Norwegian police have recovered three Edvard Munch artworks stolen over the weekend from a hotel restaurant. “It seems to be a fashion among criminals to steal Munch. How professional is it to steal art? Great value, big risk and hard to sell. They would have to be very slow in the head to do it.”
Blog
The World’s New Tallest Building
Taiwan is now officially home to the world’s tallest building. “The official opening of the Taipei 101 Tower in December 2004, makes it — for now — the world’s tallest building. In the 20th century, competition for this title was largely waged in Chicago and New York, but it has recently migrated to Asia.”
McCrum: Stop Whining About The State Of Publishing
Enough of these tracts about there being too many books published and too few classics, writes Robert McCrum. “In an age of rampant capitalism, in the middle of a colossal information-technology revolution unparalleled since Gutenberg, it would be surprising if there was not a colossal overproduction. No more classics? Possibly the hyperactivity of the marketplace makes good books harder to detect, but there’s no evidence that good books are missing their audiences or that writers today are any worse, or any better, than 50, even 100 years ago.”
On The Runway At Maastricht
“What draws people to this, the world’s largest art fair, is the expectation of seeing the best the market has to offer in every collecting category from old master paintings and sculptures to antique furniture, antiquities, silver and decorative objects. This year there were no $40 million paintings by Rembrandt or $15 million sculptures by Bernini as there have been in years past. Some dealers grumbled about the scarcity of objects coming to the market; others said they didn’t bring any blockbusters, fearing that if they didn’t sell they might be overexposed and therefore less desirable. Still, there was an impressive array of about 30,000 works being offered for sale by some 200 dealers from 14 countries.”
Is There A Link Between Art And Violence?
“There is, like it or not, a deeply held suspicion that fictional representations of violence steadily rub away at our sensibilities, so that when the real thing comes along we’re too numb and jaded to react as human beings. The issue is as ancient as creativity itself, but it has lost none of its urgency over the centuries: Just what is the impact of art? Does watching stories about terrible acts desensitize us to the horror of those acts when they actually occur?”
Here Come The 9/11 Books
“After three years of near silence about the attacks of Sept. 11, the literary world has begun to grapple with the meanings and consequences of the worst terrorist attack ever to happen on American soil. A half-dozen novels that use 9/11 and its aftermath as central elements of their plot or setting, from some of the most acclaimed literary novelists and the most respected publishing houses, are being released later this year. A similar number have already made their way into bookstores in the last few months.”
Going Out For Munchies – Thieves Strike Again
Thieves have stolen three more works by Edvard Munch, this time from a hotel in Norway. “Thieves took a 1915 watercolor, “Blue Dress,” and two lithographs — a self-portrait and a portrait of Swedish playwright and novelist August Strindberg.”
Birmingham Ballet’s New Shine
The Birmingham Ballet has had a rough few years. A £1 million deficit built up. Programmes shrank and full-length classics reigned, showing up the callow youth of BRB’s company. A couple of artistsic flops didn’t help. Several top dancers left. But suddenly, the sun has come out, and this season’s programs have burst with new life…
The Bagpipes And The Library (A Story)
“Susan Stafford decided she needed to practice her bagpipes outside her Lake Elmo home after her veterinarian warned her the high-pitched tones could affect the hearing of her two parrots. She didn’t want to give up the birds or the instrument. But she was worried about the birds, her diabetic cat, the multitude of distractions at her house and, finally, that neighbors might complain. Bagpipes, after all, are loud. So a few weeks ago, she called City Hall in hopes that someone might suggest places she could practice without interruptions and without disrupting others…”
Is Graffiti Just Urban Noise?
“Whether it’s a simple, hastily scrawled tag on a laundromat’s exterior wall or an extravagant, “wild style” mural of cartoon figures and gigantic bubble letters sprawled across a factory facade near the freeway, spray-can and paint-stick imagery is a constant presence. At the low end of our attention meter, it teases, nettles and tingles. At the other, it blares out and demands to be consciously seen, whether in loathing, admiration, perplexity or some confounding amalgam of the three.”