– Hopper's "Nighthawks" Diner Discovered: In a long-term investigation to figure out once and for all the location that inspired Edward Hopper's most iconic work, "Nighthawks," writer Christopher Bonanos discovered that the glass-walled corner diner is almost certainly a composite of about four different locations, including Crawford Lunch, a restaurant at the corner of 12th Street and Greenwich Avenue — near Hopper's Washington Square home — and the cigar shop formerly located in the wedge-shaped tip of the Flatiron Building. "People want to find the real diner," Whitney Museum curator Carter Foster said, "but Hopper was a synthesizer." [NYMag]
– Vatican's Venice Plans Revealed: For its first-ever presentation at the Venice Biennale, the Vatican is organizing the exhibition "Creation, Un-Creation, Re-Creation," for which the papacy's culture minister Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi has commissioned three (male) artists to respond to the title's tripartite theme, while Italian painter Tano Festa's 20th-century take on Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling will greet visitors to the papal pavilion. Milanese collective Studio Azzurro will take up the "Creation" section, followed by photographer Josef Koudelka tackling "Un-Creation," and Australian painter Lawrence Carroll working on "Re-Creation." [AP, ARTINFO]
– China Destroying Ancient Tibetan Capital: Chinese authorities are in the midst of dismantling the most sacred sites in the ancient Tibetan capital Lhasa as part of a project to transform the city into a tourist destination. Sites being demolished include a number of major Buddhist sites, including the holiest one in Tibet, Jokhang Temple, a monastery that was founded in the 7th century and houses a priceless collection of about 800 sculptures and thousands of painted scrolls. [The Tibet Post]
– Dame Dash Exhibits Kids' Art: Entrepreneur Damon Dash, Jay-Z's former business partner and now the director of Lower East Side gallery Poppington, is looking for fresh young talents — as in fifth-, fourth-, and third-grade talents. His latest exhibition features 13 works by students of the Art School in Brooklyn, each priced at $300 — though no collectors have acquired the emerging artists' work, yet. "I do anything for the kids," Dash said. "I just want to hang with cool people. Even if it’s cool little kids." [Daily News]
– Palestinian Museum's Program Unveiled: Late next year the new Palestinian Museum is due to open in Birzeit after the $11-million building's first stones were laid during a ceremony last month. The museum will initially open with a 32,000-square-foot building including galleries and an amphitheater, before expanding to nearly 100,000 square feet within a decade. "The Palestinian Museum is a political symbol only in so far that it celebrates the accomplishments of the Palestinian people in arts and culture, and that it affirms the presence of Palestinians as a people who have agency, who are productive, who shape their own histories," said director Jack Persekian. "[The museum] is political in the sense that it provides spaces and opportunities for Palestinians to shape their own historical narrative and to engage with it." [TAN]
– U.K.'s First Professional Female Artist Gets Tate Debut: As part of its comprehensive rehanging of its painting collection into a chronological display chronicling 500 years of British art, Tate Britain will unveil a pair of portraits by Mary Beale (1633-1699), who is considered to be the first commercially successful female artist in the U.K. The two paintings, which show the artist's son Bartholomew, were discovered by dealer and art historian James Mulraine in a second-hand store in Paris. [Telegraph]
– Collectors Famished for Celebrity Cakes: The market is ravenous for the leftover birthday and wedding cakes from historical events, like the 1981 nuptials of Prince Charles and Lady Diana, or the frosted presidential seal from John F. Kennedy's 1962 birthday celebrations — the latter of which fetched $6,572 at a Heritage Auctions sale in Dallas in 2010. "It’s my holy grail," said Barbara Rusch, a Queen Victoria memorabilia collector who has been trying to buy a slice of the fruit cake from the monarch's 1840 wedding for the past 20 years. [NYT]
– London Tower Becomes a Gallery: Yesterday an exhibition of contemporary art opened in one of the U.K.'s most visited historic attractions, London Tower, with works by 19 artists including Marcel Broodthaers, Hiroshi Sugimoto, James Turrell, and, for good measure, Albrecht Dürer. The exhibition — titled "Dark to Light," on view through May 23, and featuring some works for sale while others are on loan — was the brainchild of art advisor Laurence Dreyfus, with some help from British collector Karen Marr, whose father is the tower's on-site doctor. [TAN]
– Venice Biennale's International Jury Named: The jurors who will bestow the three major prizes during this year's Venice Biennale— one for best national presentation, another for the best artist in Massimiliano Gioni's exhibition "The Encyclopedic Palace," and an emerging artist award — will be Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros curator Sofía Hernández Chong Cuy, Tate Liverpool artistic director Francesco Manacorda, Tate curator Jessica Morgan (who will be the jury president), independent curator Bisi Silva, and Hammer Museum curator Ali Subotnick. [AiA]
– Neighbors Divided Over Chris Brown Murals: A series of monster murals that recording and visual artist Chris Brown has painted on the exterior walls of his Hollywood Hills estate has pitted his neighbors in the exclusive Los Angeles nabe against one another, most feeling nothing but contempt for the crooner's creepy street art, while at least a few locals like them. "My kids think they're really cool," said Melissa Harrington, who has 6-year-old twins. "They're pretty excited about it… Don't just persecute the guy." [LATimes]
ALSO ON ARTINFO
Leonardo DiCaprio's Wildlife Charity Auction Raises $38.5 Million at Christie's
Art Startup Gertrude Bets on Plugging Collectors Into Pop-Up Salons
Jeremy Deller on His Venice Biennale Pavilion and "People as an Artistic Medium"
A Sneak Peek at Highlights From Art Basel Hong Kong, From Murakami to Masriadi
VIDEO: ABBA Museum Opens in Stockholm
VIDEO: Brooklyn Historic Cemetery Celebrates 175 Years with Exhibit
For breaking news throughout the day, check our blog IN THE AIR.