In only 20 years, Seoul’s Universal Ballet has become a company with which to reckon. “Many people still associate the company with its founder, Rev. Moon Sun Myung of Unification Church. But over the years, UBC has substantially shed the image of its ties to the religious group through its quality performances and contribution to Korea’s ballet development. ‘Year after year, we put on repertoires that were deemed above our capacity, which speeded up our growth. We also had a lot of influence from our series of foreign teachers, not only with dance but the whole production, including stage arts, lighting and costume design, because ballet is a composite art’.”
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Is Irish Caravaggio Real?
Is a painting thought to be a Caravaggio in Dublin’s National Gallery a copy or a fake? “The recent discovery of an identical work in Italy has sparked heated debate, with Italian art dealers convinced theirs is authentic and the other a copy. But art collector and historian Sir Denis Mahon said the Italian artist had painted at least two versions of The Taking of Christ and both were originals.”
Yerba Buena Lays Off Curator, Staff
San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center has laid off its chief curator and eight others because of financial concerns. Curator Renny Pritikin, “who got his pink slip last week and left Friday, was widely respected by artists and curators, who admired his keen eye for contemporary art and willingness to blur the boundaries between so-called high and low art. Pritikin will not be replaced. Nor will the other laid-off employees, who worked in various departments – finance, operations, marketing and development.”
London Toy Museum In Trouble
London’s Toy Museum, which has been operating since 1876, is likely to close soon, if money is not found to rescue it. “Spread over two floors, six small rooms and several winding staircases, the walls of Pollock’s Toy Museum are covered with an estimated 20,000 exhibits dating back more than a century.”
UN To Expand Its HQ
The United Nations headquarters in New York was an architectural trendsetter when it opened in the 1950s. Now it’s time for expansion and “plans for extensive renovations and the addition of a new administrative building, to be designed by Fumihiko Maki, have once again put the UN at the forefront of design – this time the struggle to reconcile security features with aesthetics and openness.”
Meeting The Modern In Stockholm
The Moderna Museet in Stockholm is “the largest and most important museum of contemporary art north of Dusseldorf.” But two years ago it closed, a “sick” building that need to be closed and extensively repaired. “So, 27 months after its closure, the building has re-opened. The museum has come home. But home has changed quite a lot. The place looks different. The place feels different. The art is organised in quite different ways too.”
Keep Focused – Tracking Down Looted Iraq Art
Last year Col. Matthew Bogdanos led the US team trying to recover art looted from the Iraq National Museum. “Now, after recovering more than 4,000 stolen artifacts, Bogdanos’s team is in shambles, its members recalled to other projects or done with their tours of duty. The Marine colonel himself will be returning to civilian life at the end of March. So this winter he’s touring the world, pleading with government officials, military experts, and antiquities specialists to continue his effort to recover more than 9,000 missing treasures dating back to the birth of city life, the invention of written language, the world’s first laws.”
Job Search As Conceptual Art
In search of a job, actor/model/artist Richard K. Rogers put together a conceptual gallery show in New York featuring “photos of Rogers marketing various generic products – from telephone services to breath freshener. He – or, more precisely, the cartoony characters he portrays in these deliberately cheesy shots – is either in desperate need of some product or service, or joyfully satisfied because he has used it – whatever it might be.”
Australian National Academy Heads In New Direction
“The winds of change are blowing through the Australian National Academy of Music in South Melbourne as a new team takes charge following the abrupt departure of the former director, Englishman Frank Wibaut, five months ago.”
A Trio Of Jobs
Three of New York’s most important cultural institutions have vacancies in their top jobs. Running Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Opera and the Public Theatre are among the most difficult arts jobs there are. And it’s not immediately obvious who the should get the jobs.