“[He] may not be a household name, but he is, for better or worse, one of the biggest celebrities in the art world. So why shouldn’t he get his own skin-care brand? The pop artist has recently lent his name to a limited edition Creme de Corps Holiday Collection, created by Kiehl’s. Each product in the series features Koons’ painting Tulips on its label.”
Tag: 11.02.10
LA County Museum’s New Building Is Great. But The Art?
“The Resnick Pavilion is what museum curators have often claimed to long for–a well-lit, flexible white box that will enhance rather than do battle with the art inside.”
Why Are Today’s Shows Filled With Depressed People?
“Stories of the pathologically depressed are 21st century television’s oblique way of reflecting the disappointments of the American economy and the frustrations of apparently endless warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
The Guerrilla Orchestra That Appears Out Of Nowhere
“On a boat back from Ischia, in Mannheim tram station, in a supermarket in Frankfurt. Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn and Bartók have been performed. The pocket orchestra always appears spontaneously, the cellists using extra-long spikes to steady their instruments while standing — or finding somewhere to perch.”
Art Auctioneers Anticipate Record Sales
What recession? “Over the next two weeks, between $1.5 billion and $2 billion (£1.2 billion) is expected to be spent there on Impressionist, modern and contemporary art at auction. If the sales hit their targets, they will achieve the highest figures on record for a series of auctions.”
Royal Opera House Transplant Scheme Dies
“It would have cost at least £80 million to renovate the Palace Theatre to accommodate ROH productions, and at least £1.5 million a week to house the companies and stage performances. Nor was it was ever clear that there was any genuine call or need for such an extravagant venture.”
David Hockney, iPad Artist
“Different fingers are used for varying effects, and even though he is right-handed, he often draws with his left hand, giving the final works a quality that he’d have difficulty replicating with his stronger arm. The results throws up questions about the very nature of “originals” and ‘reproductions’, and the value – aesthetic and monetary – of the work.”
The Moog Synthesizer At 40
“The first commercial Moog synthesizers could play only one note at a time, not always in tune. Early synthesizer users had no preset sounds to fall back on: they plugged in patch cords, turned knobs and experimented.”
The Difficult Task Of Giving Jean Luc Godard An Award
“There was also the touchy question of how to deal with newly highlighted claims that Mr. Godard, a master of modern film, has long harbored anti-Jewish views that threaten to widen his distance from Hollywood, even as the film industry’s leading institution is trying to close the gap.”
Adelaide Symphony Musicians Reject $2000 Bonus, Pay Raise
“Symphony Orchestra Musicians Association state president Lachlan Bramble said the bonus made no progress on its objective of reaching 90 per cent of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s pay rates within three years.”