“Pious devotion or deadly fanaticism? - GetReligion” plus 4 more |
- Pious devotion or deadly fanaticism? - GetReligion
- A decade of decline - Washington Times
- Lessons from the 2000s beckon. Will we heed them? - Las Vegas Sun
- Illinois residents have more than 270 new laws to follow - Quad Cities Onlines
- Bechtler throws open its doors (and it's free) - CharlotteObserver.com
| Pious devotion or deadly fanaticism? - GetReligion Posted: 01 Jan 2010 08:28 PM PST Remember Mollie's post a few weeks ago taking issue with a quote in the NYT regarding Muslim terrorists and the price of beer? Well here we go again. The subject in this Washington Post article isn't five northern Virginia men but Nidal Hasan of Fort Hood infamy.
This paragraph appeared early yesterday in a beautifully written, powerfully paced, 2,845-word A1 tome. Seven weeks and four reporters later, the Post has pieced together a Hasan biography that asks, at it's heart, whether former friends and colleagues could have recognized clues Hasan dropped and acted to stop him. The story is all about Muslim this and culture that. But examples, like this, show an attempt to illuminate how those aspects of Hasan's life shaped the rest:
From there the article moved on to Hasan's colleagues concerns. And then, finally, to his desire not to relocate to Texas or be deployed.
The above paragraph gets at one of the questions asked earlier in the article, one that extends far beyond Hasan and was the motivation for commenting on this article: "How do you differentiate between pious and fanatical?" In other words: when does piety become deadly? The question is not only how do you draw the line, but where? Daily prayer? Making a pilgrimage Mecca? Traveling to Pakistan for terror training? Further, there is a serious societal danger in misreading piety for fanaticism. Piety is not a word that journalists are generally comfortable with, so the Post reporters faced an unusual challenge from jumpstreet. Piety means righteousness through religious devotion, but it involves several elements that are very, very, very difficult for reporters to assess. How'd they handle it? Well, they didn't. They punted. Quite artfully, in fact.
But did they? I fail to see how the events of Nov. 5 relate to Hasan spending a few nights at a strip club. I also am no closer to understanding how Hasan's religious beliefs influenced his actions. Granted, I now have a much fuller portrait of Hasan's religious life — not a cliche picture but a truly personal and revealing image. But that portrait still doesn't tell me much. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. | |
| A decade of decline - Washington Times Posted: 01 Jan 2010 08:35 PM PST America is going the way of ancient Rome. The past decade will be remembered as the pivotal tipping point where the United States ceased to be a superpower. Like the Roman Empire in its later stages, America's imperial grandeur masked moral rot and economic decay. The beginning of the 21st century promised continued U.S. global dominance. Our economic might seemed unrivaled; the dot-com boom had not yet gone bust. Washington was still basking in the warm glow of its victory in the Cold War. America bestrode the world like a military and economic colossus. The Sept. 11, 2001, attacks changed everything. Like Rome and Imperial Britain, the United States embarked upon costly, prolonged wars in far-away countries. The result is that America remains mired in Iraq and Afghanistan. The two wars have cost more than 5,200 dead and $1 trillion with no victory or end in sight. The fundamental mistake was made by President Bush. Contrary to popular myth, Mr. Bush was not a unilateralist conservative traditionalist; rather, he was a Great Society Republican who championed nation-building abroad and Big Government corporatism at home. Our goal should have been to smash the forces of global jihad through a strategy of total victory through total war - just as in World War II, when every domestic priority was subordinated to defeating the Axis Powers. Instead, Mr. Bush tried to plant democracy in the sands of Mesopotamia and the stony soil of Afghanistan. He followed a foolish - and ultimately, destructive - policy of seeking to implement social engineering, nation-building projects. The result was imperial overstretch. Moreover, he also stressed that America could have both guns and butter. There was no need to choose. Tax cuts, federalizing education, a massive Medicare prescription drug plan, runaway government spending, soaring deficits, huge bank bailouts and expensive stimulus programs - Mr. Bush's brand of corporatist Keynesianism paved the way for socialism and reckless spending. President Obama is making the same mistake. He is not the antithesis of Mr. Bush, but his culmination. Mr. Obama represents Bushism on steroids. He is seeking to erect a European-style social democracy characterized by a bloated public sector, a burdensome welfare state, economic sclerosis and foreign policy impotence. Mr. Obama is slowly pushing America toward financial ruin. His $787 billion stimulus failed to regenerate the economy. His health care reform bill will cost taxpayers nearly $2.5 trillion. He has effectively nationalized the automakers, the financial sector and the banking