Category: today’s top story

Nicolai Ouroussoff: “He is not out to start a revolution. His designs are about tranquillity, not conflict. The serenity of his best buildings can almost make you believe that we live in a civilized world. The new $294 million Modern Wing … is the closest Mr. Piano has come in at least a decade to achieving this near-classical ideal.”

“Rocco Landesman, the colorful theatrical producer and race-track aficionado who brought hits like Big River, Angels in America and The Producers to Broadway, has been nominated as the next chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, the White House said on Tuesday.”

“[A]s Germany prepares to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the wall’s collapse on Nov. 9, many Berliners wish they had left more of the structure intact as a memorial.” The director of the city’s tourism bureau put it this way: “One mistake was to take away too much of the wall. We did the job in a very German way — very organized — and we finished it off, almost completely.”

For the second time this year, flames and smoke have damaged one of China’s high-profile new architectural landmarks. According to a statement from Hadid’s firm, no one was injured in the blaze and the structure of the building appears to be intact; it’s not yet clear if the opening date this fall will have to be postponed.

“In recent years, cognitive scientists have turned in increasing numbers to the study of human happiness, and one of their central findings is that we are not very good at predicting how happy or unhappy something will make us.”

“Exterior panels, made of Tennessee lavender-pink marble, are tilting outward, which the gallery says indicates problems with the support system. A consultant has recommended that the gallery remove all 16,200 panels and install new supports behind them.”

“The works include significant paintings by Paul Cézanne, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Paul Gauguin and Piet Mondrian dating from the late 19th to mid 20th centuries. The total value of the works is between $200million and $250million [NZ] and is the most significant collection gifted to any New Zealand public gallery.”

An Illinois Institute of Technology building by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe “will soon be demolished…. And you know what? That’s perfectly fine. Mediocre buildings by world-class architects sometimes have to make way for pieces of civic infrastructure that uplift the community as a whole. As you might suppose, a cadre of historic preservationists doesn’t see it that way.”

“The Cleveland Museum of Art, battered by a bad economy and a 30 percent drop in the value of its endowment since June, is cutting salaries and eliminating other expenses to keep its budget in line. […] The Cleveland museum isn’t cutting jobs – for now. And it plans to push ahead with a $350 million expansion and renovation.”

“The state budget approved Monday by Republicans on the Senate Appropriations Committee may be nothing more than an opening salvo. But its zero funding for the arts, film offices, selected museums and public television threw a scare into arts leaders and prompted a viral campaign urging protests. The full Senate could vote on the bill as early as today. ‘It’s a disaster,’ said Philip Horn, director of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts….”