Museum Director’s Challenge: Living With A Patron’s Ghost

“Alex Nyerges is no stranger to working 16-hour days and wearing multiple hats. As director of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, his domain ranges from the art blogosphere to the VMFA’s $130 million construction site — with countless travel obligations, fundraising opportunities and donor visits thrown in for good measure. Oh, and then there’s the ghost.”

Leckey Wins Turner; Controversy Is Conspicuously Missing

“A witty meditation on the nature of film in popular culture taking in Felix the Cat, Homer Simpson, Titanic the movie and Philip Guston, tonight helped Mark Leckey win what is still acknowledged as the country’s most important contemporary art prize.” As Leckey received the award and the accompanying £25,000 check, “the most controversial thing about this year’s Turner prize was its lack of controversy.”

Napa’s Copia Files For Bankruptcy Protection

“Copia, the ambitious food, wine and art museum in Napa, Calif., today filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. In addition to the bankruptcy filing, Copia announced that it had secured a $2 million line of credit to fund its day-to-day operations while it looks for other ways out of a financial crisis that had been mounting for years.”

Foreign Exchange Program: Hollywood & The Middle East

The recently announced Qatar branch of the Tribeca Film Festival makes sense “when you consider that [Robert] De Niro created the original festival to bring business back downtown after the attacks of September 11. But it makes even more sense if you consider what’s happening with Qatar’s next door neighbor, the United Arab Emirates,” which is pouring money into TV and Hollywood films.

Wagner To Remain Off-Limits At Israeli Opera

“Richard Wagner and his works will remain a sensitive topic in Israel for many years, the Israeli Opera’s new musical director, conductor David Stern, told reporters yesterday. ‘I don’t think it’s such a great loss to Israeli audiences. I still conduct Wagner in other places around the world, but there are many other things that are worthwhile to conduct here.'”

Barenboim Triumphs In Long-Awaited Met Debut

“[I]t was no surprise that he received a prolonged ovation when he first appeared in the pit at the Metropolitan Opera on Friday night to conduct Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde in his long-overdue debut with the company. The ovation was greater and richly deserved five hours later, when Mr. Barenboim took his solo bow onstage. Though his performance of this challenging masterpiece was rhapsodic and impassioned, it was also keenly sensitive to the score’s harmonic shifts and architectonic structure. The Met orchestra played splendidly for him, and somehow he altered its sheen and color, making it sound duskier and warmer.”