system. His environmental regulations will stifle industry and manufacturing. Unemployment is high. The housing market continues to sag. Inflation is increasing. The dollar is plummeting. The nation's infrastructure is crumbling. The budget deficit for 2009 was over $1.4 trillion. It is scheduled to be $1.5 trillion in 2010. Under his administration, the national debt is projected to explode by more than $10 trillion in 10 years. He is burying America under a mountain of debt. We are becoming the United States of Argentina. Mr. Obama's decision to surge 30,000 additional troops into Afghanistan is a dangerous - and reckless - escalation of the war. It will only deepen our military quagmire, draining America of further blood and treasure. Repeating the tragic mistakes of Vietnam, Mr. Obama is sending U.S. troops to die without a clear strategy for victory. Yet, as Americans are being bled white in the caves and mountains of Afghanistan, terrorists are penetrating our homeland defenses. The United States is increasingly vulnerable to Islamist attacks: Hezbollah is crossing our porous southern border, the Fort Hood massacre and the attempted suicide bombing of Northwest Airlines flight 253. Similar to Rome in its final days, America is no longer feared or respected. Instead, we are being invaded - and slowly conquered - by barbarians. Rome collapsed due to moral decline, pervasive corruption and a loss of will. The Roman Empire became plagued by crushing taxation, a ubiquitous bureaucracy, economic stagnation, political factionalism, military adventurism and a lack of civic virtue. Its culture had become so decadent - with its glorification of homosexuality, infanticide, sexual permissiveness and constant entertainment (such as circuses and games in the Coliseum) - that Rome was not only scorned but reviled. America is repeating the same tragic mistakes. Our sexualized, celebrity-obsessed, libertine culture is despised around the world. Power trumps patriotism. Washington no longer embodies democratic virtue. If America does not veer course quickly, we, too, like the Romans, will squander our glorious heritage. Jeffrey T. Kuhner is a columnist at The Washington Times and president of the Edmund Burke Institute, a Washington think tank. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. | |
| Lessons from the 2000s beckon. Will we heed them? - Las Vegas Sun Posted: 01 Jan 2010 07:30 PM PST Friday, Jan. 1, 2010 | 2 a.m.  For Las Vegas, the end of the 2000s has been the equivalent of the housekeeper walking into a Strip hotel suite midmorning, cranking some Christian rock, and then Tasing the bedridden guest who is nursing a bad hangover. A painful awakening. The decade began like any boozy party, with backslapping and uproarious laughter following lots of new jobs, climbing wages and rapid building all over the Las Vegas Valley. But it has ended with heartache and headache: historic unemployment, property values sunk back to 2000 levels and skyrocketing bankruptcies. The Sun asked a few local elites what lessons should be learned. Insanity: Doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result This may seem circular, but what is the first lesson to learn? Learn your lesson, and move on. "Lesson One is we can't go forward the way we lived in the past, which was catch-as-catch-can and everything will work out," says Billy Vassiliadis, CEO of R&R Partners, the advertising and public affairs firm. Jim Russell, a geographer and Colorado redevelopment consultant who writes about the struggles of Rust Belt cities on his blog Burgh Diaspora, says the lesson Las Vegas can learn from faded industrial cities is: "There isn't any quick fix. There isn't any way to recapture the glory. The sooner you put the past behind you, the better." Vassiliadis adds: "The economic fantasy of the past 20 years is over. Smart, gutsy, dedicated people need to get together and make decisions." What he means is that there was a way of doing things in Nevada for a long time: Lean on gaming and growth and development; spend what's available to prop up ailing schools, hospitals and social services; tell people to mostly fend for themselves; let the chips fall where they may. So if that's not the plan anymore, now what? Payday loan centers and tattoo parlors don't count as economic diversity "We have to stop talking about diversifying our economy and actually accomplish it," Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley says. "There's been lots of discussion but never has the point been made clearer these past few years that gaming is not recession-proof." Here's an economy that never diversified, despite endless warnings: Detroit. Mark Muro of the Brookings Institution echoes the late UNLV economist Keith Schwer when he says we're too dependent on consumption. More than half of our metro gross domestic product comes from consumption — gambling, strip clubs, food and beverage, hotel rooms. The only other metro area in the country that comes close is Orlando, Fla. "The consumption formula, based on historically low savings rates, is a dangerous source of economic energy going forward," Muro says. We need to leverage our expertise and resources in travel, tourism and convening, while also expanding our presence in clean energy, so that we're