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Remember how Glenn Lowry and Yoshio Taniguchi found an innovative solution to a signage problem at the new MoMA? Well I just revisited the Museum of Modern Art's sixth-floor bathroom, scene of numerous CultureGrrl complaints, and found that Glenn and Yoshio had come up with some more simple (if not elegant) fixes to vexing flaws: No more "water cascading over the counter and … [Read more...] about More Emergency Design Fixes at MoMA

Chemical Cuisine, Au Crocodile Style In today's Bloomberg, restaurant reviewer Richard Vines performs the pleasant (but probably unnecessarily redundant) service of informing us about the greatness of the much reviewed El Bulli restaurant in Spain. Eating 40 "fabulous" course is a tough job, but, hey, someone's got to do it! The influence of El Bulli's chef-owner Ferran Adria … [Read more...] about The “El Bulli Effect”: Feasting on Fumes in Strasbourg

Who would have thought that art would make it into last night's Democratic Presidential debate? It made a cameo appearance during the discussion of education, when Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico actually said the "A"-word. Let's go to the transcript: RICHARDSON: I would have a major federal program of art in the schools... (APPLAUSE) ... music, dancing, sculpture, and the … [Read more...] about Is Bill Richardson the Arts Candidate?

Yesterday's BlogBack on CultureGrrl by Denver music critic Marc Shulgold (in which he defended tough critical appraisals and took issue with my post on the possible role that reviews played in tenor Jerry Hadley's suicide) struck the raw nerves of at least two of his grieving friends. Before I share their comments with you, let me clear up some confusion, which was evident in … [Read more...] about BlogBacks: Jerry Hadley’s Friends Take Issue with the Critics

Verlyn Klinkenborg Brent Staples It is rare for an individual artist to attract the attention of the NY Times editorial board, and it's usually because of controversies over content involving sex, religion or politics. Damien Hirst's only transgression---in some eyes, not mine---is crossing boundaries of taste and making lots of money by so doing. In their Friday editorial, … [Read more...] about NY Times Editorial Snarks the Shark

I can't blog about the resolution of the Harry Potter saga, because I don't know if my 23-year-old daughter Joyce has finished the final volume yet, and I do know that she reads CultureGrrl. It would be a crime to be a spoiler for your own daughter! But if you know how it turned out, you'll know how I feel about it by reading this earlier post. It's an amazing phenomenon that … [Read more...] about Harry Potter Finale: A Mother’s Musings

Marc Shulgold, music critic for the Rocky Mountain News, Denver, takes issue with Did Reviews Kill Jerry Hadley?: I'm betting that few in our professsion would agree with your take about Jerry Hadley. Clearly, this was a troubled soul. And, almost as clear is the fact that his troubles were hardly the critics' fault. Those who strut and fret upon the stage do so with the … [Read more...] about BlogBack on Hadley: Denver Music Critic Defends Tough Appraisals

My Thursday post on the sometimes venomous effect of cultural criticism, occasioned by the shocking suicide of tenor Jerry Hadley, has elicited thoughtful and sensitive responses in the blogosphere. Composer Daniel Felsenfeld in his blog, Felsenmusick, titled his post about my post, A Little Bit of an Overreaction, but he agreed that "critics should savage with caution and not … [Read more...] about More Jerry Hadley Post Mortems

In the continuing effort to convince the Barnes Foundation that staying put in Merion could be financially viable, the town's commissioners passed an ordinance last night to allow an increase in visitation from 400 per day, three days a week, to 450 visitors per day, six days a week. Some 100 elementary and secondary students would also be admitted daily. In a letter today to … [Read more...] about Last-Gasp Barnes Rescue Attempts, Continued (and UPDATED)

Model of Jean Nouvel's Louvre Abu Dhabi In two articles just posted on its website, Human Rights Watch targeted the Louvre and the Guggenheim in reiterating concerns about labor abuses affecting construction workers in Abu Dhabi. Gulf News reports that the Jean Nouvel-designed Louvre Abu Dhabi (above) "will shortly enter its design and engineering phase....A 10-member … [Read more...] about Human Rights Watch: Louvre and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Must Prevent Labor Abuses

I remember going to "The Great Gatsby" at the Metropolitan Opera in 1999 with low expectations. The reviews were unfavorable to the opera, as well as to the singer in the title role. And I remember saying to my husband after the performance that I was pleasantly surprised. The opera engaged me musically and, especially, literarily, since it closely adhered to Fitzgerald's … [Read more...] about Did Reviews Kill Jerry Hadley?

Here are some aperçus from my visit to the expanded Seattle Art Museum that didn't make it into yesterday's Wall Street Journal article (probably for good reason): Seattle's venerable peep-show palace (above) took credit for what had been erected directly across the street. SAM's environs are---how shall we put it?---a "neighborhood in transition." Vagrants and bankers pace … [Read more...] about Scenes from My Seattle Shuffle

Daniel Brinkmeier, the Field Museum's manager for international community outreach by the environmental and conservation programs, responds to My NPR Soundbite on the Museum Propaganda Initiative: It is interesting for me to see this discussion come up about State Department support for U.S. museum exhibits, training, and programming in other countries through the new MCCA … [Read more...] about BlogBack: Field Museum Official on AAM/State Department Collaboration

Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev announced yesterday the results of an inventory of Russian museum collections: More than 160,000 artifacts are said to be missing. The inventory was ordered last summer by President Vladimir Putin, in the wake of the inside-job theft scandal at the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg. So what's going to be done about … [Read more...] about Some 160,000 Objects Missing from Russian Museums

Exhibit C: The Reverse of the Disputed Warhol I'm in no position to judge the merits of the case filed against the Andy Warhol Foundation, Estate and Authentication Board over the board's rejection of the authenticity of a painting bearing the image of a famous Warhol self-portrait (the one used on a U.S. postage stamp). All I know is what I've read in the "Class Action … [Read more...] about Issues Raised by the Warhol Authentication Lawsuit