Tag: 09.16.06

Discovery: The Oldest Writing In North America?

Writing that is 3000 years old in a language not known before now has been found on a stone in Mexico. “Scholars are tantalized by a message in stone in a script unlike any other and a text they cannot read. They are excited by the prospect of finding more of this writing, and eventually deciphering it, to crack open a window on one of the most enigmatic ancient civilizations.”

Klimts To Be Auctioned In November

Christie’s will auction the remaining four Gustav Klimt paintings returned earlier this year after being looted by Nazis in World War II. “The four works, which are together valued at nearly $100 million, include ‘Adele Bloch-Bauer II,’ a 1912 portrait of Mrs. Bloch-Bauer in fashionable street clothes and a wide-brimmed hat. Christie’s estimates that it could fetch $40 million to $60 million.”

Merce Cunningham At 87

“He is sitting in a wheelchair, his expressive hands are creased with the marks of age, and his body – once so erect and graceful – seems to have folded in on itself. However, his hair still falls in exotic curls, his eyes are steady, and his gentle voice is clear and sure. Each day, after rising and making little pencil drawings of animals (“a wonderful way of getting out of your own head, nothing to do with art”), he takes rehearsals at his company’s studio in New York – for over half a century perhaps the most important modern dance company in the world.”

Schama: Bernini Matters

Simon Schama writes that Bernini “used the power of art to achieve the most difficult thing in the world: the visualisation of bliss… Before Bernini, sculpture’s preoccupation had been with immortality. When modern sculptors looked at, and learned from, antiquity, what they saw was the translation of mortal humanity into something purer, chillier and more enduring: gods and heroes.”

Is Radio Losing Its Base?

“While more than 9 out of 10 Americans still listen to traditional radio each week, they are listening less. As a result, the prospects of radio companies have dimmed significantly since the late 1990’s, when broadcast barons were tripping over themselves to buy more stations. Radio revenue growth has stagnated and the number of listeners is dropping.”