exporting both energy and expertise and less reliant on plain old consumption, Muro says. So, how do we do this? Education, education It's no mystery. As Republican state Sen. Randolph Townsend says, "Without an intensely educated workforce in the areas we can be best in, we will never be the state we're capable of being." This doesn't mean trying to turn UNLV into Harvard, or even Berkeley, he says. Just focusing on our potential — like we already have with hotel management — and could do with health care and water and energy research. Better schools will have another salutary effect, says former state Sen. Warren Hardy, now a Republican lobbyist. Improved schools will bring companies that need an educated workforce, leading to still more educated people moving here. "Taxes are low on the list of what good companies look for when they decide to relocate. They want quality education, health care, culture. And we're behind the curve," he says. The debate about how to improve schools is complicated, but one thing is clear, according to Republicans such as Hardy and Townsend, and Democrats such as Vassiliadis and Buckley: We need a more stable tax structure that provides more revenue, and improved accountability measures. Spin the wheel and around she goes — hope for the best, kids The state's tax structure depends heavily on gaming and tourism as well as the now-dormant growth and development industries. "We built tax policy around the boom. That's not very smart," Hardy says. Townsend concurs: "It's obvious to everyone no matter where you are on the political spectrum that the tax structure we currently have is no longer a functioning mechanism to fund the tremendous demands of schools, social services and corrections." Unfortunately, Nevada is in a bit of a vicious circle. We can't diversify the economy without better schools. We can't improve the schools without some new money from a diversified tax base. But there won't be new money until we diversify the economy. The end and the beginning of libertarianism Libertarianism was an important catalyst of Nevada's development. Quickie divorces and gambling helped Nevada through the Depression, and low taxes and a light regulatory touch have attracted businesses and residents ever since. Over time, that libertarianism has become more like a child's security blanket — part of our identity, addictive, but in the face of some pretty big market and regulatory failures during the past three years, useless. "If you have reasonable regulations in key industries, it prevents chaos," Buckley says. She cites a legislative audit that found lax regulation of the mortgage lending industry, which could have contributed to the housing meltdown. Others have suggested, however, that a new libertarianism could help Nevada through its current troubles. California and Colorado, for instance, are quickly becoming known for their de facto decriminalization of marijuana possession. Doing so here could attract pot-loving tourists. Quality over quantity "Over time we've pursued a policy of 'Let's chase growth at all costs.' All growth was good, and in retrospect, we should have been more selective about how we grew and who we attracted here," says Thom Reilly, former Clark County manager and now a vice president at Harrah's. For Reilly, this means attracting companies that pay good wages and benefits and are solid corporate citizens. He says we attracted low-skill, low-wage American and foreign-born workers, many of them disconnected from network of family and social support. So, once the recession hit, they leaned hard on nonprofit groups and government, which were threadbare to begin with. This glut of unskilled workers also made us more vulnerable to the recession. The unemployment rate is 10 percentage points lower for Americans with college degrees. Las Vegas has one of the lowest percentages of college-educated citizenries in the country. "You want a balance," Reilly says. Russell, the geographer and Burgh Diaspora blogger, says rapid growth masks hidden problems. "An influx of migrants makes policymakers lazy. If you screw up, the growing numbers of people will hide your mistake," he says. The kids like the trains Reilly says not developing light rail during the past decade, unlike, say, Phoenix and Seattle, will have long-term negative consequences. That failure prohibits us from developing a more diverse settlement pattern of transit-oriented retail and residential development. The educated segments of Generations X and Y grew up in the suburbs, and many of them now hate the 'burbs and want to live in urban environments, at least until they have kids. (Which is later in life than any generation in history.) The evidence? Urban property values are rising relative to suburban property values. As University of Michigan urban planning scholar Christopher Leinberger noted in The Atlantic last year: "Urban residential neighborhood space goes for 40 percent to 200 percent more than traditional suburban space in areas as diverse as New York City; Portland, Ore.; Seattle; and Washington, D.C." Without light rail or some kind of viable transit, we're an auto city. Which really means we're a giant suburb, with some casinos. That will make attracting certain kinds of residents more difficult. Reilly contrasted