Tag: 08.27.07

What If Bosch And Bacon Were In Your Video Games?

“Echochrome is a videogame adaptation of the drawings of MC Escher. When it’s released for the PlayStation Portable later this year, you’ll be taking care of a tireless little marionette as he trudges through a series of paradoxical staircases and impossible corridors. … Even better would be to fly through Salvador Dalí landscapes, dodging monsters from Francis Bacon paintings.”

Three Decades On, Raphael Frescoes Nearly Restored

“Now, nearly 30 years after work began, the restoration of Raphael’s frescoes in the rooms named after him in the Vatican Museums is approaching completion. Restorers said in recent interviews that their work in the Raphael Stanzas has brought insights into how the artist worked, from mistakes he made in mixing plaster to how he transferred his exquisite designs from small pieces of paper to the sprawling walls of papal apartments.”

The Black Watch Phenomenon

“The National Theatre of Scotland’s smash hit ‘Black Watch’ has been to Scottish theatre what JK Rowling has been to children’s literature, playing to packed audiences in Edinburgh last August and then on tour this year, generating the kind of positive reviews that normally have to be paid for.”

Rem Koolhaus, Celebrity Architect

“Koolhaas is loved by the fashionable. He is one of those architects who receives star treatment in design magazines. Every month, Oma receives more than 1,000 applications from graduates all over the world hoping to work there. Koolhaas has received pretty much every award going. He roosts at the top of the architectural tree with the likes of Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, Daniel Libeskind and Toyo Ito.”

Canadian Art Donors Voice Frustration

Canadian art donors and museums are complaining that a board set up to value gifts for tax purposes has been capricious. “In 2000-2001 the review board considered 926 applications related to donations to public institutions; in 2005-2006 that number had dropped to 748. Donors say that the government wants it both ways: slashing funds for cultural institutions, urging them to go to the private sector – and then throwing obstacles in the way of potential donors.”

Musicians And Conductor Play Out Differences In Court

“With rehearsals for the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra’s fall season scheduled to begin on Sept. 8, conductor and artistic director Douglas Sanford and a group of orchestra members are embroiled in a bitter dispute. A report by the union steward earlier this year was highly critical of Sanford, alleging a long list of abuses from haranguing players to choosing wildly fast tempos. Sanford, in turn, filed a $200,000 defamation suit on Aug. 14, arguing against the allegations.”

Movies Draw Tourists To UK

The UK Fim Council says that movies set in Britain are a tourist magnet. “Visitors were previously drawn to Alnwick Castle, Northumberland, to see a mighty medieval fortress, one of Europe’s finest. Since it became the setting for Hogwarts, the boy wizard’s school, there has been a 120 per cent increase in visitor numbers. That in turn has brought an estimated £9 million in tourist revenue to the area.”