“France’s most important literary prize has this year been characterised by intrigue, subterfuge and drama – not because of the novels, but the unusual handling of the award announcement.”
Tag: 10.24.03
Tate Modern’s Problem Haze
An artificial fog created as part of an installation at Tate Modern has sparked concern. “A chemical haze created for Olafur Eliasson’s spectacular apocalyptic installation, the Weather Project – which has provoked near-religious awe in the crowds flocking to see it in the museum’s Turbine Hall – is slowly creeping into the galleries. Attendants, who have to spend from eight to 12 hours in the fug, claim they are becoming disorientated.”
Christie’s Nazi Coverup
“Christie’s covered up its discovery that an Old Master painting it had hoped to auction had been looted by the Nazis, failing to alert art market authorities or the heirs of the original owners of the picture, a Guardian investigation has established.”
Barbie On The Half Shell (Operatically Speaking)
A new opera in Dresden features Barbies. Naked Barbies. “This Barbie spends a lot of her time without her clothes on and has a male alter ego (not the trustworthy Ken doll but a mutated Barbie with brutally cropped hair); together they indulge in wildly experimental sex play. In performance, the action is performed by real Barbies in a real Barbie house, with the musicians and singers behind. The dolls are manipulated by two puppeteers and the action is video-projected on to screens on either side of the house. It is a technical challenge.”