our failure in this area with Arizona, which built a downtown campus for Arizona State University in urban Phoenix and connected it to the Tempe campus with light rail. Muro of Brookings raises another transportation issue: The failure to better connect Las Vegas to both Phoenix and Los Angeles, and for that matter, Salt Lake City and Denver, has been a colossal failure. An interstate to Phoenix and high-speed rail to Southern California would help move tourists here and back. But it would also build commercial links to those cities, enticing companies to set up shop here. Pull a Reagan and crush the local government unions Local government employees, especially the unionized ones, have won impressive wages and benefits because of favorable collective bargaining rules, a state Legislature uninterested in messing with those rules and local elected officials who make a career of kowtowing to those unions. Reilly, who dealt with the local unions for years at Clark County and watched helplessly as their salaries increased in the good times, says it's time to roll back these costs to preserve needed services. According to data compiled and analyzed by the Sun last year, the average firefighter in Nevada makes nearly $95,000, or 48 percent more than the national average. The average salary of a Clark County firefighter is $128,026, according to recent figures. Local police officers make nearly $79,000, or 30 percent more than the national average. The salary levels create a tremendous burden on local government, especially during a downturn with no end in sight. The upshot is that layoffs of police, firefighters and other local government employees are inevitable. "This means less services for people who need them," Reilly says. Save, save, save "Debt is bad," says Bill Robinson, a UNLV economist. Our biggest gaming companies, including MGM Mirage and Station Casinos, took on massive debt, which nearly prevented MGM from opening CityCenter and pushed Station into bankruptcy. The result has been layoffs and real suffering for untold thousands. Our own residents, meanwhile, were also in over their heads. This debt binge was a nationwide epidemic, but it seemed to find a special home here. We all need to live like our grandparents taught us. Bigger is not better Robinson thinks we would be better off with many more small tourism companies as opposed to the rapid consolidation that consumed the industry in the past. Steve Wynn has voiced agreement. Smaller companies, Robinson says, are more nimble, entrepreneurial and innovative, and often less weighed down with debt. (Although small companies borrowed too much, as well in recent years.) Again, think of Detroit: One dominant industry, dominated by three massive companies. Perhaps before Nevada regulators meet to rubber-stamp another merger, they might take a trip to Detroit. ••• Can we do it? Can we learn from our errors? Robinson is skeptical, even fatalistic. "Have we ultimately learned the lessons? Only the next decade will tell. And my judgment is, of course we haven't learned them." Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. | |
| Illinois residents have more than 270 new laws to follow - Quad Cities Onlines Posted: 01 Jan 2010 06:55 PM PST
It takes seven thick volumes (excluding the index) to contain all of the laws the General Assembly has seen fit to enact over the years. | They'll soon be embarking on Volume 8. Although media accounts sometimes make it seem like the General Assembly passed only one law last year (to prohibit texting while driving), lawmakers were quite prolific, passing hundreds of pieces of legislation. Some of them, like the state budget that critics contend isn't a budget at all, went into effect months ago. Others, like the new restrictions on campaign contributions, won't take effect for months to come. But there are more than 270 new laws that go into effect at midnight Jan. 1. Revelers can wish each other Happy New Year, just as long as they don't do it through a text message while driving. They can do it by phone, as long as it is with a hands-free device in a school zone. The cost of license plates is going up, but there will be more of them from which to choose. Native Americans will be able to smoke indoors in some cases, bowling alleys will carry warning labels and American flags at public buildings must be made in America. State Sen. Larry Bomke, R-Springfield, said none of them rises to the top of the Legislature's accomplishments last year. "The most significant thing we did last year was not a law, it was the impeachment of Rod Blagojevich," Bomke said. "That took precedence over everything." Still, here's a review of some of those laws taking effect Jan. 1. TRAFFIC LAWS The one that's gotten the most attention, from the news media and motorists alike, is House Bill 71, which makes it illegal to text and drive at the same time. The idea is a person can skillfully do one or the other at one time, but not both at one time. A related bill, House Bill 72, makes it illegal for drivers to use cell phones in school or construction zones, unless they are the hands-free variety. But lawmakers actually managed to pass a few other pieces of legislation affecting motorists. House Bill 3956 sets the speed limit for trucks on rural interstate