Maggie Adams of Suwanee and Nathan Sublett of Sugar Hill inside the High Museum of Art's new exhibition of portraits by Robert Weingarten, "The Portrait Unbound." The portrait before them: Sandra Day O'Connor. AJC photos by Jamie Gumbrecht

You can almost make a game of your walk through “The Portrait Unbound,” a new exhibition of portraits at the High Museum of Art that opens Jan. 23.

What do a red wagon and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial have in common? Colin Powell.

An American flag, an old airplane, a spacecraft? Buzz Aldrin.

A silhouette from “The Color Purple” and a line of Grammys? Quincy Jones.

The digital images, photographed, layered and manipulated by California artist Robert Weingarten, are his answer to the question of whether you can make a portrait of a person without using their image. He signed on high-profile subjects — Mikhail Baryshnikov, Jane Goodall, Billy Graham, Sandra Day O’Connor, Steven Sondheim — and asked for a list of objects that represent them. …

Continue reading PHOTOS: First look at ‘The Portrait Unbound,’ photos by Robert Weingarten, at High Museum January 23-May 30 »

A few days ago, we published a motivational list of 12 thing to try in Atlanta this year. It’s a good list, but many of the activities or ideas that have been around a long time. Don’t take them for granted, but there’s no time limit on most of them.

But last Sunday, we published the blockbusters — “10 Atlanta attractions for 2010.” This list features the brand-new, the short-term, the long-awaited and the one-night-only, from an exhibition about Dr. Seuss, to the new bottlenose dolphins coming to Georgia Aquarium, to a  Bela Fleck concert, to a the Atlanta Botanical Garden’s canopy walk opening.

The item coming soonest is the unveiling of 140-foot  “Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Mural,” which will be behind the Martin Luther King Jr. Natatorium facing the Martin Luther King Jr. National History Site visitors center. It was designed by Morehouse College instructor Louis Delsarte and will be dedicated at 2 p.m. Jan. 17.

This is a solid list to guide your calendar, but I’m …

Continue reading 10 can’t-miss Atlanta attractions for 2010 »

Princess Diana's wedding dress, with its 25-foot train, will be on display at the Atlanta Civic Center.

Atlanta will be the second and final stop in the United States for an exhibition about Princess Diana, “Diana: A Celebration.”

This is a strong follow up for the Atlanta Civic Center, which housed the blockbuster “America I AM” exhibition last year, and a popular King Tut exhibition before that.

Here’s a look at what visitors can expect to see, courtesy of a story by AJCer Howard Pousner:

Nine galleries will hold more than 150 objects, including Diana’s royal wedding gown, 28 designer dresses, diamond tiaras and the original text of  her brother Earl Spencer’s tribute to his sister at her Westminster Abbey funeral. …

The Royal Wedding gallery features her gown, 25-foot-train, diamond tiara, veil, shoes and parasol. The exhibit also includes portraits of her ancestors, family heirlooms and jewelry, paintings, home movies filmed by her father, news video, photos and …

Continue reading Princess Diana exhibit to open in Atlanta January 23 »

Martinis and IMAX returns on Jan. 8. AJC file photo

After taking the month of December off, Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s popular Martinis and IMAX nights return Friday to starts its 2010 season of cocktails and movies.

This Friday’s movie selections include the double feature “Van Gogh: Brush with Genius” with “The Old Man and the Sea” at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. or “Wild Ocean” at 7 p.m. and 9:15 p.m.

The night at the museum (for grown-ups!) starts an hour later and ends an hour later this year. Fernbank’s announcement also says it’ll have a steady stream of live music and DJs to keep music going the entire time.

Want to go? Martinis and IMAX. 6:30-11 p.m. every Friday. $12 for adults, $11 for students, $7 for members for admission and movie ticket, $7 cover without movie ticket. Fernbank Museum of Natural History, 767 Clifton Road N.E., Atlanta. 404-929-6400, www.fernbankmuseum.org.

• For those who like the IMAX, but not so much the martini, Atlanta Bargain Hunter has a

Continue reading Fernbank Museum’s Martinis & IMAX returns January 8 »

The Planetarium at Tellus Northwest Georgia Science Museum got its 100,000 visitor this week. AJC/Jamie Gumbrecht

It’s been a busy year for the Tellus Northwest Georgia Science Museum in Cartersville. It opened in January, announced its Smithsonian Affiliate status in September and has already surpassed expectations for first-year attendance.

Museum officials said this week they expect the 120,000-square foot museum to hit the 200,000-visitor mark for the year — 50,000 more than expected. Just this week, a 7 year-old visiting with his family became the 100,000 visitor to the 120-seat planetarium inside the museum.

I’ve written before about the museum before, but never given the planetarium the attention it deserves: it offers four different shows throughout the day, with topics ranging from space travel, to the sun, to an animated children’s show, to “Mystery of the Christmas Star,” a show that will run through the holidays. New shows debut every few months.

