Monster Mash: Chinese government still quiet about Ai Weiwei; Austrian museum to return Klimt painting
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Without a trace: The Chinese government is remaining silent concerning the whereabouts of artist Ai Weiwei, who was imprisoned earlier this month. (Los Angeles Times)
Restitution: An Austrian museum is returning a Gustav Klimt painting to the descendant of its original owner, a victim of the Nazis. (Reuters)
Opening up: The producers of ‘Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark’ talk frankly about their decision to revamp the troubled Broadway musical. (Associated Press, via ABC News)
Settling down: The Southern California Institute of Architecture -- better known as SCI-Arc -- has paid $23.1 million for the downtown L.A. facility it has been using for close to 10 years. (Los Angeles Times)
Out: Kate Whoriskey has left her role as artistic director of Seattle’s Intiman Theatre, which is canceling its season and laying off its staff due to money problems. (Playbill)
Defaced: Vandals have left their mark on the concrete-and-steel structure that will be the Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University. (The State News)
Prison: A court in Egypt has sentenced five officials to jail in connection with the theft of a Van Gogh artwork last year. (Reuters)
Impediments: A long-planned Smithsonian museum dedicated to Latino heritage faces budgetary and political hurdles. (New York Times)
New leader: The Victoria & Albert Museum in London has appointed a German academic and curator as its new director. (BBC News)
Canceled: On the heels of complaints, the Army has scrapped a $600,000 public-art project that would have included placing a sculpture of a fairy riding on the back of a giant toad near a Defense Department facility. (Stars and Stripes)
Also in the L.A. Times: Columnist Hector Tobar on the LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes downtown; the first Little Tokyo Design Week will kick off in July.
-- David Ng
