. He’s been a strong and supportive partner to Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas, and he’s worked to make sure that the Symphony is a good citizen in the sometimes fractious world of the local arts community.”
A Record Thriller Dance
“Thousands gathered in front of Mexico City’s Monument of the Revolution to participate in a giant Thriller dance, led by a Jackson impersonator. Organizers say 12,937 moved to the music, breaking the world record for most people doing the Thriller dance — something the Guinness World Records book could confirm in a week.”
Remaking New York’s City Center As A Home For Dance
“Fall for Dance has redefined the theater’s identity. Since its first incarnation the festival has been a phenomenon, with lines for tickets going around City Center’s midtown block; all 2,700 seats selling out for almost every performance; and strikingly youthful audiences.”
What Alan Gilbert Will Mean For The NY Philharmonic
“The orchestra’s new logo — a circle with a baton-symbolizing line across the middle — repeats across the top of the ads. It stands for the central role that Philharmonic officials hope this young conductor will have in revitalizing the 167-year-old orchestra. He’s the first Asian American to lead the ensemble, the son of two New York Philharmonic musicians.”
The Simple Pleasures Of Stumbling Upon Random Info
“In a world where useful and important answers come looking for you, it is the idea of unimportance that is the primary selling point of the miscellanies. The books promise to guide the reader somewhere older and slower, to create a little world in which information can serve as amusement rather than currency.”