Debate about the direction of London’s National Theatre rages on in the press. Does no one like the National these days? “In order to establish the right mission for a national theatre, we need to strip the idea of theatre back to the bone. There is no place for retrospective seasons based on the architecture of the building, no room for knee-jerk reliance on the classics.” – The Guardian
Tag: 10.21.00
HENRY MOORE GOES TO CHINA
One of the largest exhibitions of Henry Moore’s sculpture ever assembled is on show in Beijing, part of the British Council’s drive to raise the UK’s profile in China. “This was as much a political event as a cultural one. For the 12 giant bronzes shipped half-way round the world are the first true pieces of modern sculpture that have ever been seen in China. – The Telegraph (UK)
PICASSO’S RED PERIOD
Pablo Picasso was famously a member of the Communist Party, which considered him one of its most important members. He got a lot of attention for his political views (and a thick FBI file). But then came that portrait of Stalin, and… – The Guardian
GUGGENHEIM LAS VEGAS
“Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Rem Koolhaas, it will feature 20 works from the Russian museum and 20 from Guggenheim that will rotate every six months. For larger displays, plans call for a 63,700-square-foot building between the hotel’s casino and the parking garage for large-scale traveling exhibitions, director Thomas Krens said.” – Las Vegas Sun (AP)
AFTER THE PO-MO IS GONE
“As we enter an era that could well be post-post-modern, questions are increasingly being asked about just what Modernism was or even whether it was really anything at all. It is almost as if Modernism were now being recast in the image of pomo. Modernism, in these reinterpretations, is gnomic, ironic, wavering. – New York Times
FOREIGN INFLUENCE
Even critics of the way Anthony Dowell has run London’s Royal Ballet, have to admit that his infusion of startlingly good foreign dancers has made the company richer. – The Telegraph (London)
E-BOOK AWARDS
“E.M. Schorb and David Maraniss shared the grand prize for best original e-book at Friday’s inaugural Frankfurt eBook Awards, the first designed to recognize achievements in the emerging e-book industry.” – Wired
FUROR OVER SLUR AGAINST BARENBOIM
Daniel Barenboim has been feuding with the Berlin government over funds for the Staatsoper, which he runs, and over plans to merge the opera company with the less prestigious Deutsche Oper, run by the rising 41-year-old star of German music, Christian Thielemann. “Enter Klaus Landowsky, a leading Berlin politician from the Christian Democratic party, to sum up the situation in these terms to the Berliner Morgenpost: ‘On the one hand, you have the young von Karajan in Thielemann, on the other you have the Jew Barenboim’.” – New York Times