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[interviews]
 lilian hak
Lilian Hak creates progressive electronic pop music with her use of both conventional instruments, keyboards......read more
 adad hannah
New York-born Adad Hannah has shown his unique "Stills" in Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, Korea (where......read more
more interviews >>
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Underground currents of fertilization. When one thinks of the 20th century artistic movements, one still tends to name those who got the most press at their time, gaining thus "historical importance", and those who were widely copied, garanteeing their inheritance. Certain movements remain unsung, or seen as "just experiments" which did not have much consequence. Gertrude Stein is famous, alright, but regarded sometimes as an isolated anomaly, despite the fact that she gave us works as "Tender Buttons" in 1914 or the "Stanzas in Meditation" of 1932. How people can waste time saying that Jack Kerouac "invented" a "more spontaneous and experimental prose" in "On the road" of 1957, with its extremely conservative narrative, when Gertrude Stein had already written the "Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas", is something that escapes my comprehension. A poet like Mina Loy (1882 - 1966), who published her outrageous "Songs to Joannes" in 1917, is still a secret tip among passionate readers. The dadaists of Zurich are many times mentioned only as forerunners of the "more important" surrealists, who were also very conservative when compared to the much more iconoclastic works of the dadaists. The surrealists kept syntax untouched, in their literary works, and the models of representation tied to realist techniques in their paintings. Their work is seen as "more serious", easier to catalogue and file under "High Art". The extremely innovative and groundbreaking poems of Hans Arp remain forgotten, as the work of Kurt Schwitters or Pierre Albert-Birot. The paintings of Salvador Dali look better in calendars, of course, than those of Max Ernst. But it was these artists, along with Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp, Theo van Doesburg, plus Hans Arp, or Schwitters, who kept an underground flow of iconoclasm and refusal to settle or sell, which influenced some of the most exciting writers in the post-war era, such as Frank O'Hara and John Ashbery in the United States, or the Vienna Group (HC Artmann, Ernst Jandl, Gerhard Ruhm, Konrad Bayer), with visual art influx on the Actionists, also in Vienna (Otto Muehl, among others), or the Flux artists in New York. These destructing creators, non-artists, anti-artists, predict the death of the artist-demiurgue, and invoke the need of what I call cultural interventionists. Someone to piss again on the standards of good taste, as Bruce Nauman or Paul MacCarthy have done, or Kate Bush and Yoko Ono, or as Adilia Lopes and Angelica Freitas are doing. It is deadly serious how most have no sense of humor. Lets piss on them. - Ricardo Domeneck
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| NEWS |
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| 08-14-07
french publisher won't sue over teen's translation
The French publishers of the Harry Potter books said Monday they are not seeking damages from a 16-year-old who allegedly posted an unauthorized translation of the final book in the series online. ... The case is still under preliminary investigation by the French judicial police, and it is up to investigators to decide whether to try to bring the case to trial. Find out more on Washington Post.
| 08-13-07
in s.f. a startling design understands the city
The competition to build a new transit center and skyscraper on Mission Street isn't a beauty contest. It's a gamble in city-making that could redefine San Francisco in the sky and on the ground. How fitting, then, that the tower best suited to replace the Transamerica Pyramid as the Bay Area's tallest building is every bit as startling as that 35-year-old icon once was - and, at first glance to many eyes, every bit as harsh. The design comes from the firm of England's Lord Richard Rogers, and it hums with surprising life. Find the entire article on San Francisco Chronicle.
| 08-13-07
an ensemble makes music, and a political point
An ensemble of musicians separated by oceans and thousands of miles will perform together later this month for the first time, having composed music layer-by-layer with sound files exchanged over the Internet. Their goal: Show how the arts can bridge diverse cultures -- even among people who have never met in person before coming together on stage. The musicians, from Afghanistan, Iran, Ethiopia, Morocco and the United States, are slated to perform in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Casablanca. Read all about it on USA Today.
| 08-13-07
you don't mess with a nesting duck
In the latest instalment of his series on setting up a label, Will Hodgkinson takes his folk troupe to record in the great outdoors - but nature doesn't always co-operate.
While digital technology, and in particular the birth of the download, has made it increasingly hard for a small band to make a living, it has also made it possible for virtually anyone with a rudimentary grasp of music and a few ideas to make a record. Tyack spent £800 on a 16-track portable recording system. He will decamp to Cornwall for a few weeks in July to make an album in the garden of an 18th-century cottage rented by the father of Thistletown's trumpet, accordion and glockenspiel player, Jarvis. More information about this on The Guardian.
| 08-10-07
picasso, monet, renoir... dylan?
