“Buried deep inside Pennsylvania’s voluminous, multibillion-dollar capital budget for fiscal year 2001-02 was $7 million for ‘restoration, stabilization and site enhancements for the Barnes Foundation.’ Fifteen pages later, the budget set aside another $100 million for ‘design and construction of a museum facility’ to house the Barnes collection.”
Tag: 10.16.06
Duomo’s Ghiberti Doors To Vist US
“Their 10 panels depict scenes from the Old Testament, intricately illustrated in high and low relief. When the three-ton, 20-foot-tall doors were completed, in 1452, Michelangelo pronounced them grand enough to adorn the entrance to paradise, and so they became known as ‘The Gates of Paradise.’ They have for centuries been considered one of the masterpieces of Western art.”
Archaeologists Alarmed – Roman Treasure Goes On Display
“One of the most beautiful and infamous treasure hoards of the 20th century, 14 pieces of Roman-era silver of staggering quality, will resurface today on display in London, to the consternation of leading archaeologists who regard it as archaeological loot.”
Libeskind’s Denver Museum – Great, But How About The Art?
“Inspired by a glimpse of the Rocky Mountains gained as he first flew into Denver, Libeskind’s new building for the Denver Art Museum sits like an alien craft amid the civic grandeur of the mile-high city’s downtown. Docked at an angle on a vacant plot of land, its hull shimmers in the sun, the titanium surface reflecting the colours around it, silver and ochre fading into a brackish brown. The stern of the ship is a jumble of metal boxes, stacked any which way. Its prow looms over the adjoining road, jutting out toward the museum’s existing building, a grey crenellated mausoleum of a place.”
Solving Agatha Christie’s Personal Mystery
In 1926 Agatha Christie disappeared for 11 days. No one’s ever been able to explain what happened. “Several plausible theories have competed for favour over the years, but biographer Andrew Norman believes he is the first to find one that satisfies every element of the case.”
Met Opera Pinches Chicago Lyric’s Chorus Master
Donald Palumbo is “widely considered to be one of the best opera chorus masters in the world, with many impresarios, including the Met’s Peter Gelb and Lyric’s William Mason, saying that he is tops in the difficult field.”
This Year’s Governor General’s Award Finalists
An “obscure short list of mainly first- and second-time authors” has been named as finalists for this year’s Canadian Governor General’s Literary Award for English-language fiction.
Scorcese To Quit Hollywood
Director Martin Scorcese says he’s going to quit Hollywood and make low-budget films. “When there are very big budgets there is less risk that can be taken,’ he said at the Rome Film Festival. The director said his next project would be a ‘small-scale’ adaptation of Japanese novel The Silence.”