This week in art news: Ada's books, Mahler's 6th symphony, and more!

In a Rediscovered Trove of Art, a Triumph Over the Nazis’ Will

“Otto Dix, in a half-light, glowers from a self-portrait, jaw set, puffing on a cigar, looking infuriated. “What took so long?” he seems to ask, youthful as ever. They keep coming back, these works of art lost to the Nazis, like bottles washed ashore. Three years ago, a small stash of sculptures turned up when a front-loader was digging a new subway station in Berlin.” – Michael Kimmelman, The New York Times | November 5, 2013

The Sweet Science: Ada’s Technical Books Is Beautiful, Smart, and Ready to Meet You

“This could very well be the new most beautiful bookstore in Seattle. Ada’s Technical Books, the science-obsessed bookshop that’s been thriving at the very end of Broadway for three and a half years now, is moving a few blocks up the hill to the old Horizon Books house on 15th Avenue East, with a grand opening party on Saturday, November 2. Owners David and Danielle Hulton bought the house last May and have been renovating it ever since.” – Paul Constant, The Stranger | October 30, 2013

Photo by Kelly O, The Stranger

The Balancing Act: The Affordable Art Fair Fights for a Future in Seattle

“The Affordable Art Fair in Seattle—the only US location for the UK-based franchise besides New York—survived its first year, and round two is upon us. Best about last year: The artists represented by galleries in Seattle and Portland looked great, particularly compared to the pap that came from elsewhere. No matter how little bad art costs, it’s not affordable.” – Jen Graves, The Stranger | November 6, 2013

Hive Mind: Crystal Pite’s electric choreography is swarming Pacific Northwest Ballet

“When you’re a professional dancer, you never let on if the piece you’re working on is, well, Meh. In rehearsal, you have to sell it to the choreographer. Then out on stage, you can’t hint to an audience that what you’re performing isn’t anything but great. But Peter Boal, PNB artistic director, inadvertently overheard the following exchange one day.” – Florangela Davis, Crosscut | November 7, 2013

Mahler’s Sixth and ‘Thor’: More cowbell, more hammer

The Seattle Symphony is going to let loose on Mahler’s mighty Sixth Symphony tonight and Saturday. The Sixth, first performed in 1906 in a concert conducted by Gustav Mahler himself, isn’t on the Top 40 playlist of symphonies; this 80-minute work requires a large orchestra (all hands on deck — and that includes snare drum, triangles, cymbals, bells, and a very big hammer), a vigorous, rich brass section and, depending on what order the orchestra prefers, the big emotional swing between the third and fourth movements.” – Melissa Davis, The Seattle Times | November 7, 2013

New E Pike mural celebrates growing Movember movement

“In 2012, more than one million people participated in Movember – not no shave November but *mustache only* November – and they weren’t doing it to be coolly unkempt but rather promoting awareness of prostate cancer. This year’s Movember begins with a giant reminder of the cause Capitol Hill — a portrait-styled mural on Neumos facing E Pike. The in-progress work is slated to be wrapped up any minute now.” – Sebastian Garrett-Singh, Capitol Hill Seattle Blog | November 6, 2013

Photo by Nate Leese, CHS

Collecting  art  ignites  a  lifelong  romance  with  artists  and  their  work

“In 2008, Megumi Sasaki released the documentary Herb and Dorothy. It tells the story of a monumental collection of conceptual and minimalist art acquired by collector power-couple Herb and Dorothy Vogel over the course of decades. The twist: The Vogels are middle-class civil servants—a postal worker and a librarian—who lived in the same, snug New York City apartment for ages yet still managed to amass one of the era’s most important collections through sheer dedication to the art and artists they love.” – Amanda Mantiach, City Arts Magazine | October 29th, 2013

At the Henry: a glorious Ray K. Metzker photo retrospective

“Ray K. Metzker isn’t a name in American photography that elicits instant recognition.

But maybe he should be.

Metzker is primarily an urban photographer fascinated by city shadows, lights and infrastructure as they all intersect with fleeting human presence. Some of his most haunting shots are of single figures passing through geometries of urban light and shadow of which they’re unaware. Others use trick photography — multiple exposures, collage — to highlight the fuguelike complexity of urban landscapes.” – Michael Upchurch, The Seattle Times | November 5, 2013