Looking to permanently identify that piece of art you’re fond of? New marking systems bring technology to bear. “One is the microchip, which can be embedded in the piece, but the company also makes a synthetically-produced DNA, which can be a powder, liquid or glue. This can be applied directly or during conservation, for instance as a small area of varnish on a painting. It can also be incorporated into microdots.”
Tag: 10.04.03
The Out-Of-Language Shakespeare
Justin Cartwright puzzles over the allure of Shakespeare in other languages. “I have often wondered what lies behind foreign-language productions of Shakespeare. We would be very different if he had not existed, much more different than if Germany had succeeded in invading, for instance. Hamlet, possibly because of its obvious political themes, is the most produced play in the world and Shakespeare the most-produced playwright.”
Mozart, Muti, and the Movie Man
Mozart will be 250 years old in 2006, and plans are underway for a massive celebration at Milan’s famed La Scala opera house. Music director Riccardo Muti plans to mount a new production of the Austrian composer’s comic classic, Cosi Fan Tutte, with none other than Spanish film director Pedro Almodóvar in charge of the staging. “Muti’s choice suggests a change of attitude by the maestro, who has been accused of trying to block attempts by the general manager of La Scala, Carlo Fontana, to popularise the repertoire.”
Timeless By Definition
“Classics escape the prison of time. Whichever their era, they belong to every other era. People talk of ‘contemporary classics’ but the phrase is tautologous: classics are contemporary by definition. The bad director of an ancient Greek tragedy batters us with parallels to the present day; the good director lets the echoes reverberate for themselves. The classic doesn’t have a sell-by date. If it did, it wouldn’t be a classic.” Still, that timeless aspect is what makes the classics so difficult to stage, and so confounding to bring to a modern audience.
Artistic Illiteracy: Not Just For Americans Anymore!
A new survey indicates that the average Briton knows about as much about great works of art as the average American, which is to say, not much. Nearly 10% of the UK identified Monet’s famous Water Lilies as having been painted by the Australian Rolf Harris, and fully half of respondants couldn’t say who painted the Mona Lisa. Presumably, they all knew who won the latest edition of Big Brother, however.
Getting The Arts Into Electoral Politics
The arts are not generally on most people’s lists of hot political topics guaranteed to spark rousing debate between candidates. “But scratch the surface and you’ll find that, when elections roll around, Canada’s provincial politicians increasingly do have cultural policies. Partly that’s because many of them have started to buy economic arguments in favour of nurturing the arts; partly it’s because arts lobby groups have had some success in getting their issues seriously debated, even if they aren’t decisive on election day.”
Calgary, Home Of Cowboys and Theatre Geeks
When your city’s image is predicated on a lot of cowboy hats and belt holsters, it might be difficult to envision the rising of a successful theatre scene. But that seems to be what’s happening in Calgary, where an increasingly diverse local populace is slowly coming around to the idea that a rollicking arts scene might not be a bad thing. “Unlike even a few years ago, it seems as if our young artists believe they can make a go of it here, so they’re staying here and doing some very good work.” It may seem like a small step, but at a time when so many cities are taking a budget knife to the arts, Calgary seems to be headed in the right direction.
A New Picasso Museum
A new Picasso Museum is about to open in Malaga, Spain. “Christine Ruiz-Picasso, the widow of Picasso’s eldest son Paulo, has donated 133 works to the museum and her son Bernard has given another 22. Another 49 works are on loan from other relatives for 10 years.”
The Raphael – Picture, Picture, Who Gets The Picture?
The status of Raphael’s “Madonna of the pinks” is growing increasingly murky. The Getty Museum has offered £35 million for the painting, and would export it to the US. But if the painting was valued at £20 million plus taxes for the owner and the money were forthcoming in the UK, the painting would stay in England. But should it be valued at £20 million? And the taxes?