highways at 65 mph, the same as for cars. It culminates a seven-year effort by Sen. John Sullivan, D-Rushville, to equalize the limits. He said believes it is safer for cars and trucks to have the same limit. He also dismissed the notion that trucks already exceed that limit. "There are truck drivers who exceed the speed limit, but I will also say it's pretty remarkable to me the number of trucks that actually do drive the speed limit," he said. "It is their livelihood. Getting tickets is something they work hard not to do." At the other end of the miles per hour scale are low-speed vehicles that now may be legally driven on roads with a posted speed limit of 30 mph or less. With Senate Bill 1866, the vehicles are allowed unless a municipality bans them. Previously, they were prohibited unless a city approved them. New license plates are being designed for the vehicles. Lawmakers figured out a way to help school funding with traffic laws. The fine for speeding in a school zone will increase by $5, and failure to yield to a pedestrian in a school crosswalk will cost $50 more. The money goes to the school district where the violation occurred. (Senate Bill 2024) Lawmakers also tinkered with language covering handicapped parking placards issued by Secretary of State Jesse White's office. The end result of Senate Bill 1541 is that police may be more willing to seize placards that are being misused, said Bill Bogdan, disability liaison for White's office. LICENSE PLATES The cost of license plates is going up. House Bill 255 increases the price of plates for passenger cars and small trucks from $79 a year to $99. It was part of a package of funding proposals to pay for the program of building new roads and bridges that was approved last year. People whose plates expire in January are already getting renewal notices from Secretary of State Jesse White that require the higher fees. White spokesman Henry Haupt said the renewals contain a "little notice" from the office explaining the fee increase. Veterans will be able to get one free set of Disabled Veteran specialty license plates by proving only partial, rather than full, disability under House Bill 52. Illinois already has a glut of specialty license plates in which people pay a premium for a specially designed plate that honors a program or institution. Extra money from the plates goes to support those programs and institutions. Lawmakers created four more of the plates last year. House Bill 353 authorized a Distinguished Flying Cross plate while House bill 2625 created two plates, one for Teamsters and one for the United Auto Workers. Operation Iraqi Freedom license plates will also be available (House Bill 853). ETHICS High-profile limits on campaign contributions to state politicians don't go into effect just yet, but other ethics provisions take effect Jan. 1. Senate Bill 54 changes the process by which ethics investigations are conducted, something that is supposed to ensure that investigations do not get covered up. It requires that the results of ethics investigations be made public if the investigation results in a state employee being fired or suspended for at least three days. Previously, the results of investigations were confidential. Lobbyists must now go through the same ethics training as state workers. They must report their spending more frequently and must pay higher fees for the privilege of lobbying in the state. Those fees, however, are now the subject of a lawsuit. The bill also adds more protections for whistleblowers who report illegal activities and strengthens so-called revolving door provisions that affect state employees in jobs that award contracts who then move to private sector jobs. Lawmakers also did an extensive rewrite of the state's Freedom of Information Act (Senate Bill 189), which is designed to make public documents public. It requires public bodies to more quickly respond to requests made under the act. It limits the cases under which governments can reject information requests and it for the first time allows fines to be imposed if a governmental unit deliberately violates the law. It also puts limits on how much governments can charge for copies of documents to end the practice of hiding documents behind excessive fees. School districts must provide salary and benefit information about the district superintendent, administrators and teachers to the state board of education each year. The information is available to the public. (House Bill 2235) CRIMINAL LAW Once again, lawmakers targeted sex offenders when they were looking to toughen the state's criminal code. In House Bill 1314, convicted sex offenders are prohibited from accessing social networking Internet sites as long as they are required to register under the state's Sex Offender Registration Act. Also, convicted sex offenders are prohibited from using computer software to delete information on any computer used by the offender while on mandatory supervised release, probation or supervision. (House Bill 550) Under House Bill 3991, it becomes mandatory rather than discretionary to revoke the Firearm Owners Identification Card of a person who is the subject of an order or protection. Lawmakers also increased the penalty for carrying a firearm or dangerous weapon on public