“Dana Rohrabacher, a conservative Republican representative in the United States Congress and a long-standing critic of China’s human rights record, has announced he will lead an investigation into what he suspects was the systematic looting of Tibetan art and objects by Chinese authorities since the 1949 Communist revolution. The inquiry has coincided with a high profile auction in Beijing of artefacts that previously belonged to Tibetan monasteries, and which seeped out into international markets sometime last century before being bought by the leading Taiwan-based collector Wang Du.”
Tag: 11.02.05
At Least Someone Will Get To Play It
A rare violin once owned by 19th-century virtuoso and composer Nicolo Paganini was bought at auction Tuesday by the Moscow-based Violin Art Foundation, which plans to loan it out to the winner of its prestigious annual competition. The Foundation paid just over $1 million for the instrument, which was made in 1720 by the Italian master Carlo Bergonzi. The sale price was a record for a Bergonzi violin.
UNESCO Culture Pact Worries American Filmmakers
“Late last month, members of the UNESCO voted 148 to 2 for an accord that supporters claim will protect local cultures from globalization. The debate was cast as a battle between global conformity and cultural diversity, with delegates from several smaller countries saying they were afraid of being swallowed up by American culture. But the United States and Hollywood’s major movie studios said they see the UNESCO accord as little more than trade protectionism and worry foreign countries will use it as a way to impose quotas or raise other barriers on the importation of American movies, television programs and music.”
Bookseller Of Kabul Goes On The Run
Shah Mohammad Rais, better known as the “Bookseller of Kabul”, says he fears blood vengeance after Åsne Seierstad’s bestselling book about him has been translated in an Afghan language.
Nutcracker Fears In Toronto As Rockettes Take Aim
The Rockettes are coming to Toronto with their Christmas show, and the National Ballet of Canada is fearful for its Nutcracker. “In 2006, the company will have the added advantage of a new home, but the competition will be stiff. Not only will the Rockettes be at the Hummingbird, but the much-hyped Lord of the Rings musical will be up and running at the Princess of Wales Theatre.”
CBC 3 Will Be Made-In-Canada Showcase
“Based out of Vancouver, CBC Radio 3 will operate as a 24-hour music station that plays independent Canadian artists across all genres, from rock and hip-hop to electronica and alt-country. ‘This is an unprecedented opportunity to get a lot of Canadian artists on radio, not just in Canada, but also exported to the United States’.”
The DVD Revolution In Context
“Film has become fact on DVD. It has left the cinema and joined us for drinks, an emancipatory moment for the last of the great western art forms. Books and music have always furnished our rooms, but to have film as a point of home reference, like Oxford English Dictionary and the complete works of Shakespeare, signals a revolution in cultural reception and, inevitably, creation.”
Skitch Henderson, 87
Skitch Henderson, the Grammy-winning conductor who lent his musical expertise to Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby before founding the New York Pops and becoming the first “Tonight Show” bandleader, died Tuesday.
Interest-Free Loans For Art
Britons are being offered a deal on art. Own Art is “a new government-funded initiative that offers interest-free loans of up to £2,000 ($3,545) to anyone wanting to buy contemporary artwork. ‘We want to open people’s eyes to owning something unique rather than just going to a superstore and buying something mass produced’.”
Banville: I Love A Literary Dustup
John Banville seems to be enjoying the controversy over having been chosen the winner of this year’s Booker Prize. “Frankly, I am gratified to see myself vilified, and the jury being vilified. It cheers me up. I must have done something right to annoy so many people.”