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One Thousand and One Nights
This photo shows a US occupation soldier standing near a painting by an anonymous Iraqi artist. The artwork was inspired by the tales of One Thousand and One Nights, the classic book of Arab literature. First compiled in Arabic during the 9th century, the stories have inspired untold thousands of artists. It is the only Arabic work to have become…
Secret Service Visits Art Show
Axis of Evil, the Secret History of Sin, a group show at the Columbia College Chicago Glass Curtain Gallery, was visited by Secret Service agents who photographed artworks and asked the museum director for the names and phone numbers of all participating artists. The Columbia group exhibition is made up of submissions from 47 artists from 11 countries. The exhibit’s…
Auctioning Mao: The Party’s Over
China’s most famous portrait of Chairman Mao Zedong is to be auctioned off by the country’s state-controlled auction house in Beijing. Commissioned in 1950 to celebrate the first anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, Zhang Zhenshi’s oil painting of Mao became a world famous image. The portrait of the communist leader was published in poster form, with untold millions…
The death of New York City Opera
On October 1, 2013, the 70-year-old New York City Opera (NYCO) canceled its 2013-2014 season and announced its disbandment. Faced with crushing financial problems, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing its inability to raise sufficient funds to continue operating. The NYCO’s endowment shriveled from $48 million in 2008 to $5.07 million by the end of 2012. In a…