transportation (House Bill 867) and increased the penalties for giving or selling a firearm to a convicted felon (House Bill 1032). MISCELLANEOUS Lawmakers created a grab back of other legislation that takes effect Jan. 1. Native Americans will get an exemption from the indoor smoking ban for their religious services and rituals through Senate Bill 1685. Sullivan sponsored the measure. He said a Native American living in his district goes to schools and other functions to demonstrate Native American culture and rituals, some of which involve smoking. The bill brings Illinois' smoking ban in line with federal law, he said. American flags flown at state and local government buildings in Illinois must now be made in America under House Bill 1332. Bowling alleys that post warning signs about the dangers of slippery bowling shoes will get some immunity from lawsuits under Senate Bill 1335. Rep. Frank Mautino, D-Spring Valley, said bowling centers began posting signs after the indoor smoking ban went into effect to keep people from wearing bowling shoes outdoors while they smoked. The shoes can become slippery. He said bowling establishments will now have the same protections as roller skating rinks. Dentists who administer anesthesia will now have to have automated external defibrillators on hand (House Bill 921). Schools will have to add Mexican-American history to their curricula (Senate Bill 1557) as well as the history of disabilities and people with disabilities (House Bill 1035). OBSERVANCES There are federal legal holidays that bring with them a much-welcomed day off of work, like Christmas, New Year's Day and the like. Illinois has Lincoln's birthday, which may or may not get someone a day of leisure. And then there are commemorative holidays. They may honor someone notable or bring attention to an issue or cause. Lawmakers are eager to add them to the calendar. Feb. 5 will now be Adlai Stevenson Day in Illinois. He was a Bloomington native who twice ran for president and lost to Dwight Eisenhower. He also served as the country's ambassador to the United Nations (House Bill 50). April will now be Parkinson's Awareness Month (House Bill 760). House Bill 2644 designates two observances for law enforcement. May 15 will be National Peace Officers Day, while the first Thursday of May is designated Peace Officers Memorial Day. The second Sunday in June will officially be known as Children's Day (House Bill 2593). House Bill 2506 designates September as Brain Aneurysm Awareness Month, while House Bill 2505 proclaims September to also be Ovarian and Prostate Awareness Month. The last Sunday in September becomes Gold Star Mothers' Day in honor of mothers who have lost children in the military. It previously was in August. (House Bill 3663)
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| Bechtler throws open its doors (and it's free) - CharlotteObserver.com Posted: 01 Jan 2010 07:16 PM PST When the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art finally opens its doors to the public at noon today, anyone can enter for free. For one day, it's free to gaze upon works by Alberto Giacometti, Pablo Picasso, Alexander Calder and Joan Miró, to name a few. For one day, it's free to stand in that 10,000-square-foot main gallery, the one that seems to float in the air over a South Tryon sidewalk, and give a high-five to architectural bravado. It's also free to make history. Visitors will christen the only museum in the Southeast dedicated to 20th-century modern art. They'll tour only the second structure in the United States to be designed by internationally renowned Swiss architect Mario Botta. And after seven years of anticipation, they'll at last see the jewels of a 1,400-plus piece art collection that now belongs to the city, thanks to the generosity of a single family. The late Hans and Bessie Bechtler, as they amassed their fortune in air-filtration technology, filled their Switzerland homes and offices with this artwork, befriended important artists of the mid-1900s, hung out in their studios and shared meals in their homes. After inheriting the works in 2001, their son, Andreas, offered the works to Charlotte. For all of those reasons, not counting the mirrored "Firebird" outdoor statue that is becoming a South Tryon Street landmark, the Bechtler's opening brings the Wells Fargo Cultural Campus to a new level. It's the third of four arts organizations to open there, following the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture and the Knight Theater. The Mint Museum Uptown opens this fall. "It's a relief," says Andreas Bechtler, who calls himself a "shepherd" of the family artworks. Friendships are striking To find a larger Modern art collection, you could visit the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, but the Bechtler stands out for its family friendships with the artists. Not only is there a Giacometti sculpture, but there is also a heartfelt thank-you note to Hans for helping found the Alberto Giacometti Foundation in Switzerland. Not only is there a Miró, but there is also a towel from his studio. Not only a Warhol portrait of Marilyn Monroe, but also of the Bechtler family. And while not a comprehensive survey of modern art - a term that covers many movements from the 1860s to 1970s - the