Britain’s Tate Modern museum has unveiled a massive new work of installation art by Turner-winning sculptor Rachel Whiteread consisting of 14,000 identical white boxes. The work, aptly named “Embankment,” was commissioned specifically for the Tate’s enormous Turbine Hall, which measures 500 feet in length with a 115-foot ceiling. So what do 14,000 white boxes look like? Rather like a bunch of oversized piles of sugar cubes, as it turns out.
Tag: 10.10.05
Harry Potter & The Half-Wit Rent-A-Cop
“A security guard who tried to sell stolen copies of the latest Harry Potter novel has admitted theft and possessing an imitation gun.” The guard, who removed two copies of J.K. Rowling’s insanely popular book from a warehouse and later attempted to sell them to British newspapers, still denies ever pointing the gun at a reporter for the tabloid Sun, as the journalist claims.
Atlanta S.O. Predicts $2 Billion Arts Center Impact
Trumpeting the economic impact of the arts has become a tried-and-true promotional technique over the past several years, and this week, the Atlanta Symphony took its turn at self-congratulation, releasing a consultant’s report that predicts a $2 billion boost to the Georgia economy upon completion of the orchestra’s new $300 million concert hall. “[That] includes $537 million during construction and $1.45 billion during the first 10 years of operation. It should generate $116 million in tax revenues and 2,100 new jobs through 2020, says the report.”
A Law That Protects Video Game Characters That Don’t Exist?
California’s new ban on violent video games is a joke. “Bill 1179 targets games in which you ‘virtually inflict serious injury upon images of humans or characters with substantially human characteristics in a manner which is especially heinous, cruel or depraved in that it involves torture or serious physical abuse to the victim.’ Does any of this actually describe what goes on in a violent game?”
Booker Announced Tonight
The winner of the Booker Prize is to be announced tonight. “But it isn’t for the $91,800 cash award that grown men threaten to shoot themselves. It isn’t for the unquestionable increase in profits from sales, likely film and foreign rights. It isn’t even for the glamour, though tonight’s announcement, televised throughout the United Kingdom, is more like our Oscars than any bookish ceremony.” It’s the prestige…
Men In Blue
The Blue Man Group has become a global brand. “What began as an experimental performance-art trio 14 years ago in the East Village has slowly grown into a small global empire. There are now “Blue Man Group” shows in Manhattan, Chicago, Boston, Toronto and Berlin. Today, Blue Man Theater, a 1,760-seat complex, is to open at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, where the group has previously performed at the Luxor hotel. Next month, the Blue Men will begin playing on the West End in London. All this expansion has meant that dozens of new Blue Men must be recruited and trained.”
In Trafalgar Square – An Atypical Addition
The latest sculpture to be added to London’s Trafalgar Square is not your typical model of a modern major general. “Alison Lapper Pregnant – juxtaposed as it is with the majestic figures of a king, two generals and the naval hero Lord Nelson – has fueled a sharp discussion here about art, the purpose of public monuments, and the appropriateness of displaying such a piece in such a singular public space.”