“Kahn, a conjuror of strange, monumental forms that have the gravity of ancient ruins, was one of the most influential architects of the 20th century – yet, even after that film, he is still one of the least known.” Why?” Says one architectural historian, “His strange, quasi-religious utterances were all rather irritating to me and my generation.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
The Art Of Arabic Calligraphy Gets A 21-Century Jolt
“The availability of diverse materials, and the use of new color schemes and modern styles are reviving this tradition and in the process helping to create a sense of cultural identity.”
San Francisco’s Fine Arts Museums On A Firing Binge?
Just since Thanksgiving, the Corporation of the Fine Arts Museums, which runs the DeYoung and Legion of Honor and has been without a director for 14 months, has dismissed the longtime staff photographer, the curator of European art, and both members of the exhibitions design department.
West End’s Top Theatre Operator Faces Strike Threat
“A string of West End hit shows, including the Lion King, Wicked and James McAvoy’s sellout performance as Macbeth, could be hit by strikes after talks broke down between the Ambassador Theatre Group and the union representing front and backstage staff.”
Huge Cache Of Palestinian Books Sits In Israel’s National Library
“[As] the battle over the creation of the Jewish state raged, teams of Israeli librarians and soldiers were collecting tens of thousands of books from Palestinian homes in Jerusalem, Haifa, Jaffa and elsewhere … For Israel, the effort was a way to preserve books which would eventually be returned to their owners.” Yet the books remain, even today, in the stacks in Jerusalem.
Margaret Atwood’s First Opera To Premiere Next Year
“Pauline, featuring an original score by Canadian composer Tobin Stokes and famed Canadian writer Margaret Atwood’s debut as librettist, will run for six to 10 performances in May at the refurbished 400-seat York Theatre [in Vancouver].”
Edwaard Liang To Lead Columbus’s BalletMet
“The incoming artistic director of BalletMet Columbus is Edwaard Liang, who’ll bring the experience of an outstanding international performing career and his choreographic talents to Ohio starting this July. The top post has been vacant since Gerard Charles, whose career with BalletMet spanned 26 years, 10 as director, left the company for a ballet master position with the Joffrey last summer. “
Where They Ponder Humanity’s Prospects 50,000 Years Hence
At Oxford’s Future of Humanity Institute, pilosophers and researchers consider the potential long-term consequences of a geologic event (say, the eruption of a super-volcano) followed by a mass extinction, interstellar travel, or the development of a truly powerful artificial intelligence.
English National Ballet Needs Its New Rebranding (So Quit Fussing About It)
“Goodbye tutus and tights, hello dancing demons – Tamara Rojo now leads a company with a new look and feel, and the critics are wrong to complain.”
Dreaded Sequester Won’t Shutter Smithsonian’s Museums (Yet)
“The world’s largest museum complex is bracing for a $40 million cut in funding due to the budget stalemate in Congress, but the Smithsonian Institution is vowing to keep the doors open at its museums and the National Zoo.”