Abu Dhabi Update: Not a Done Deal?

Two Views of Frank Gehry's Models for the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi

The answer to my final question in yesterday's post about the four starchitect-designed cultural facilities is what I thought it would be. But I couldn't (and still can't) get it directly confirmed by the principles.

The question was: And the Louvre Abu Dhabi is...where?

The answer, as reported in today's NY Times, is that the high-rent art that Abu Dhabi hopes to extract from France would be housed in the Jean Nouvel's planned "Classical Museum"---but only if the vocal opponents in France (here and here) don't get their way and the deal actually does get finalized.

As Hassan Fattah reports for the Times from Abu Dhabi: "The emirate's tourism officials played down the Louvre plan on Wednesday, insisting the deal was not final." Indeed, since the announcement was made, I couldn't (and still can't) get anyone here or in Abu Dhabi to give me any description of the Classical Museum, beyond its place-holder name. "Classical" conjured up, for me, visions of Greek and Roman nudes---unlikely, since such works are anathema to conservative Muslims.

Meanwhile, continuing a very recent practice of posting online, several days early, otherwise scoop-able Sunday "Leisure & Arts" pieces, the Times last night put up Nicolai Ouroussoff''s desert-island report, which indicated that (contrary to what I said yesterday about "ironclad government support) "the country's rulers...have yet to give the [Saadiyat Island Cultural District] project final approval."

Tom Krens had better get this one right. Or is his highwire architectural act just a global, megabucks Christo-like enterprise, where the process is as important as any final realization of the project?