“The destruction of the World Trade Center is part of the reason American architecture is more brash and experimental than ever before. The void left by the collapse of the world’s most recognizable pair of towers showed us with grim clarity that buildings matter — as icons, as memories, as something we all share. … After a generation where conformity was the norm, we’ll soon learn if provocative drama has a place in America’s urban landscape. Cities across the country are opening the door to imaginative designs that exult in the unexpected — and at skyline scale.”
Tag: 09.12.06
Pelli’s New Concert Hall Handsome, Yes, But …
“At age 79, the Argentine-born, Connecticut-based architect Cesar Pelli is inevitably described in newspaper and magazine profiles these days as diplomatic and genteel. In his design for the $200-million Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa, which opens Friday night, he and his firm have produced a building that brings the very same adjectives to mind. In other words, if you are optimistic enough to believe that classical music — or architecture, for that matter — is an evolving art form with the capacity to provoke as well as merely soothe, you will likely find it enormously disappointing.”
What, Will These Hands Ne’er Be Clean?
Moral transgression eating away at your conscience? Try an antiseptic wipe. “Liars, cheats, philanderers and murderers … are human beings, after all, and if a study published last week is any guide, they feel a strong urge to wash their hands — literally — after a despicable act in an unconscious effort to ease their consciences. And it works, at least for minor guilt stains.” What are researchers calling this impulse? The “Macbeth effect,” after her ladyship.
Breaking News: Celebrities More Narcissistic Than The Rest Of Us
Scientific evidence finally proves it: According to a new study, celebrities score higher on the narcissism scale than the general population. “The study — soon to be published in the Journal of Research and Personality — confirmed that celebrities are more narcissistic than average Americans. And — surprisingly — they seem to start out that way, leading [the researchers] to surmise that narcissistic people seek out careers in the limelight, rather than becoming narcissistic when they earn fame.”
West End – How Many Is Too Many Musicals?
London’s West End is flooded with musicals this fall. But can they all survive?
Giller List Announced
Fifteen Canadian writers are in the running. “This year the jury includes former governor general Adrienne Clarkson and authors Alice Munro and Michael Winter.”
Soprano Denounces Bolshoi Production
Soprano Galina Vishnevskaya has denounced a new Bolshoi production of Yevgeny Onegin. “To the end of my days I will not escape my shame at participating in that public desecration of our sacred national treasure,” she told the Bolshoi’s management in a letter. Ms Vishnevskaya’s spokesman confirmed she had called off plans for an 80th birthday party at the Bolshoi in protest at the opera’s “completely deformed” main characters.