“Even before its opening day, however, the Bienal del Sur–not to be confused with the long-troubled and much older Bienal de Panama–was characterised by disputes, boycotts and the deportation of an artist.”
Tag: 05.27.13
He’s A Star Auteur At Cannes, But His Fellow Americans Barely Know Him
For James Gray (We Own the Night, Two Lovers, The Immigrant), “Cannes offers the kind of institutional legitimation he has not often received in the United States. … At Cannes he is not simply another director, he is one of this festival’s chosen auteurs as well as a celebrity in his own right.”
Philadelphia Orchestra Begins Great Chinese Conquest
“With more arms than a centipede, the Philadelphia Orchestra now has the most diverse touring schedule in its history, including coaching sessions and joint concerts with local orchestras” – and a tie-in with Zhou Libo, “a dapper, surprisingly outspoken comic who has rock-star status in China.”
Liberace Left A Real Legacy In Classical Music
“In the ’70s, the Kronos Quartet made the once-stodgy string quartet stylish enough [for] David Bowie … In the ’80s, violinist Nigel Kennedy sported such a punk look that he was once turned away at the backstage door of a London concert hall … Organist Cameron Carpenter and violinist Amadéus Leopold come across, in their bejeweled fashion statements, as 21st century Liberacistes.”
Ai Weiwei’s Prison Dioramas
“What took shape this spring at an industrial space in the Chinese capital” – and will be displayed in Venice in tandem with the Biennale – “were six fiberglass dioramas that depict, at half-scale, his often banal daily existence as a captive of the vast government security apparatus.”
Nearly 5,000 Ancient Cave Paintings Discovered In Mexico
The 4,926 images – including more than 1,500 in a single cave – were found at 11 different sites in the northeastern state of Burgos. Scholars had not previously thought that the area in the San Carlos Mountains had been inhabited in prehistoric times.
Why Are Americans Obsessed With Germs?
“Compared with the rest of the world, Americans take personal hygiene and general disinfection to another level. … What makes us so eager to be clean? Is it noble and healthy, or should we relax a little?” Nine contributors offer their thought in this Room for Debate.
Why Does Dante Still Have A Hold On Us?
“People can’t seem to let go of the Divine Comedy. You’d think that a fourteenth-century allegorical poem on sin and redemption, written in a medieval Italian vernacular and in accord with the Scholastic theology of that period, would have been turned over, long ago, to the scholars in the back carrels. But no.”
Did PBS’s Flagship Station Cave To Pressure From A Conservative Billionaire Donor?
Jane Mayer looks into the case of the documentary Park Avenue: Money, Power and the American Dream, which focuses on, among others, David Koch – energy magnate, well-known funder of conservative political causes, and board member of New York public television station WNET.