An exhibition of paintings by folksinger Bob Dylan will go on display this fall at a German museum. Dylan has produced more than 200 sketches and watercolours over the years... The collection, entitled The Drawn Blank Series, will hang in an exhibition alongside works by various European masters, including Picasso. Find the entire article on The Independent.
| 08-10-07
pavarotti hospitalized
Luciano Pavarotti was reported in satisfactory condition after being admitted to hospital with a high fever in his hometown of Modena, Italy. Pavarotti, who was diagnosed with cancer last year, is likely to be discharged in the next few days. Read more about Luciano Pavarotti on The Globe & Mail.
| 08-10-07
giving online voice to a dangerous trend
The primary attraction of video-sharing sites like YouTube and social networking sites like MySpace has been their near-complete openness to all points of view, and their accessibility to anyone with a camera and a computer. But should YouTube allow anorexic teens to post videos encouraging other teens to adopt an increasingly cult-like and toxic lifestyle? Where is the line when it comes to "harmful content"? More about this on The Times.
| 08-09-07
never a good idea to publish your murder plot
A Polish author is on trial for allegedly committing the brutal crime he later detailed in a bestselling novel. The author claims he was inspired by a newspaper account of the torture and murder of a businessman. Prosecutors say that the book contained intimate details of the murder that could be known only to police -- or the killer. Further investigations revealed that the victim was an acquaintance of [the author's] estranged wife.
More about this story on The Times.
| 08-09-07
mp3s: the fast food of music?
Is the age of the MP3 ruining our appreciation of good-quality recorded sound? Consider: the average MP3 file contains only 10% of the sound actually recorded on the original CD it came from. That CD, in turn, contains less than half of what engineers captured on-site when the recording was made. Compressed MP3s represent a minuscule fraction of the actual recording. For purists, it's the dark ages of recorded sound.
Read the entire article on San Francisco Chronicle.
| 08-09-07
Is The UK Running Out Of Money for The Arts?
Rupert Christiansen says the UK's National Lottery is neglecting its considerable role in funding the country's arts and culture. "The Lottery's achievement is considerable, but, as the Cassandras prophesied when its guidelines were originally being drawn up, the problem it leaves unresolved is the dearth of cash - either from the Treasury or from ticket-buyers - to sustain the day-to-day running of [the] splendid edifices" it has built over the last decade.
Find out more on The Telegraph.
| 08-08-07
stolen picassos recovered in paris
Police have found two paintings and a drawing by Pablo Picasso stolen from his granddaughter's apartment in Paris in February... Three people were arrested in Paris and are awaiting charges over the theft. The combined value of the recovered works is nearly $69m. Read all about the recovered picassos on BBC.
| 08-08-07
music publishers join youtube copyright fight
A group of music publishing companies said yesterday it would join a copyright infringement lawsuit against Google's video-sharing site YouTube. The group, the National Music Publishers' Association, said it was joining the lawsuit out of concern that many songwriters were not receiving proper compensation when their music appeared on YouTube videos. More information about this on The New York Times.
| 08-07-07
lili allen's US work visa cancelled
Pop star Lily Allen has had her US work visa cancelled after arriving at Los Angeles airport.
The 22-year-old, who is due to tour America in September, had flown in for the MTV Video Music Awards launch. More from BBC News.
| 08-07-07
seeking the essence of san francisco architecture
San Francisco's architecture isn't defined by specific heights, or a checklist of specific design elements, such as bay windows or Victorian frill. Our brand of urbanity is rooted in some ineffable sense of place and state of grace - subjective yardsticks indeed. But this I do know: The buildings and districts and landscapes we've inherited are strong enough to withstand the shock of the new. Find out more about the architecture of San Francisco on San Francisco Chronicle.
| 08-07-07
want your infant to talk?
Turn Off Baby Einstein. Parents hoping to raise baby Einsteins by using infant educational videos are actually creating baby Homer Simpsons, according to a new study released today. For every hour a day that babies 8 to 16 months old were shown such popular series as 'Brainy Baby' or 'Baby Einstein,' they knew six to eight fewer words than other children, the study found. Read all about it on Los Angeles Times.
| 08-07-07
canvases stolen in daylight raid on french museum
Masked raiders have stolen four paintings in a daylight raid on an art gallery in Nice in the south of France. Police said five men made off with two works by Flemish artist Brueghel and two paintings by the impressionists Sisley and Monet on Sunday. Officials at the Musee des Beaux-Arts said the works were 'invaluable'. Read all about this art theft on BBC.
| 08-06-07
graffiti: art or blight? the debate continues.
As a city volunteer rolled dark green paint over a bright jumble of scrawlings and imagery on a fence at Warm Water Cove Park on Saturday, Paul Barron stood alongside holding a yellow sign with an ornately lettered message: 'Celebrate Graffiti!' 'Painting over artwork isn't gonna prevent any crime,' Barron, who described himself as a professional muralist and graffiti artist, told reporters who had come to witness a culture clash on a balmy morning at San Francisco's southern waterfront. 'They're taking away our voice ... killing the only pure form of art. More about Graffiti on
San Francisco Chronicle.
| 08-06-07
has the time for public-access tv passed?
