“Despite being plagued with a social conscience and a reflex desire to rush off to disaster zones and build designer emergency housing, the Mr Hyde in architects just can’t help being tempted by unlimited power, riches and gold taps. Can’t think why.”
Tag: 02.27.08
Bringing Home The Bacon
A Francis Bacon painting of a female nude sold for 20 million pounds ($39.7 million) including fees last night in London as Sotheby’s completed Europe’s biggest contemporary-art sale.
Canadian Govenment Budget Ignores Arts
Yesterday’s budget, in the name of maintaining what Finance Minister Jim Flaherty called “strong fiscal management,” seemed to duck virtually every concern that the Canadian cultural community has been voicing in the past five years.
Art Dealer Makes A Great Deal For Britain
“The London dealer Anthony d’Offay is giving over almost his entire collection – now conservatively valued at £125m – for the price he paid originally. The collection contains some of the finest works by the most important artists of the last 50 years.”
Star Rebuilds Georgia’s National Ballet
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili had decided that the national ballet company should be revived after long neglect. He also had decided that the job must be done by Nina Ananiashvili, an international star from Tbilisi who had performed with the Bolshoi, the Houston Ballet and Ballet Theater and toured around the world.
A Tale Of Two LA Museums
“One major L.A. museum is celebrating construction of plentiful new gallery space filled with art it doesn’t own, and another is celebrating 250 works of art it does own but can install in its galleries only for a short time. LACMA: Lots of museum space, very little museum art. MOCA: Lots of museum art, very little museum space.”
Stephen King Writes A Musical
“King, who has written numerous best-selling novels, has written the script for ‘Ghost Brothers of Darkland County,’ with music by John Mellencamp. The play will open at Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre in April 2009, with the object of getting it ready for a Broadway run.”
New York Phil North Korean Visit Gets Little Local Press
The New York Philharmonic’s visit to North Korea might have made worldwide headlines, but in North Korea it got scant mention. The newspaper report on the concert was heavy on who among the North’s elite attended and called the concert “very sophisticated and sensitive.”
Vatican Criticizes Oscar Choices
“Hollywood was moved this year by films that were sober, full of violence and above all without hope,” said the paper, referring to No Country for Old Men by brothers Joel and Ethan Coen and There Will be Blood by Paul Thomas.”