Thursday's Art Notes

_People look at the work of Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota entitled 'Dialogue from DNA,' on July 20, 2011 in Melle, western France, as part of the 5th International Biennial of Contemporary Art in Melle running until September 18. Photo by Alain Jocard/ AFP/ Getty Images_ * A fugitive Serbian war criminal was caught after police connected him to a stolen Modigliani painting, via "Reuters":http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/20/us-finearts-serbia-modigliani-idUSTRE76J41920110720. * The recent upturn in graffiti also applies to shiekhs. A member of Saudi Arabia's ruling family ordered his name written in sand on an island so large it is visible in space, via "Forbes":http://blogs.forbes.com/christopherhelman/2011/07/20/abu-dhabi-oil-sheikh-writes-his-name-in-the-sand-two-miles-wide/. * The man who designed the "Wheel of Fortune" set piece, Ed Flesh, died in California at age 79, via "The New York Times":http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/21/arts/television/ed-flesh-designed-wheel-of-fortune-dies-at-79.html. And Alex Steinweiss, the man who came up with the idea of creating unique album art, passed away at 94 in Florida, via "The New York Times":http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/20/business/media/alex-steinweiss-originator-of-artistic-album-covers-dies-at-94.html. * The Wall Street Journal "looks back at":http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304066504576345613083296654.html the destruction ten years ago of Afghanistan's monumental Buddhist statues.