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Blog Posts: March 2010

Podcast: Interview with Peter Solmssen about the First King Tut Exhibition

Posted by Andrew Fox on March 18, 2010

In celebration of the final days of Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs, we present an interview with Alameda resident Peter Solmssen about his work with the original King Tut exhibition in the 1970s.

During that time, Mr. Solmssen served in the State Department as deputy ambassador-at-large for cultural affairs, and played an instrumental role in bringing Treasures of Tutanhkamun to the United States.

For this podcast, he took some time out to share some of his favorite experiences and anecdotes from his work with the exhibition, which appeared at the de Young in 1979.

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Michael Ondaatje at the de Young

Posted by Anonymous on March 11, 2010

michael ondaatje, author, reading“Coming Through Slaughter changed my life.” That is the answer I received from a friend, writer and fan of Michael Ondaatje. To aspiring authors there is no greater admiration. My only experience with Ondaatje thus far had been with the film, The English Patient, based on Ondaatje’s brilliant and harrowing novel of love in the midst of World War II. As is often claimed, the book was better than the movie, an Academy Award-winning Best Picture often described as a masterpiece. Hard to believe, yet Ondaatje proved me wrong. Having written memoirs, books of poetry, and novels, he has proven himself to be an exceptional and versatile writer. And always, beneath the novelist, in the foundations and soul of his writing, lies a poet.

His latest work, Divisadero, tells the story of families torn apart. By this description from guest reviewer Jhumpa Lahiri, Ondaatje ascribes his trademark of taking a story and unfolding the layers and intricacies of life to reveal its true character. “Every sign of the author's genius is here: the searing imagery, the incandescent writing, the calm probing of life's most turbulent and devastating experiences,” explains Jhumpa Lahiri.

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A Word From Joe, the de Young's March Artist-in-Residence

Posted by Anonymous on March 5, 2010

Making quilts for most of my life, I have learned my way around certain parts of the world, the quilt world especially. What happens is that you fly to some conference site, or some town with a large quilt group, give a talk, teach a class, schmooze with the local quilters and fly home. Sometimes I teach four or five days worth of classes or give a series of lectures. None of it is like this residency at the de Young. At the moment I’m feeling a little overwhelmed, even though the staff at the museum has done everything they could to smooth the way and make me feel welcomed.

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