“Sotheby’s will offer the only privately owned version of Edvard Munch’s haunting work The Scream at an auction in New York on May 2 where it expects to fetch over $80 million, the highest pre-sale value the auctioneer has ever put on a work of art.”
Month: February 2012
Can Society Get The Benefits Of Religion Without The Faith?
Alain de Botton: “How did religion once enhance the spirit of community? More practically, can secular society ever recover that spirit without returning to the theological principles that were entwined with it? I, for one, believe that it is possible to reclaim our sense of community – and that we can do so, moreover, without having to build upon a religious foundation.”
Monica Mason Looks Back At 54 Years With Royal Ballet
The retiring director of British dance’s flagship company remember highlights of her long career.
Edmonton Considers A New Performing Arts Centre
“The idea, recommended by Mayor Stephen Mandel’s arts visioning committee, last fall would see three theatres constructed with a total of 2,800 seats – 400 more than the Jubilee [Auditorium] – orchestra pits, rehearsal space and room in the wings.”
China Loosens Restrictions On Foreign Films
“China has agreed to ease restrictions on the number of foreign films shown there, and to increase the amount film studios can make from ticket sales. A quota of 20 foreign movies, which are mostly US exports, remains. A further 14 Imax or 3D films will be allowed.”
Ai Weiwei Documentary To Hit Theaters This Summer
“Alison Klayman’s documentary Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, an award-winning chronicle of that provocative Chinese artist who was detained by his country’s government for three months last year, has been acquired for North American distribution by Sundance Selects and will receive a theatrical release this summer.”
Cormac McCarthy’s Secret Life As Copy Editor
The author of All the Pretty Horses, The Road, and No Country for Old Men edited a new biography, by his friend Lawrence M. Krauss, of physicist Richard Feynman. McCarthy’s advice? Remove all exclamation points and semicolons.
Proposed Washington Law Would Require State To Sell Art To Fund Scholarships
“So how broke is the state of Washington? It’s so broke it could start selling off its art collection – including some masterpieces – and using the money to pay for low-income students to go to college.”
Where Women Orchestral Players Outnumber The Men: South Korea
“Of the 105 members of Seoul Philharmonic, women account for 65 members, or 62 percent. The ratio is even higher for the Bucheon Philharmonic Orchestra, where 63 of its 74 members are women, or 85 percent.” One Korean critic attributes the phenomenon to traditional Confucian gender roles.
When Facebook Is Part Of The Message
“There is a symbiotic relationship between message and medium, and that medium influences how the message is perceived. If a user posts that he or she just got married on Facebook, they are essentially encouraging all of their friends to accept and react to that status update on Facebook. The medium embodies this message – you are married, on Facebook.”