Apichatpong Weerasethakul, who won a Palme d’Or at Cannes for Uncle Boonmee Who Can Remember His Past Lives, has an installation in Beijing that depicts – in video, sound and still photography – a woman “recovering from surgery on her legs after a motorcycle accident, right before she goes to sleep with a stranger visiting her” at home by the Mekong River.
Author: Matthew Westphal
Dancing About Frank Gehry’s Architecture (And On It, No Less)
“Since 2008, choreographer Noémie Lafrance has been creating a series of dances titled Rapture, “staged on the exterior surface[s] of Gehry buildings. [The works] feature dancers travelling across the roofs and walls using custom rigging systems and video mapping projections to reveal the dynamics of the architecture’s curves in motion.”
Celebrating The French Language’s Newest Bon Mots
“Celebrating its 10th year of promoting neologisms,” the Festival XYZ has announced its Word of the Year: “attachiant(e) – a combination of attachant (captivating, endearing) and the slang word chiant (bloody nuisance) to denote someone you cannot live with but cannot live without.”
Haut-Bourgeois Movie-Going In China
“New theaters are opening all over the country, especially in the big cities, where you’ll find cineplexes like cherries atop the towering new shopping malls.” Many of them are ostentatiously upscale, with luxurious decor and furnishings, advanced “4-D” technology (moving seats), and ticket prices that signal high status.
(Non-)Customers Behaving Badly In Shanghai IKEA
The cafeteria at the retailer’s Shanghai outlet has become a hot meeting spot for elderly singles, who guzzle free coffee and bring their own food. “And older folks aren’t the only troublemakers. Young people, often with kids in tow, plop on chairs to watch videos on their smartphones. People aren’t shy about kicking off their shoes and tucking into display beds for a nap.”
Should Canada’s Arts Funding Be The Model For Australia?
For a government report on arts philanthropy, Australian Ballet executive director Valerie Wilder – who has worked in both the US and Canada – specifically recommended following the Canadian system of mixing direct state funding with matching grants and tax incentives for philanthropy.
New York Film Critics Give Top Award To Black-And-White Silent
“The Artist, Michel Hazanavicius’s black-and-white ode to silent cinema, won best feature, and Mr. Hazanavicius also won best director … Brad Pitt earned a nod for best actor for both Moneyball and The Tree of Life, while Meryl Streep won for The Iron Lady.”
Philadelphia Orchestra Moves Pension Funds To Federal Agency
“The judge in the Philadelphia Orchestra’s bankruptcy case has approved the orchestra’s request to turn over two of its pension plans to an agency of the federal government. Assets and liabilities of the orchestra’s internal pension plans for musicians and staff will be assumed by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.”
Was The FBI Behind The Art Theft In Nice? (That’s What The Thieves Say)
“Seven people go on trial on Monday for the multi-million pound theft of a Monet, Sisley and two Breughels in Nice but their leader claims the FBI’s art crimes chief ‘ordered’ the heist.”
Youssou N’Dour Says He’s Leaving Music For Politics
The Senegalese singer-songwriter, a world music superstar, told a cheering crowd, “I will free myself of all artistic commitments from 2 January next year to enter the political arena.” Senegal has a tense presidential election campaign coming, and rumors are already rife that N’Dour himself will be a candidate.