Gehryâs Quiet Interventions Reshape the Philadelphia Museum
No billowing sails of glass or glimmering titanium in the renovation of the museumâs Beaux-Arts home. Equally surprising are several new shows and the American galleries.
Gehry Partners reestablished the vaulted walkway, left, a Guastavino-tiled corridor spanning the length of the main building, as a main access in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The Piranesian switchback staircase, right, is Gehryâs âonly concession to showiness,â our critic says.Credit.Steve Hall, via Philadelphia Museum of Art
May 30, 2021, 8:38 a.m. ET
PHILADELPHIA â You know whatâs chicer than spending a ton on a landmark building? Spending a ton and barely showing it.
La Partie Carrée (1870). Collection of the National Gallery of Canada.
As spring turns to summer, one can’t help but long for a good old-fashioned picnic. And by old-fashioned, we mean
really old-fashioned the picnic has been a perennial favorite for over 500 years.
While dining outdoors has (of course) been happening forever, the outdoor repast as an escape into nature dates back to the medieval era. Following hunting expeditions, the wealthy would enjoy outdoor feasts accompanied by heavy furniture, crystal glasses, and all manner of accouterment carried by servants.
The meaning of the word “picnic,” too, has shifted over time. It first surfaced in 18th-century France, and originally meant something more akin to a potluck. In the 19th century, the word gained the outdoor connotations we’re familiar with today.
Every day, 10 Pennsylvanians are lost to substance use disorder. This disease can affect any individual and threatens entire communities within the commonwealth. Pennsylvania has the third highest rate of drug overdose deaths in the country and the ninth highest rate of new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has noted that Pennsylvania is one of the states at risk for increases in HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections.
When needles are in short supply, injection drug users will share their needles. The sharing of syringes is fueling the spread of these diseases across the commonwealth. Hospitalizations in the U.S. for substance use-related infections cost over $700 million each year and Pennsylvania bears a significant portion of that cost. Having seen firsthand the ravages of this disorder, it is hard not to advocate for these marginalized patients.