New York’s Whitney Museum of American Art has made official what had been rumored for several days, that it will build a new branch at a site in Greenwich Village that was abandoned last week by the Dia Foundation. “Meanwhile, the Museum of Modern Art, which you would think would leave well enough alone after raising $825 million to overhaul and endow its Midtown mega-complex, is also talking about another addition. This churning has to do with three trends that are forcing museums to make extraordinary, difficult bets on the future: spiraling construction costs, dizzy real-estate prices and an art market that’s gone bonkers.”
Tag: 11.28.06
Getty Tells Its Side
Los Angeles’s J. Paul Getty Museum has been taking plenty of heat over its battle with the Italian government concerning antiquities that may have once been illegally looted. But the Getty’s director says that he isn’t the one standing in the way of a settlement, and accuses the Italians of moving the goalposts after a tentative agreement had been reached.
Controversial Painter Emilio Vedova, 87
“The Italian painter Emilio Vedova, who has died aged 87, was a veteran of one of the 20th century’s most bitter artistic conflicts – the ‘battle of styles’ in the 1950s between the neo-realists and the pioneers of expressive abstraction.”
Awards Future Looks Bright For Crack Users & 8-Year-Old Beauty Queens
The nominations are out for the Independent Spirit Awards, honoring low-budget and independent film, with offbeat comedy Little Miss Sunshine and drug drama Half Nelson garnering five nominations each. The late Robert Altman was also nominated for his last film, A Prairie Home Companion.
Carbon-Based Music
The science of building a great string instrument has long been a subject of obsession for craftsmen and musicians around the world. Most believe that the secret to the old masters lies in the combination of great wood and perfect varnish. But if that’s the case, why are some of today’s hottest soloists trotting around with shiny black violins and cellos made from something called carbon fiber? Could there be such a thing as a great synthetic instrument?
Pop Goes The Conductor
The Boston Pops has fired its principal guest conductor, who had been with the ensemble since 1979. Bruce Hangen says he wasn’t told the specific reason for his dismissal, but “speculated that perhaps he angered management by turning down Pops concerts to accept engagements with other orchestras.” The Pops, which is operated by the Boston Symphony and made up mainly of BSO musicians, isn’t commenting on the reason for the change.
Paris Plans A Skyline
“Paris yesterday unveiled plans for a vast glass-enveloped office block that will become its tallest commercial building and loftiest construction since the Eiffel tower was inaugurated in 1889. The ‘Phare’ (Lighthouse) tower, designed by the Californian architect Thom Mayne, is a gently sloping eco-friendly glass construction complete with wind-turbines on its roof, that will be the centrepiece of an ambitious overhaul of La Défense on the western outskirts of the city.”
Ah, Latin: It’s Catnip To Book-Buyers
“It is a thoroughly unlikely publishing phenomenon. A book about Latin – that is, about how to learn Latin, with dozens of verb tables and explanations of the ablative absolute and the gerundive – has crept up, unexpectedly but persistently, as high as number 14 in the Amazon bestseller list in the all-important weeks before Christmas.”
Mr. Hall Goes To Washington
Riding to Washington on the wave of the Democrats’ midterm-election comeback is one John Hall of New York, member of the light-rock group Orleans and co-writer of the band’s hits, “Still the One” and “Dance With Me.” “Once we forgive Hall for penning such excruciatingly unshakable couplets as ‘You’re still the one who can scratch my itch / You’re still the one and I wouldn’t switch,’ let us acknowledge his singular place in American history: He is the first professional rock musician elected to Congress.”
Research Center Completes MoMA’s Five-Year Expansion
“Frank Lloyd Wright’s wood-block model for the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. Paper neckties with flowery designs by Picasso. Mies van der Rohe’s ‘projects-general correspondence 1920’s 1930’s.’ MoMA’s first guestbook from 1929. A rich trove of background for all the legendary works in the Museum of Modern Art will become more accessible to the public with the opening today of MoMA’s new education and research building in Midtown Manhattan.”