For many people, public access TV is still symbolized by 'Wayne's World,' a 'Saturday Night Live' sketch that portrayed two slackers doing a so-bad-it's-good program from a basement rec room. But today, the Waynes of the world have a whole new stage on the Web. Homemade videos are viewed by millions each day, giving anyone with a video camera and a fast Internet connection their own 'show.' So do we still need public access TV? Find out more on Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
| 08-06-07
the role of art in school
When two researchers published a study a few years ago concluding that arts classes do not improve students' overall academic performance, the backlash was bitter." In a new book, those researchers, Ellen Winner and Lois Hetland, "argue forcefully for the benefits of art education, while still defending their 2000 thesis. In their view art education should be championed for its own sake, not because of a wishful sentiment that classes in painting, dance and music improve pupils' math and reading skills and standardized test scores.Read more about this on The New York Times.
| 08-03-07
Baghdad Museum Unseals Its Doors
The Baghdad Museum is unblocking its doors again and allowing staff in. "Shortly before antiquities head Donny George went into exile last August, he had all the entrances to the building blocked, because of the deteriorating security situation in Baghdad. Dr George admitted that this could have created environmental problems, but he felt it was too dangerous to protect the museum with just locked doors. Read the entire story about the Baghdad museum on The Art Newspaper.
| 08-03-07
silence is golden (if you're a brain)
Music stimulates the brain, according to a new study, but it's the silences between the phrases that really make us think. "A one- to two-second break between movements triggers a flurry of mental activity, researchers found. When the music resumes, the action shifts to a different part of the brain, then subsides... Stanford's snapshots of this pause may have implications beyond concert halls, nightclubs and honky-tonks. More information about this on San Jose Mercury News.
| 08-03-07
do the ends justify the lies?
A new documentary about Arctic wildlife is aiming to bring the important message of climate change to kids, but critics are raising questions about some of the filmmakers' tactics. For their part, the film's backers "are unapologetic about the fact that the occasional anthropomorphism is there to make the global-warming message as commercially accessible as possible. Find the whole story on The Globe & Mail.
| 08-02-07
rolling stone to pen life story
Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards has begun work on his autobiography, which will be released by 2010. The 63-year-old, who formed the band in the early 1960s, has spoken candidly about his music, heroin addiction and battles with bandmate Sir Mick Jagger. Read all about it on BBC.
| 08-02-07
the regret-free tattoo
Inks trapped inside polymer beads could mean that painful removals will be a thing of the past.
But thanks to Professor Edith Mathiowitz of Brown University in the US, you might never need to again. Whenever you fancy new body art, a single laser treatment will clear the way - because the first durable, but easily removable, tattoo is just around the corner. Read all about it on The Guardian.
| 08-02-07
charles simic,named poet laureate
Charles Simic, a writer who juxtaposes dark imagery with ironic humor, is to be named the country’s 15th poet laureate by the Librarian of Congress today.
born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, and immigrated to the United States at 16. He started writing poetry in English only a few years after learning the language and has published more than 20 volumes of poetry, as well as essay collections, translations and a memoir. Read all about it on The New York Times.
| 08-01-07
dan colen and dash snow art show opens
There is lots of talk about the new exhibition of work by artists Dan Colen and Dash Snow, two of our favorites. It has opened in New York. Art Forum has a report on the preview. See also the exclusive interview with Dan Colen
| 07-31-07
blow-up director antonioni dies
Antonioni was born in Ferrara in 1912 and released his debut feature, Story of A Love Affair, at the age of 38. He gained two Oscar nominations for the iconic release, and was awarded an honorary Academy Award for his life's work in 1995.
His last cinematic release was 2004's The Dangerous Thread of Things, one part of a trilogy of short films released under the title Eros.
The director died peacefully at home on Monday night.
Fans will be able to pay their respects when Antonioni's body lies in state in the Sala della Protomoteca at Rome's city hall, the Campidoglio, on Wednesday morning. Read more about Antonioni's dead on BBC.
| 07-31-07
ingmar bergman, master filmmaker, dies at 89
Bergman was the greatest of the 20th-century artists who tried to adapt the traditional craftsmanship of European theater to a new cultural form.
Not only will he be remembered first and foremost as one of the most influential of European filmmakers but will also go down in history as one of the greatest stage directors of the second half of the 20th century, a figure comparable to Britain's Peter Brook, Italy's Giorgio Strehler, France's Ariane Mnouchkine and Germany's Peter Stein. What kept him working in theater well into his 80s, after scores of critically acclaimed productions and legendary status as a filmmaker, was that same intoxicating sense of liberation that drew his youthful imagination.
