At Sotheby’s in New York, “the star was the abstract Suprematist Composition painted in 1916 by the Russian avant-garde artist Kazimir Malevich. It set a world record for Russian art at $60 million.”
Tag: 11.04.08
Meanwhile, Munch and Degas Go For Nearly $40 Million Each
At that same Sotheby’s auction, considered disappointing overall, Edvard Munch’s Vampire sold for $38 million and Edgar Degas’s Dancer in Repose went for $37 million.
11 Top Authors Defend Kundera
“Four Nobel Prize-winners for literature have joined seven other distinguished writers in issuing a statement of support for the Czech-born author Milan Kundera, who has been accused of informing for the Communist secret police when he was a student.” The signatories are J. M. Coetzee, Gabriel García Marquez, Nadine Gordimer, Orhan Pamuk, Philip Roth, Salman Rushdie, Carlos Fuentes, Jean Daniel, Jorge Semprun, Juan Goytisolo and Pierre Mertens.
The Uncategorizable Richard Alston, Indifferent To Fashion
“This autumn Richard Alston celebrates both his 60th birthday and his 40th anniversary as a choreographer. … If Alston now ranks as one of the great survivors in British modern dance, he was once one of its original rebels.”
Fringe Theatre Has Lost Its Bite
“The fringe grew up to provide space for new and experimental forms of work; theatre that could not be staged under the nose of the Lord Chamberlain; theatre that challenged the status quo; theatre that asked unpalatable questions of society; theatre that made aesthetic choices that outraged audiences – disquieting theatre; disruptive theatre.” Today, “the fringe now often seems to be less forward-looking in terms of staging and material than the Lyttleton or the Gielgud.”
In Humor Sweepstakes, Conservatives Have The Edge
“While Americans choose their next president, let us consider a question more amenable to science: Which candidate’s supporters have a better sense of humor?” Hint: Not the ones who are personalizing that hilarious MoveOn video.
The Economic Death Knell Tolls Through Dickens
“The economic crisis has people nervous. But imagine living during the time of Charles Dickens when the Bank of England was on the verge of collapse and financial ruin was sudden.”
A Northwestern Gaudí, Please, For Seattle
“Being careful what we pray for, because we just might get it, today’s cautious wish is that architecture in Seattle weren’t so damn serious. And growing still more so. We are cultivating an almost unwavering devotion to mainstream modernism, conventional respectability and generic anonymity.”
Does Political Humor Change The Political Climate?
“Much of today’s political humor requires a smart and savvy audience that keeps up with current events — if only in order to mock it. … But has any of this smart political humor had an impact on the candidates, the election or our politics? It may be safe to argue that comedy changes the national mood, but can it change the national political climate in more fundamental ways?”
A Mostly Dismal, Briefly Record-Setting Sotheby’s Evening
“Sotheby’s failed to sell a third of the lots at its Impressionist and modern art auction last night in New York, the latest sign that worldwide financial distress is undermining demand for trophy paintings and sculpture.”