Since our last post, an interesting related twist in the art world has come to our attention.  Fifty years to the day (August 21, 1961) of the theft of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre, Goya’s “Portrait of the Duke of Wellington” was taken from London’s National Gallery.  The thief, Kempton Bunton, was outraged by the British government’s spending £140,000 to keep the painting from leaving Britain and falling into the clutches of an upstart American collector.  Just three weeks after its gallery debut, it was lifted and a ransom note delivered demanding the government pay for BBC licensing fees for the elderly.

Shortly after the painting went missing James Bond’s first film “Dr. No” was released.  In that film is a little-known reference to the missing Goya.  In the scene where Bond visits the Doctor’s Caribbean home, he spots a painting on an easel, the famous missing Goya and briefly admires it.

A scene that film trivia dreams are made of!

If you said no, you’re no doubt in the majority.

Sunday, August 21st, marks the 100^th anniversary of the theft of a painting wildly famous even in the pre-media saturated early 20^thcentury, from the Salon Carré of the Louvre.

On the morning of August 21, 1911, Vincenzo Peruggia walked into the Louvre alone and walked out with the Mona Lisa under his arm.  Surprisingly, it wasn’t until the next day that anyone actually realized for sure it was gone.  It remained missing for the following two years until it would surface when Mr. Peruggia attempted to sell it.

This all seems totally inconceivable in the media-saturated world of today and to us serves as a true point of reference of just how much things have changed in only 100 years.

Given our widespread musical tastes, we obviously went 8 for 8 on this test of lego album knowledge.  Try it yourself and let us know how YOU do…

from the guardian.co.uk

hi·a·tus [hahy-ey-tuhs] (noun)
a break or interruption in the continuity of a work, series, action, etc.

About a month ago, you read about our latest office challenge.  Now we present to you the results from what was heralded as one of our most memorable office happy hours.  The PBR flowed while the sweet sounds of Britney Spears and ABBA pumped through the lobby, and all the while we projected each music video on the big screen for easy viewing.

Pictured above: Winner Adam Jeckel with his $15 itunes prize for having the most correct guesses, with first losers Kira Broecker (2nd) and Dave Franke (3rd).

One of Studio Agoos Lovera’s Principals is a board member of the Mercer Museum in nearby Doylestown and attended the first of many opening events for their new wing.  The Museum is gearing up for the ultimate, public grand opening of the new $12.5 million, 13,000-square-foot wing on Saturday, June 18!!!  For anyone who doesn’t know, the Mercer Museum is one of three extraordinary buildings built in the early 20th century by historian and archaeologist Henry C. Mercer.   Mercer designed and built his vast museum in cast concrete to house the almost 30,000 item collection of objects he had assembled as a way to preserve the material of daily life in the early years of the development of America before it vanished as a result of the Industrial Revolution.

The museum’s debut exhibit “A World of Things: The Mercer Museum A-Z,” is a diverse sampling of the museum’s 40,000 piece collection including many objects that have rarely or never been exhibited.  For anyone in the area, the public opening is June 18, beginning with the ribbon-cutting at 10:15 am.  Events are planned throughout the day and the inaugural exhibit runs through November 27.

More information here:  http://www.mercermuseum.org/

Today saw the release of our latest office-wide challenge:  an exploration of the skeleton-filled closets of our staff.  Or more specifically, a catalog listing of our “eclectic” musical tastes.  The challenge was published as follows:

• Name a song or artist that everyone hates but you actually love.  Something you would consider a “guilty pleasure”, or would embarrassedly admit to liking.
  
• Name a song or artist that people would think you love, but you actually can’t stand.

Excited for the results?  So are we.  Stay tuned…

Can’t find something to color with?  Then ask to borrow something from this guy.  Only don’t expect anything other than black markers, because that’s his passion in life:   “building the most extensive collection of black markers in the world, and drawing each one.  To scale.”

His Black Marker B.I.B.L.E. is heading toward a very unique world record!

photos, interview, and story via Design Milk.

Avid readers and feeders will remember last year’s post on the ACE Mentor Program year-end finale.  Well, tomorrow afternoon (Tuesday, 5/10) is the big day for this year’s mentoring team, comprised of students from local Philadelphia high schools, including Constitution High, Friere Charter, Swenson Arts + Tech, and Girard College.

Our team’s final, group presentation takes place Tuesday, May 10, 2011 @ 4:00 pm, located at:

The School District of Philadelphia Administration Building
440 North Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA 19130

The event is free and open to the public.  See you there, as our team presents their adaptation of South Philadelphia’s “Philly Live” sports complex redevelopment project!

PS – This year, our team’s mentors came from area firms, including:  CB Development Services, Turner Construction, and Urban Engineers.  Thanks to their volunteers for all their hard work!