Nicolai Ouroussoff writes that Disney Hall lives up to extravagant expectations. “What makes the building so moving as a work of architecture is its ability to express a deeper creative conflict: the recognition that ideal beauty rarely exists in an imperfect world. It is this tension — and the delicacy with which Gehry resolves it — that makes Disney Hall such a powerful work of social commentary. That he could accomplish this despite a tortured construction process that dragged out over 16 years is a minor miracle. Its success affirms both Gehry’s place as America’s greatest living architectural talent and Los Angeles’ growing cultural maturity.”
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The LA Times’ Complete Coverage Of Disney Hall
Bryn Terfel, Baritone In A Rugby Shirt
Baritone Bryn Terfel has “risen effortlessly to become the greatest classical singer of his generation; certainly in Britain and possibly the world. His bass baritone is in demand in all the greatest opera houses, his records sell by the millions and he is that rarest of creatures, a performer with an absolutely natural talent and a golden waterfall of a voice.”
Amazon’s Great Digital Archive
“An ingenious attempt to illuminate the dark region of books is under way at Amazon.com. Over the past spring and summer, the company created an unrivaled digital archive of more than 120,000 books. The goal is to quickly add most of Amazon’s multimillion-title catalog. The entire collection, which went live Oct. 23, is searchable, and every page is viewable.”
France’s Controversial Lit Prize
“France’s most important literary prize has this year been characterised by intrigue, subterfuge and drama – not because of the novels, but the unusual handling of the award announcement.”
Tate Modern’s Problem Haze
An artificial fog created as part of an installation at Tate Modern has sparked concern. “A chemical haze created for Olafur Eliasson’s spectacular apocalyptic installation, the Weather Project – which has provoked near-religious awe in the crowds flocking to see it in the museum’s Turbine Hall – is slowly creeping into the galleries. Attendants, who have to spend from eight to 12 hours in the fug, claim they are becoming disorientated.”
Christie’s Nazi Coverup
“Christie’s covered up its discovery that an Old Master painting it had hoped to auction had been looted by the Nazis, failing to alert art market authorities or the heirs of the original owners of the picture, a Guardian investigation has established.”
Barbie On The Half Shell (Operatically Speaking)
A new opera in Dresden features Barbies. Naked Barbies. “This Barbie spends a lot of her time without her clothes on and has a male alter ego (not the trustworthy Ken doll but a mutated Barbie with brutally cropped hair); together they indulge in wildly experimental sex play. In performance, the action is performed by real Barbies in a real Barbie house, with the musicians and singers behind. The dolls are manipulated by two puppeteers and the action is video-projected on to screens on either side of the house. It is a technical challenge.”
Tomb Raider Or Archaeologist?
Sir Aurel Stein sent back 40,000 artifacts back to the British Museum from China. His feats were described by one of his contemporaries as the most daring and adventurous raid upon the ancient world that any archaeologist has attempted. While his life’s work is celebrated in the western world, he is remembered in a very different way by countries whose heritage he ‘looted’. The heritage taken is China’s parallel to the Greek claim on the Elgin Marbles – priceless friezes taken from the temple of the Parthenon in the 19th Century: both are unique cultural relics taken away by Europeans.”
Forget The Trial! What’s Up With The Building?
Libby Copeland is covering the trial of accused D.C. sniper John Allen Muhammed in Virginia Beach. It’s a fascinating legal spectacle, but Copeland can’t get her mind off the architecture of the city’s judicial complex. It’s not that it’s ugly, exactly. But it’s not very judicial, either. “Is there such a thing as too much brick? Can beige and brown — the colors of all the signs here — be considered colors of oppression with their monotony, ubiquity and utter authority? … In short, this is a place where people bring their lunches from home. A place unfriendly to feet. A place that ceases to exist after dark.”