In celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) will deliver a keynote address today at the Library of Congress.

A Hawaii native, Akaka earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Hawaii. Before his time in Congress, he served in World War II and spent 15 years as a teacher, vice principal and principal.

Akaka was elected to the House in 1976 and was appointed to the Senate in 1990 following the death of Sen. Spark Matsunaga (D).

Akaka will speak at 11 a.m. in the Mumford Room of the Library’s James Madison Building. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call (202) 707-5000.

NGA Acquires New Contemporary Works

Mussels, objectivity and hooks are just a few of the motifs found in the National Gallery of Art’s cache of recently acquired contemporary works.

Among the acquisitions is “Panneau de moules,” or Mussel Painting (1966), the first work by Belgian artist, filmmaker and poet Marcel Broodthaers to be acquired by the National Gallery. It is a three-dimensional work composed of mussel shells arranged on a square support. Also acquired is a rare, early grid-like piece by conceptual artist Sol LeWitt, which plays on the word “Objectivity” (1962); and “Hook” (1963), a Marcel Duchamp-invoking object sculpture of a hook in a lead box atop a vitrine by 1960s critic and artist Robert Morris.

Other works include Morris’ object sculpture “Untitled (The Letter)” (1964) and his drawing “Blind Time I” (1973), as well as “Untitled (2 Necklines),” a photography and installation piece by Lorna Simpson completed in 1989.

The acquisitions, made possible through funds provided by the National Gallery’s Collectors Committee, are scheduled to go on view in the East Building’s concourse galleries by early August.

— Jennifer Lash and Bree Hocking