By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
The CIA isn’t exactly open about its operations for obvious reasons.
But the intelligence agency has another secret – a large collection of art inside its headquarters in Langley, Virginia.
CNN reports that an Oregon artist has been trying to finding out what paintings are on the walls of the fortified building for seven years, but she hasn’t been able to get any answers.
“My interest in the project began in 2008,” 42-year-old Joby Barron told CNN via e-mail. “I came across a Taryn Simon photograph from her series ‘American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar.’ The photo was of two abstract paintings in the CIA headquarters in Langley, VA. I was instantly intrigued — why did the CIA have these pieces? I wondered what other art they might have and if it was available to the public.”
What Barron knows is that an art-collected named Vincent Melzac offered to loan his collection to the CIA during secret discussions.
