“Few directors are capable of dividing critical and audience opinion quite like Katie Mitchell. Her distinctive approach to her material, her signature style, has gained her many vocal admirers and advocates… [But] is she in danger of slipping into self-parody?”
Tag: 07.30.08
You Know You’re Rooting For The Toilet
“A total of 224 projects from 43 countries have been nominated [for the inaugural World Architecture Festival Awards,] including a fire station in Mexico, a public toilet in Texas, a women’s health centre in Burkina Faso, a writer’s retreat in Costa Rica, a sheep stable in the Netherlands, a private cemetery in Lebanon, and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston.”
Documenting A Divided City Through Art
“Hebron is the only place in the West Bank where Jewish settlers and Palestinians live and work side by side,” and British artist Caspar Hall just spent three months painting the portraits of the men and women who keep the city’s struggling central market alive. “In all, he painted more than 70 portraits, compiling a unique social document of the market at a crucial stage in its history.”
Theatre Is Back In The Big Easy
“Although New Orleans’ biggest theaters have been shuttered since Katrina, the theater community is thriving. New companies have sprouted up. Actors and directors are moving into the city. And — especially for smaller companies — attendance is on the rise.”
Litigious Conductor Out Of A Job In Saskatchewan
The conductor and artistic director of the Saskatoon Symphony, who has been embroiled in internal disputes for months and actually went so far as to sue six of his musicians for defamation, has officially left the orchestra. Negotiations on a buyout of his contract are continuing.
Maybe Not, But Being Stoned Definitely Helps
What is it about stoner comedy that somehow still manages to carry countless movies to box office success, if not always critical acclaim? “Pothead humor is particularly suited for film because it provides endless possibilities for slapstick… Just as you can be antigun and enjoy Dirty Harry, you don’t have to be stoned to enjoy stoner comedy.”
Liverpool Rising
The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic is not generally counted among the UK’s most famous orchestras, but the arrival of a dynamic young Russian conductor has the Liverpudlians playing with renewed vigor, says Norman Lebrecht. “His concerts are electrifying, the audience age has dropped by two decades and some of the new string players look barely out of school. Attendances are up 40 percent since he arrived.”
Picasso In The Desert (How Abu Dhabi Is Bringing Major Art)
“Clearly, there are still a few wrinkles to be ironed out of the system before Abu Dhabi secures a permanent spot in the pantheon of world art cities.”
The Pollock Among A Collection Saved
“Some 13,000 works of art — including priceless examples of African and Native American art, and paintings by modern masters like Max Beckmann and Philip Guston — were saved last month when the Iowa River flooded this lovely campus, overcoming much of the UI museum.” They included a Jackson Pollock…
Australian Art Auction Empire Threatened
“The practices are alleged to include selling and rebuying the same paintings at auction, publishing questionable provenance notes for paintings in catalogues and obscuring ownership details. Academic and art valuer Meaghan Wilson-Anastasios said if the industry claims about Mr Menzies were true, ‘then he has dramatically inflated the Australian art market, and with it inflated buyer confidence’.”