“In a salesroom overflowing with collectors like the actor Steve Martin, the financier Eli Broad and the fashion designer Valentino, Sotheby’s barely managed to sell $125.1 million worth of contemporary art on Tuesday night, well below the low estimate of $202.4 million.”
Tag: 11.12.08
What Qualifies As A New Book?
“Among the nominees for this year’s National Book Award in fiction, which will be presented next Wednesday, is a book that some have complained is not exactly new: Peter Matthiessen’s ‘Shadow Country,’ published by Modern Library, which is a one-volume compilation of three novels that Mr. Matthiessen published from 1990 to 1999.” But Matthiessen does appear to have substantially rewritten the text, so some wonder what all the fuss is about.
“New” Caravaggios Make Their Debut
“Two newly discovered paintings by the Italian artist Caravaggio will go on display in Scotland for the first time… the pieces were verified as Caravaggio originals during the cleaning process, when specialists were able to carry out detailed examinations of several paintings and assess their status with scholars in the field.”
Last-Minute Filmmaking
“Director Baz Luhrmann says he has yet to finish his $130m (£84.2m) epic film Australia, despite the fact it is due to have its world premiere next week… The 46-year-old, who has spent the last four years working on the film, said he was ‘going back to the mixing desk to finish it in 24 hours’.”
Violinist of the Future?
“In a world where there are scores of amazingly trained, virtually interchangeable violin virtuosos, Pekka Kuusisto stands out as that rarest of things: the genuinely individual talent.” Kuusisto plays the classics as if he had just made them up, with a sound and style that most violinists would never even consider attempting. No surprise that he’s also “in [his] comfort zone improvising with an electronic jazz group or taking the stage with a Norwegian noise duo.”
Changes Coming To Sydney Symphony Leadership
The Sydney Symphony’s controversial general manager is reportedly leaving the organization next year. Sources say that a number of important behind-the-scenes figures have left the orchestra during GM Libby Christie’s tenure, having chafed at her micromanaging style.
Joseph Boyden Takes 2008 Giller Prize
Boyden’s Through Black Spruce, a novel narrated by a Cree bush pilot in a coma and his niece, who has left the subarctic wilderness to find her missing sister in Manhattan, has won this year’s Scotiabank Giller Prize, which carries a C$50,000 cash award. The jurors were novelist Margaret Atwood, former Ontario premier Bob Rae, and Irish author Colm Toíbín, the first foreign judge in the prize’s 15-year history.
Britain Needs Ballet Dancers
The art of the dance sits near the top of the list of professions favored under a new points system for admitting non-EU immigrants announced by the UK’s Home Office. Other sought-after workers include sheep shearers, chemical engineers, horse trainers, math and science teachers, physicists and frozen fish filleters (Scotland only).
Could We Hardwire Culture Directly Into The Brain?
Could we perhaps download War and Peace or, with a nod to The Matrix, a manual of how to fly a
helicopter? How about inscribing the sentence “See Spot run” into the memory of someone who is unconscious of the transfer? How about just the word “see”?