In his more than 40 years in the cinema, Mr. Bergman made about 50 films, often focusing on two themes -- the relationship between the sexes, and the relationship between mankind and God. Mr. Bergman found in cinema, he wrote in a 1965 essay, "a language that literally is spoken from soul to soul in expressions that, almost sensuously, escape the restrictive control of the intellect.
Read more in The New York Times Online
| 07-31-07
often, your subconscious brain calls the shots
New studies have found that people tidy up more thoroughly when there's a faint tang of cleaning liquid in the air; they become more competitive if there's a briefcase in sight, or more cooperative if they glimpse words like 'dependable' and 'support' -- all without being aware of the change, or what prompted it. Psychologists say that 'priming' people in this way is not some form of hypnotism, or even subliminal seduction; rather, it's a demonstration of how everyday sights, smells and sounds can selectively activate goals or motives that people already have. More about this on The New York Times.
| 07-31-07
the rare wood of today's violins
Worldwide today, pernambuco is used in fewer than 20 percent of all bows, but in more than 90 percent among professionals. Originally used for timber and dyes, pernambuco today is mostly cut for violin bows, with the best heartwood coming from trees more than 80 years old. In 1992, it was added to Brazil's endangered species list. So why is pernambuco still used? Find the whole story on Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
| 07-31-07
does corporate sponsorship = artistic compromise?
Over recent years, Shell has sponsored the National's innovative Connections programme, producing theatre for young people by leading playwrights. It was a project that, as Nicholas Hytner said, had everything: 'exciting new plays, committed and inspired performers and an audience that wants to be challenged, provoked and entertained'. But it took the support of a multinational oil company to make it possible. Not everyone is comfortable with this sort of creative relationship. Read the entire story on The Guardian.
| 07-30-07
not much use for used books
Book collecting is a solitary pasttime, and the circle of devotees who partake of its delights is a relatively small one. That latter fact can make for a tough market for collectors looking to unload their treasures. The [internet] has created a buyer's market, by forcing sellers from all over to compete with each other for titles that are often abundant. Read all about it on The Plain Dealer.
| 07-30-07
music in the shadow of hitler
Two new novels exploring the lives of classical musicians living under Nazi rule in WWII-era Germany are raising eyebrows in the dual worlds of music and literature. At the heart of both books is the chilling conflict of great art in the face of great evil, and the inescapably human decisions that must be made in such situations. More about this on The New York Times .
| 07-30-07
what do westerns tell us about today's america?
The Western is hot again in Hollywood, and there may be more to that fact than the cyclical nature of the movie business. Some of the new breed are the same as the old breed - simple stories stripped of the complications of modern life so as to tell pure tales of the human condition. But other new Westerns are seemingly using the form as an allegory to comment on the existential anxieties facing America today. Find the whole story onThe Times .
| 07-27-07
would bach have composed on a laptop?
When Johann Sebastian Bach grew up in late 17th century Germany, his obsession with keyboard instruments propelled him towards becoming a classical great. But if young Bach were around today, he'd probably be holed up in his bedroom with a laptop, composing avant-garde electro. Find the whole story on The Guardian.
| 07-27-07
the greenest building
Nestled into the fog and forest of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, the California Academy of Sciences aims to be the world's largest eco-friendly public building when it reopens in 2008... Architect Renzo Piano used a textbook's worth of enviro-engineering tricks for the seven-year effort, an almost total teardown and rebuild. At $484 million, it's one of the most expensive museum projects in a century. More about this on Wired.
| 07-27-07
art loses in iraq
Many of Iraq's artists have joined the flight that has decimated the country's intellectual reserves. For those who remain, it is a constant struggle to keep producing work that few will ever see and most cannot afford. Read the entire story on Los Angeles Times .
| 07-26-07
wrecked buildings on endangered list
Sixteen historically interesting but physically decayed buildings have been put on the UK endangered heritage list. They include a redundant colliery, the burnt out shell of a 13th century moated manor house, a Victorian sewage pumping station, and a vast, battered shed which is the only remaining airship hangar in Europe. Read the entire article on The Guardian.
| 07-26-07
the device that will replace your tv remote?
A new device that allows viewers to operate the on/off switch or change channels by simple hand gestures may make the remote control lost down the back of the sofa a thing of the past. Its inventors, two engineers from Wollongong University in Australia, say the new gadget incorporates a camera that recognises hand signals and translates them into electronic commands for the TV and other audio visual equipment. More about this story on The Guardian.
| 07-26-07
is italy flogging the getty for political reasons?
It may be time for someone in authority to call out Italian politicians for their obvious grandstanding and reject what some call the "harassment" of Los Angeles's J. Paul Getty Museum, says Christopher Knight. The escalating anti-Getty posturing is old-fashioned political demagoguery, pitched to voters back home... The emptiness of Italy's legal and ethical claims for the Getty Bronze are beside the point. Find the whole story on Los Angeles Times.
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