Monster Mash: Iran cuts ties with Louvre museum; museums, artists voice support for Ai Weiwei

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Dispute: The Iranian government has cut ties with the Louvre museum in a dispute over Persian artifacts. (Los Angeles Times)

Still missing: Museums, artists and and other arts organizations are voicing support for the artist Ai Weiwei, who is believed to be in police custody in China. (The Art Newspaper)

Hardline: One of China’s largest state-controlled newspapers has criticized Western governments for demanding the release of artist Ai Weiwei. (Reuters)

Special Tonys: Playwrights Athol Fugard and Eve Ensler are among the recipients of special 2011 Tony Awards announced Wednesday morning. (Tony Awards)

Next best thing: A concert featuring conductor Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic will be screend in 3-D in cinemas across the United Kingdom. (BBC News)

Staying home: The New York Philharmonic has canceled its upcoming trip to Cuba. (New York Times)

Modernist master: A recently published book sheds a new light on architecture photographer Julius Shulman. (Los Angeles Times)

Royal flush: An irreverent art show at a London gallery pokes fun at Britain’s royal family ahead of the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. (Agence France-Presse)

Falling out: Wim Wenders will not be directing the ‘Ring Cycle’ in Bayreuth after all, according to reports from Germany. (Intermezzo via ArtsJournal)

Silenced: Syracuse Symphony’s board of trustees is planning to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, probably next week. (Syracuse Post-Standard)

Commemoration: A new sculpture memorializing the late Nirvana musician Kurt Cobain has been unveiled in a park in Washington state. (Associated Press)

Moving forward: Lawmakers in Mississippi have approved the construction of a civil rights museum, but skeptics view the project as a political maneuver by Gov. Haley Barbour. (Reuters)

Banality of evil: A new museum opens this week in Berlin marking 50 years since the Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann went on trial in Israel. (Agence France-Presse)

His way: Art created by Sid Vicious in his teenage years shows a softer side of the Sex Pistols rocker. (The Independent)

Also in the L.A. Times: Thousands of L.A. fifth graders dance on the Music Center plaza; Art critic Christopher Knight reviews ‘David Smith: Cubes and Anarchy’ at LACMA; music critic Mark Swed reviews Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

-- David Ng