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In The Limelight For February 24, 2011: National Arts News

Here's a look at what's in the limelight for the week of February 21 in national arts news.



Jasper Johns Awarded Presidential Medal Of Freedom



The artist Jasper Johns was one of fifteen honorees who were given the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama in a ceremony at the White House last week. The 81-year-old painter, who is associated with the Abstract Expressionist and Pop art movements of the 1950s and ‘60s, is known for his appropriation of popular iconography in painting, most notably his deceptively simple paintings of the American flag. Jasper Johns is the first visual artist to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom since Gerald Ford awarded it to Alexander Calder posthumously, 34 years ago. Others honored with the medal this year include Yo-Yo Ma, George W. Bush, and Warren Buffett.



Met's New Operatic Production To Embrace 3-D Technology



New York's Metropolitan Opera has used high-definition video before, with their Met in HD programs, but now the company is taking its next step into the digital realm. Next season's production of Richard Wagner's Siegfried, the third opera in the Ring Cycle, staged by Robert Lepage, will feature 3-D projections as part of the set.



St. Louis Sues To Keep Mummy



The St. Louis Art Museum filed a federal lawsuit last week asking a judge to rule that it might legally keep the 3,200-year-old mask of an Egyptian mummy which Egyptian authorities want back. The Ka-Nefer-Nefer mask belonged to an Egyptian noblewoman in the court of Ramses II. Her mask has been on display in St. Louis since 1998, when it was purchased from an American art dealer, but Egyptian antiquities officials claim it was stolen sometime in the early ‘90s from the storage room near the pyramid of Saqarra, where it was excavated along with Ka-Nefer-Nefer's mummified body in 1952. The lawsuit points to the Tariff Act of 1930, which states that stolen or smuggled property can be legally seized only within five years of its theft, or two years after the theft is discovered. It has been five years since the Egyptian officials demanded the mask be given back.



Supercomputer Needs Geography Lessons



The IBM supercomputer named Watson took on the Daily Double last week in the second of its three games of Jeopardy against the two reigning champions. Watson started out strong, beating the humans to the buzzer in 24 of thirty Double Jeopardy questions, but in the final round it began to lag. In the category "U.S. Cities," Watson was given the clue, "Its largest airport is named for a World War II hero; its second largest for a World War II battle." The correct answer was Chicago, but Watson answered… Toronto. It was an odd mistake for the usually indomitable machine, but Watson still came out on top, winning over $24,600 more than Brad Rutter, the human being who took second-place. The game will be aired on CBS



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