An exhibit at Atlanta’s High Museum of Art this fall “will include the first U.S. showing of Beheading the Baptist, a silver relief depicting seven figures at the execution of John. The question is who created the relief. For centuries it has been credited to Florentine sculptor Andrea del Verrocchio, who was Leonardo’s mentor. But Gary Radke, guest curator of the exhibit at the High, believes that two of the figures are the work of Leonardo himself.”
Tag: 04.25.09
Angel Corella Tries To Get Classical Ballet On Its Legs In Spain
One year ago, the former ABT star launched a full-scale professional troupe with more than 40 dancers based in Segovia. “[B]ut the company has to contend with a country where ballet hasn’t ever found its footing. […] It wouldn’t be so strange for Spain to lack a national classical company except for the fact that it is known for exporting high-caliber ballet dancers.”
Arts Council England Adds £40 Million In Funding
“The new funds have been made available by the arts council significantly reducing its Lottery cash balances over the next two years. These balances have traditionally been kept in reserve in case large projects – such as capital building projects – need unexpected injections of cash.”
Australia’s National Heritage Museum… Meh
“The question for a museum of Australia was always what form it should take and when it should be built. Heritage museums, unlike art galleries, do not focus on a limited number of exceptional exhibits; rather their writ is to scoop up enough objects, such that together they present a mirror and a calendar to the society they are intended to reflect.”
James MacMillan – Scotland’s Leading Composer Takes A Religious Turn
“James MacMillan has long been dubbed ‘Scotland’s best musical export’. He’s commissioned by orchestras and opera houses round the world, and his turbulently expressive music is known to a wide public which normally wouldn’t go anywhere near new music. But his fame goes beyond art.”
Are Showy Architectural Projects A Thing Of The Past?
“All around the world, major architectural projects are under threat. In November, construction stopped on the Russia Tower, a 600-meter-high Moscow building designed by the London firm Norman Foster & Partners. Meanwhile, another Norman Foster Moscow project, called Crystal Island, featuring a 450-meter-high, funnel-shaped skyscraper, has also been put on hold.”
The Music That Repells Insect Plagues
“Rock music blaring from boomboxes has proved one of the best defenses against an annual invasion of Mormon crickets. The huge flightless insects are a fearsome sight as they advance across the desert in armies of millions that march over, under or into anything in their way.”
More Art Sellers Bypass Auction House For Private Sales
“If they do not have to, fewer collectors are putting their holdings up for auction at Sotheby’s and Christie’s, where prices and profits have plummeted. But executives at both houses say business in their private-sale departments has more than doubled in recent months.”
Why Is The New Andrew Lloyd Webber Musical Premiering In Winnipeg?
“If it sounds strange that a piece by the biggest stage composer in the world is premiering in the Slurpee capital of the world, don’t worry. It is.”
Rejected Poet Is Favorite For Poet Laureate Job
“A controversial poet said to have been turned down for the Laureateship 10 years ago because of her sexuality is the joint favourite to succeed Andrew Motion in the post.”