Much the the dismay of many of the more conservative museum-goers in Madrid, a new exhibiton is opening with the intention to display artwork that will also be featured on condom packages. One of the most awaited pieces sports a picture of a sleeping David Beckham, sports star and model. The exhibition is called Tears of Eros and will include 119 works. Nothing is finalized yet, but plans are going smoothly thus far. The museum, the Thyssen-Bornemisza museum in Madrid, will be selling the condoms (that is, those with the works of art on them) in the gift shop. Baroness Thyssen is married to the founder of the museum and is supporting the project with all the enthusiasm of a beauty queen winning the grand prize (which she once did). "I don't see why anyone should be scandalised," she said the the press. "It is a way of bringing art and responsibility together." In fact, it is the hope of those in charge of the exhbition that having art on the packages will encourage people to buy, and subsequntly use, condoms. The museum believes that while perhaps it's not the first time condoms have been used in art, they can claim to be the first to use art to sell condoms. It is not certain when, or if, the exhibiton will open, but it promises to study "the close relationship between sexual desire and the death instinct" as well as other themes. Join discussion...

The Museum of Arts and Design is doing a three part "Materials and Process" series, with paper cutting being the most recent. Paper cutting is an intricate, if not too difficult art that is met with much enthusiasm and many different ideas. Join discussion...

Just recently Timothy Rub, museum director and chief executive of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, named Gail Harrity as the president of the museum. There has been no president since 1996, when Robert Montgomery Scott left. Ms. Harrity has been the chief operating officer of the museum since 1997. With this appointment she faces new challenges, that she looks forwards to meeting. One such challenge is the underground expansion of the museum that will cost more than $500 million. She recognizes that this will need to be a group effort in fund raising in these economically trying times, but sounds hopeful. Join discussion...

This article is about the opening night of Qatar's Museum of Islamic Art. The building is created out of white stone in a ziggurat type style. The Museum opened last November and all of the famous people in the modern islamic art scene showed up, even the extremely elderly architect that designed the building. The creation of the museum is a symbol of Qatar's attempt to establish itself as the fine arts hub of the middle east. The museum has all types of islamic art from all different time periods. Join discussion...

In the British Museum in London, there will be a new art exhibit on Islamic art. The art will be contempory and colorful, something that this museum is not known for. There will be four sections to the exhibit containing pieces from over 80 of todays Islamic artists represented. Join discussion...

My article is about a new art museum that was built in Qatar around last year. Not only does the museum contain collects of Islamic art, but the building itself is a piece of art because of its modern, yet still Islamic, style. It was designed by a 91 year old Chinese man named I.M. Pei, (who grew up in Hong Kong where my mom is from) and is also famous for designing the East building of the National Art Gallery in DC. Pei had to study Islamic culture before the museum was designed, and considers the museum itself a piece of sculpture. Join discussion...

Apparently, the Mona Lisa had left the Louvre for America and first arrived in the National Gallery of Art in 1963. Then, it had arrived in New York in the Metropolitan Museum. Dr. Hoving, a curator, had one day noticed the people in charge of the Mona Lisa running around the place with towels, and later that night it had been found that the sprinklers on the ceiling had managed to break the glass barrier and reach the painting. The museum declined to comment regarding the incident. Join discussion...

Robert Gumbiner, founder of Long Beach's Museum of Latin American art, died in the past month and a half and has left an endowment to the museum. The museum holds many of the works of art that he picked up in his travels throughout Latin America. Join discussion...

For too long, Latin America's 20th-century art has lacked a home to be appreciated and viewed. But not anymore, now that the Museum of Latin American Art in Buenos Aires opened. It includes 228 pieces by over 80 artists, including artists from Mexico, Uruguay, Brazil, Cuba and of course Argentina. Nearly every Latin American country and style over the past 100 years is represented. The artwork is displayed in chronological order, allowing a viewer to experience how various countries have influenced Latin American art over the years. Join discussion...

As part of the Venezuelan Culture Mission, Hugo Chavez has recently inaugurated the headquarters of a new Venezuelan National Art Gallery. Construction of this museum had been postponed for twenty years up until 2005, when the project was resumed. The gallery contains 7,000 works from four centuries, 700 of which are on display. This new effort to promote art shows that culture has been given special attention by the Venezuelan government for the first time in a long while. Join discussion...