collection teaches tender lessons about what it means to live with and love art. Today's activities start at 11:40 a.m. with remarks by museum President John Boyer, Bechtler and others, and a ribbon cutting. Doors open at noon. Guided tours and audio tours will be available until 5p.m. Though construction of the building began in 2007, the countdown this week filled the galleries with frenzy. Lighting technicians arrived Monday to check spotlights. Tuesday docents rehearsed remarks, and architect Botta flew in. Wednesday, workers soaped down "Firebird," stocked the store, and refinished the concrete floors. Thursday, the red carpet arrived for the New Year's Eve gala along with orchids, lobster canapés and costumed performers. Five hundred guests dined, danced and got a $200-a-person preview. Today you can't beat the price. It helps to know that each of the museum's four floors has a purpose. The first, with its café, store and ticket desk, provides a transition from the outside world, Boyer says. But here you will find Warhol's Bechtler portraits, your first broad clue to the family friendships. The second floor honors the Bechtlers' relationship with Swiss sculptor Jean Tinguely and his wife, French-American sculptor Niki de Saint Phalle. The third spotlights Giacometti and shows how the Bechtlers collected one artist's works across many media: sculpture, painting, drawing and jewelry. The cantilevered fourth-floor main gallery contains collection highlights, starting with a bright, splashy Sam Francis watercolor and ending with the Edgar Degas pastel bather. In between are Jasper Johns, Ben Nicholson, Max Ernst, Paul Klee, Picasso, Calder, Le Corbusier, Miró and Nicolas de Staël. Modern art's diverse movements are here, from Impressionism to Cubism to Abstract Expressionism to Pop Art, but the Bechtlers' deepest holdings came from mid-century Europeans. After their first purchase of the Degas pastel in the early 1940s, the young couple turned their focus to living artists. Artists mentored young teen When the Bechtlers bought a summer home in Ascona, Switzerland - an international artists' haven that also attracted such luminaries as Hermann Hesse, Carl Jung and Isadora Duncan in their time - they lived near the studios of the Englishman Ben Nicholson, Julius Bissier of Germany and the Italian Italo Valenti. All of them mentored the teenage Andreas in his budding artwork. Andreas went on to earn a doctorate in economics and work in the family business, Pneumafil, which brought him to Charlotte. By the time he inherited the family collection in 2001 (half went to his sister, Dany), the machinery of timing and vision was in motion. Bechtler already planned to spend up to $16 million to build a museum on Mountain Island Lake and had hired Botta. At the same time, the Arts & Science Council was updating its 25-year cultural plan for the city, and Wachovia (now Wells Fargo) wanted a new office tower. City leaders, led by Foundation for the Carolinas President and CEO Michael Marsicano, got wind of the collection and asked Bechtler to put it uptown. The ASC, city and Wachovia envisioned today's cultural campus and hammered out an innovative funding plan that included Wachovia agreeing to manage construction, $148 million from the public sector, and a private $83 million campaign run by ASC. The ASC also is funding the Bechtler with a $255,000 operating grant in 2009-2010. The artworks themselves were entrusted to the city through the Bechtler Collection Preservation Foundation, which is separate from the museum foundation. Leaders have not revealed the collection's value, but they were required to assure the city it would be worth at least $20 million. Sotheby's took one look and said no problem, and the preservation foundation now has the works insured for more than $60 million, says museum board secretary Robert Lilien. However, the $20 million building designed by Botta is the largest work of art in the collection, Boyer says. The only other Botta building in the United States is the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, but Botta structures can be found worldwide from Germany to Japan to Israel to Bolivia. Built with local architects David Wagner and Michael Murray, it is distinguished from uptown's forest of glassy skyscrapers by its warm terra cotta exterior and its cantilevered fourth floor. Beginning today, that's where you can see works that have never before been seen in a public exhibit in the United States. And, you can imagine what it must have been like to grow up in a family who hung Le Corbusier over the mantel, to climb on a Germaine Richier bronze statue in your garden, or have Giacometti draw your portrait for a birthday greeting. It's all here. And beginning today, Andreas Bechtler, who serves on the board, says he will have no role in putting together exhibits. After taking his Swiss family members on a tour this week, dancing in the New Year at the gallery he made possible, and snipping the ribbon today, he'll spend more time playing the keyboard and making his own artwork back at Mountain Island Lake. Beginning today, he says with humor, "I can go back to minding my own business." Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
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