Quick Takes: N.Y. Phil names director

The New York Philharmonic has named a new executive director to tackle huge financial shortfalls at the nation’s oldest orchestra.

Orchestra officials announced Wednesday that Matthew VanBesien will succeed Zarin Mehta as the Philharmonic’s top administrator. Mehta, brother of conductor Zubin Mehta, is retiring.

VanBesien, a 42-year-old Missouri native, is currently the managing director of Australia’s Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. He started his music career as a French horn player for the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra.

The orchestra faces $24 million in unfunded pension liabilities, recurring deficits topping $1 million and the renovation of its artistic home, Avery Fisher Hall.

—Associated Press

Artist hangs his work in museum

Art student Andrzej Sobiepan didn’t want to wait decades for his work to appear in museums. So he took matters into his own hands, covertly hanging one of his paintings in a major Polish gallery.

By Wednesday, the young artist was getting plenty of attention after a nationwide TV channel reported on his stunt at the National Museum in the southwestern city of Wroclaw. He told reporters he hoped galleries would give more exhibition space to young artists as a result.

On Dec. 10, Sobiepan put his painting in a room with contemporary Polish art when a guard at the museum was looking the other way. Museum officials didn’t notice the new painting for three days.

Museum director Mariusz Hermansdorfer told TVN24 on Wednesday that the action revealed some security breaches but that he also considered it a “witty artistic happening.”

The museum has kept the painting on display — in its cafe. It will be offered for sale at Poland’s biggest charity auction on Sunday.

—Associated Press

Special-effects Oscar finalists

The Academy Award for visual effects is shaping up into a showdown among such heroes as Harry Potter, the X-Men, the Transformers and Captain America.

Oscar organizers announced 10 finalists for the visual-effects prize Wednesday. Among the contenders are “Captain America: The First Avenger,” “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2,” “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” and “X-Men: First Class.”

Also in the running: “Hugo,” “Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” “Real Steel,” “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” and “The Tree of Life.”

The academy’s visual-effects branch will watch excerpts from each film and select five nominees, which will be announced along with other Oscar nominations Jan. 24. The Oscar ceremony is set for Feb. 26.

—Associated Press

Author named to literary post

Acclaimed young adult and children’s book author Walter Dean Myers will be the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, the Library of Congress says.

Myers, 74, has five times won the Coretta Scott King Award, been honored with the Newbery Medal twice, was a finalist for the National Book Award and received the Printz Award for his bestselling book “Monster.”

Myers will be the third writer to hold the post and the first African American. Brought up in Harlem, where many of his stories take place, Myers never finished high school yet remained a dedicated reader. He has published more than 100 books.

The Library of Congress created the position to raise awareness about the importance of young people’s literature “as it relates to lifelong literacy, education and the development and betterment of the lives of young people.”

—Carolyn Kellogg

O’Connor back with husband

Sinéad O’Connor’s love life has another chapter: She announced on Twitter that she’s back with her husband of less than a month.

The Irish singer, who married Dublin substance-abuse counselor Barry Herridge in Las Vegas in early December, then announced their separation a couple of weeks later, has called off the divorce proceedings.

O’Connor says that she’s slowing things down with husband No. 4 and that they plan to act like boyfriend and girlfriend for a while.

—Patrick Kevin Day

Finally

New DJ: Damien Fahey, a former host of MTV’s “TRL,” joins the lineup at KBIG-FM (104.3) Thursday as DJ on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. He replaces Kari Steele, who moved to KOST-FM (103.5) in September.

Honors: The veteran writing team of Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick, creators of “thirtysomething” and numerous other works for TV and film, will receive a lifetime achievement award from the Writers Guild of America, West, on Feb. 19.

On view: The work of former Times columnist Al Martinez will be the subject of an exhibition at the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in San Marino from March 17 to June 25.