“Gunmen threaten to kill their relatives, roadside bombs make journeys to school hazardous and religious hardliners persecute them – but the children of Iraq’s Music and Ballet School have an antidote to war: music… The emergence of a new breed of militants, who target people practising arts they consider “un-Islamic”, has led several worried parents to take their children out of the school.”
Tag: 05.30.08
A Fake Agent Who Inspired A Generation of Real Ones
Michael Riedel says that Sydney Pollack’s hilarious turn as a New York theater agent in Tootsie launched a culture of behind-the-scenes celebrity that is still in place in Big Apple theatrical circles.
Harvey Korman, 81
“Harvey Korman, the award-winning comedic actor who rose to fame playing second banana to Carol Burnett on her television variety series and who starred in hit movies like “Blazing Saddles” and “High Anxiety,” died on Thursday in Los Angeles… A tall man known for his outlandish characterizations, Mr. Korman was nominated for seven Emmys for his television work and won four.”
Now That’s Return On Your Art Investment!
“A Scot who picked up a painting on impulse at Glasgow’s Barrowland market for 50p in the 1970s was celebrating yesterday after it sold at auction for nearly £35,000. The oil painting, by leading 19th century Canadian artist Cornelius David Krieghoff, was snapped up in seconds at Lyon and Turnbull auction house in Edinburgh after a bidding war which started at £20,000.”
The New Wave of Russian Collectors
“The Russian billionaire now bestrides the art world just as the American tycoon did a century ago, with limitless resources and limited taste, provoking precisely the same combination of awe, envy, snobbery and quiet admiration.”
Hitler’s Art (Now With Whimsy Added!)
“When the artists Jake and Dinos Chapman bought a series of paintings by Adolf Hitler for £115,000, many questioned the morality of paying for works produced by one of history’s most brutal dictators. Yesterday, the brothers unveiled 13 of the watercolours, on which they had added psychedelic rainbows, stars and love hearts, and placed them back on the market for £685,000.”
Beryl Cook, 81
“Beryl Cook, the artist known for her saucy, seaside postcard-style portraits of fat ladies in colourful costumes, died at home in Plymouth yesterday… Her inspiration came from pub life – especially the spit-and-sawdust Dolphin in Plymouth – and cartoons. The comedian Victoria Wood once described her as ‘Rubens with jokes’.”
How Good Is Ang Lee? How Good Could He Become?
Ang Lee has already established himself as a great filmmaker. But can he take the next step to legendary status? “Lee has been industrious and pleasing in ways that make his work and its coherence seem easy or natural – and there is a risk that we admire the versatility and miss the lack of argument.”
Deconstructing Rock
“Rock is all about daft theatre. It’s not like mainstream pop, which sparkles cheaply and perfectly like a good local panto, or folk and country classics, which summon up the spirit and sadness of dusty novellas. Mainstream rock is something else: a 20th-century twist on Shakespearean madness and excess fed through a Marshall stack.”
Controversy Erupts Over Age Labels For Children’s Lit
“The controversy over plans to put recommended age ranges on the covers of children’s books ignited at the Hay festival yesterday, with authors speaking both for and against proposals due to be implemented by a wide group of children’s publishers later this year.”