Now that holiday …

Continue reading Tellus Museum and planetarium a hit with visitors »

You can see the High Museum of Art's Leonardo da Vinci exhibit, photographed as it was being installed, for free — if you're a Bank of America customer or a Fulton County resident. AJC file photo

Fewer Atlanta museums will be free to Bank of America customers through the “Museums on Us” program in 2010.

The program allows the millions of Bank of America debit, credit and ATM cardholders to visit more than 100 museums around the United States for free during a designated weekend each month.

When the program renews again in 2010, cardholders will still be able to get free admission to the Atlanta History Center, High Museum of Art and Millennium Gate Museum. That’s three fewer than in 2009, when the free weekends also included the Atlanta Botanical Garden, Fernbank Museum of Natural History and Zoo Atlanta.

Said Diane Wagner from Bank of America: “It is cyclical, they’ve chosen not to participate. We’re exploring some other opportunities with other organizations. It changes …

Continue reading Fewer free admissions for BoA’s ‘Museums on Us’ in 2010 »

"The Allure of the Automobile" will include this 1937 Cadillac V16 "World's Fair" Aero-Dynamic Coupe. The exhibition opens in March, 2010. Photo courtesy High Museum.

Atlanta’s High Museum of Art released this week a list of exhibitions opening in 2010 and 2011, including a few new announcements — an exhibition of work by surrealist painter Salvador Dalí and a retrospective of work by  “Decisive Moment” photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson.

Here’s the roundup:

Jan. 23-May 30, 2010: “The Portrait Unbound: Photographs by Robert Weingarten“
Next month, the high will premier 21 large portraits of American icons photographed by California-based photorapher Robert Weingarten

March 21-June 20, 2010: “The Allure of the Automobile“
Auto becomes art when 18 rare vehicles from the 1930s to the 1960s go on display. This exhibit, organized by the High, considers history, design and technical evolution of automobiles from Bugatti, Jaguar, Porsche and others.

June 5-Aug. 29, 2010: …

Continue reading Salvador Dalí and more new exhibitions at High Museum »

DeLuxe by artist Ellen Gallagher is in Spelman Museum's "Undercover" exhibition.

The exhibition is closed, but there’s one more chance to see Spelman Museum’s “Undercover: Performing and Transforming Black Female Identities” this week.

Why?

• Because the Spelman Museum is a fantastic space to peruse, but easy to miss if you’re not often on campus.
• Because the show was curated by locals:  Spelman Museum director Andrea Barnwell Brownlee and Atlantan Karen Comer Lowe.
• Because its ideas are worth pondering and discussing, especially in Atlanta and the Atlanta University Center.
• Because this exhibition involves myriad forms and media, enough to surprise and satisfy a variety of artistic interests.
• Because critic Catherine Fox called it “terrific” and “exemplary,”  explaining that “ideas bounce and ricochet off one another with the energy of a handball game.”
• Because it’s gone for good after the closing reception on Dec. 10. On to another show next semester!

Here’s a video tour …

Continue reading One more night see Spelman Museum’s ‘Undercover’ »

A gloATL dancer performs at Le Flash in Castleberry Hill. The dance company performs "Crea" inside the High Museum of Art on Dec. 10, 2009. AJC file photo

Two weeks away from Christmas, you’d think the most accessible dance performances would involve nutcrackers and eye-high kicks, but I’ll argue for another: “Crea” by gloATL.

Stallings

If it’s anything like performances by the dance company earlier this year, it won’t be anything you can call familiar. I don’t expect that we’ll recognize a signature move or a traditional costume. I just love how creator-choreographer Lauri Stallings creates art that fits into spaces we already know, or think we know — the Woodruff Arts Center lawn, the streets of Castleberry Hill and this time, the Robinson Atrium inside the High Museum of Art. Stages and auditoriums are rightfully beloved spaces, but they’re special occasion spaces, places that very few experience in their day-to-day lives. Robinson Atrium is hardly a hang-out, but it’s the …

Continue reading gloATL dances again with ‘Crea’ at Woodruff Arts Center »

Image courtesy the Georgia Music Hall of Fame.

Despite budget cuts, huge expenses and fewer-than-expected visitors, the Georgia Music Hall of Fame will stay open, and stay right where it is.

The Music Hall faced the possibility of closing; it never brought in as much money as expected and the state could no longer afford to cover its expenses. Today was the deadline to raise $225,000 to keep the doors open. They’ve raised $139,000 and made cuts to more than make up the rest, AJCer Howard Pousner reports.

Although some suggested moving the Hall to Atlanta, where attendance would likely be greater, the public and private support holds them to Macon, said Jim Gillis, chairman of the state hall of fame authority.

From Howard’s article:

“We’ve seen a lot of people talk about trying to move the hall to Atlanta, and while that would most likely lead to some larger attendance numbers, we feel the overall cost of moving and then raising money to operate [would be greater] than raising …

Continue reading Georgia Music Hall of Fame: staying open, and in Macon »