Philip Kennicott writes that the much-despised but vigorously defended 2 Columbus Circle, originally designed by architect Edward Durrell Stone, has been transformed from “a building that was hard to love… into a building that is hard to hate. The defense of 2 Columbus Cir. might not have been so passionate if Stone’s work wasn’t under general assault around the country.”
Tag: 09.28.08
Did Rothko’s Art Suffer In His Last Years?
“Everyone knows what we are supposed to feel before the transcendent beauty of a Rothko – amazement, awe and revelation.” But Laura Cumming writes that the collection of late Rothkos on show at Tate Modern are “dispiritingly ordinary… compared to the riches of the previous decade.”
Consider The Box
What defines an art gallery, beyond the simple fact that someone has hung some art in it? “Agreeable spaces, controlled lighting, hints of the incongruous or transgressive licensed by the sanctity of art.” It’s a topic most of us never really consider, but some of the greatest minds in the art world devote themselves to it every day.
Youth Movement
Composer Jason Robert Brown’s new Broadway-bound musical has a rather unusual pit orchestra. First off, it’s a rock band, not an orchestra. Secondly, they’re on stage with the actors, not in the pit. Third, by order of the composer, not a single member of the group is over 18.
Critic: Lockhart Conducting Is “Crass,” “Tasteless”
Keith Lockhart is entering his last season as music director of the Utah Symphony, and it seems that the end can’t come soon enough for one of Salt Lake City’s music critics. “For some unexplained reason, Lockhart feels that opening night is an excuse for dumbing down the classics. There’s no other explanation for it… And it hasn’t gotten any better over the years.”
A Play About A Theater
The Guthrie Theater is Minnesota’s largest, and one of America’s most important regional theaters. But at its beginnings more than 40 years ago, the Guthrie was the product of a monumental clash of egos, a battle between impresario Tyrone Guthrie and architect Ralph Rapson. A new play memorializes the rocky relationship…
Maybe Rothko Wasn’t As Dark As We Thought
Have we had Mark Rothko wrong all these years? “Rothko’s problem – the reason why he appears to have been so thoroughly misunderstood by posterity – is the dark myth that he allowed to emerge around him while he was alive and which overgrew his entire reputation after his suicide in 1970.” But a new Tate Modern show seems to be breaking down that image.
Banksy-Fueled “Bloodbath” At London Auction House
A truly dismal showing at a contemporary art auction in London this weekend has the art world buzzing. “Many of yesterday’s lots were withdrawn after failing to reach their reserve,” and one dealer warned that, while “there will always be the super rich who keep the top of the market afloat… everywhere else it’s a bloodbath.”
The Next Big Name In British Theatre?
“Four years ago he was an unsung young director honing his talents in Northampton. Now – after a hatful of awards for his Macbeth – Rupert Goold is juggling packed houses, rave reviews and a schedule crammed with Lear, Pinter, Pirandello – and Andrew Lloyd Webber. After his meteoric rise, is Britain’s brightest directing talent heading for the National?”
London Publisher Attacked By Terrorists
“The London home of the publisher of a controversial new novel that gives a fictionalised account of the Prophet Muhammad’s relationship with his child bride, Aisha, was firebombed yesterday, hours after police had warned the man that he could be a target for fanatics… Three men have been arrested on terrorism charges.”