More about this here. When an ambitious new cultural institution chooses its architect six years before appointing an artistic director/CEO, you know its priorities are upside-down and backwards. Such was the case with The Shed, New York's new multipurpose, multi-discipline cultural venue, which gave me a very mixed impression during its opening week. For many reasons, … [Read more...] about Getting It Backwards: The Shed’s Architects Came 1st. Its Artistic Director, a Distant 2nd (with video)
Archives for April 2019
To Be Returned? Met’s Own Notre-Dame Sculpture Figures in Museum’s Program on the Cathedral
In yesterday's post, I had suggested that the Metropolitan Museum could show its support for the fire-ravaged Notre-Dame Cathedral by returning to it the Head of King David now in the Met's collection, for eventual installation at the building for from which it had been removed during the French Revolution. Today, the Met announced that it would offer a free "informal … [Read more...] about To Be Returned? Met’s Own Notre-Dame Sculpture Figures in Museum’s Program on the Cathedral
Notre-Dame in Flames: What Happened, What’s Next
"We will rebuild it," vowed French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday, after people around the world collectively gasped at the horrific sight of Notre-Dame Cathedral engulfed in flames. The sickening collapse of its spire was captured on video---an image almost as nightmarish as the 9/11 collapse of the World Trade Center towers but, mercifully, without the catastrophic the … [Read more...] about Notre-Dame in Flames: What Happened, What’s Next
Rockin’ at the Met with “Play It Loud”: Guitar Action & My Copyright Infraction (with video)
The Eagles may have booted Don Felder out of the band, but he was the one who enjoyed a star turn at the Metropolitan Museum's memorable press preview for Play it Loud: Instruments of Rock & Roll, which opened yesterday (to Oct. 1). Following comments by several rock luminaries (see below), Felder strolled up to the microphone, picked up his trusty double-neck sidekick, and … [Read more...] about Rockin’ at the Met with “Play It Loud”: Guitar Action & My Copyright Infraction (with video)
Hear Here! My BBC Radio Talk on Leonardo’s “Salvator Mundi” Can Now Be Heard on CultureGrrl
My new friends at BBC Radio 5 have given me an embeddable form of the audio from my interview with on Leonardo's "Salvator Mundi" with Rhod Sharp, host of "Up All Night." What's more, unlike the version on BBC's website, this one has no expiration date. So if it was too complicated trying to deal with finding my nine minutes of fame on the audio bar for Wednesday's … [Read more...] about Hear Here! My BBC Radio Talk on Leonardo’s “Salvator Mundi” Can Now Be Heard on CultureGrrl
Lee on Leonardo (once again): BBC Radio Quizes Me on “Salvator Mundi” Conundrums (Corrected)
I was surprised on Sunday when the NY Times ran a long front-page article about the status (or lack thereof) of the $450.3-million Leonardo da Vinci that has unaccountably fallen off the public's radar screen. The Times piece was merely a detailed summary of all the reporting that has preceded it (including numerous posts that appeared on CultureGrrl), even though it was posted … [Read more...] about Lee on Leonardo (once again): BBC Radio Quizes Me on “Salvator Mundi” Conundrums (Corrected)