The American music series “American Mavericks” has won a Peabody Award”American Mavericks’ tells the story of the tradition-breaking composers who shaped the development of American music, from Charles Ives to Henry Brant, Harry Partch, Laurie Anderson, Steve Reich and others.”
Tag: 04.02.04
Just Can’t Stay Away – Aussie Ballerina Unretires
“Former Australian Ballet principal dancer Simone Goldsmith has announced that she will dance in a new work at the Sydney Dance Company, just three months after retiring from the flagship ballet company.”
The Kidnapped Sculpture – “Don’t Go Breaking My Art!”
Last week a sculpture was “kidnapped” off a London street. “The kidnappers, who call themselves AK47, have headlined their ransom note: “Don’t go breaking my art” – believed to be a cryptic reference to the Elton John/Kiki Dee No 1 hit from 1976. They state: “We are AK47. We have captured Rodin’s Drinker – a conceptual statue by art terrorist Banksy. Is it art or is it kidnap?” A second series of images shows the kidnap taking place. The sculpture has a strip of gaffer tape across his eyes and mouth. It is loaded on to a van and transported to what looks like a warehouse. The final picture is blurred, but it seems to show a hand holding a gun to the statue.”
Singing Lucien Freud’s Praises
“Few artists attain the same respect in their lifetime as is given to the 81-year-old Lucien Freud. Respect not just from fellow artists or lovers of contemporary art, but from museums around the world who treat this violent, deliberately ugly and ungainly portrayer of the naked human body as a titan, securely established in the great tradition of Chardin, Manet and Degas, rather than a contemporary whose reputation has yet to be tried by time.”
Violins – Some Wood, Some Strings, Some Sound
We have a romanticized image of the violin-maker. The reality tends to be much more clinical. “Violins are made of spruce, maple and ebony. So anyone with carpentry experience could actually go out and buy a do-it-yourself book and build one. But without an idea of sound, it would be hit or miss.”