The Korea Herald

Abstract painter Helen Frankenthaler dies at 83

Dec 28, 2011

NEW YORK (AP) ― Helen Frankenthaler, an abstract painter known for her bold, lyrical use of color who led a postwar art movement that would later be termed Color Field painting, died Tuesday at her home in Connecticut, her nephew said. She was 83.One of Frankenthaler’s most famous works is “Mountains and Sea,” a 1952 painting at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., which she created by pouring thinned paint directly onto raw, unprimed canvas laid on the studio floor. Frankenthaler’s
Occupy Wall Street becomes collectible

Dec 27, 2011

NEW YORK (AP) ― Occupy Wall Street may still be working to shake the notion it represents a passing outburst of rage, but some establishment institutions have already decided the movement’s artifacts are worthy of historic preservation.More than a half-dozen major museums and organizations from the Smithsonian Institution to the New-York Historical Society have been avidly collecting materials produced by the Occupy movement.Staffers have been sent to occupied parks to rummage for buttons, signs
Japanese designer of arty kitchenware Sori Yanagi dies

Dec 27, 2011

TOKYO (AP) ― Sori Yanagi, whose designs for stools and kitchen pots brought the simplicity and purity of Japanese decor into the everyday, has died. He was 96.The pioneer of Japan’s industrial design died of pneumonia in a Tokyo hospital Sunday, Koichi Fujita of Yanagi Design Office said.Yanagi’s curvaceous “butterfly stool,” evocative of a Japanese shrine gate, won an award at La Triennale di Milano in 1957 and helped elevate him to international stature.The work later joined the permanent coll
Dutch public raises funds to restore Napoleon painting

Dec 27, 2011

THE HAGUE (AFP) ― The Amsterdam Museum has raised more than 50,000 euros from public sponsors to restore a 198-year-old painting depicting Napoleon’s entrance into the city, its spokeswoman said. The public was asked to sponsor different parts on the canvas entitled “Napoleon’s Entrance,” painted by Belgian master Matthieu van Bree in 1813 and which until recently had been rolled-up since 1891.“We have 340 donors who contributed amounts ranging from between 10 euros to 25,000 euros,” Martine Wil
UNESCO cuts funds for Palestinian magazine

Dec 26, 2011

JERUSALEM (AP) ― The U.N.’s cultural agency said it is pulling funding for a Palestinian youth magazine that published an article suggesting admiration for Hitler.The magazine, Zayzafouna, published an article in February written by a teenage girl who presented four role models: a medieval Persian mathematician, a modern Egyptian novelist, the Muslim warrior Saladin and the Nazi leader.UNESCO said in a statement it “strongly deplores and condemns” the “unacceptable” material and would cease fund
Dig in San Francisco unearths artifacts

Dec 26, 2011

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ― The big dig for San Francisco’s multibillion dollar transportation terminal has unearthed some artifacts from during and after the city’s heady Gold Rush days, including opium pipes from a Chinese laundry and a chipped chamber pot found in a backyard outhouse.The 70 artifacts have city archeologists eager for more and local residents pondering the ground beneath their feet.“It’s not often that you get a chance to stop for a moment and have a window into what used to be,” sai
Salvation Army kettles bring in record-breaking 4.48 billion won

Dec 26, 2011

SEOUL, Dec. 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Salvation Army kettles brought in more than 4.48 billion won (US$3.9 million) for the annual red kettle campaign this year, an all-time high despite global economic difficulties, the charity said on Monday."We have collected more than 4.48 billion won to date
Christmas attacks in Nigeria by sect kill 39

Dec 26, 2011

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) _ Terror attacks across Nigeria by a radical Muslim sect killed at least 39 people, with the majority dying on the steps of a Catholic church after celebrating Christmas Mass as blood pooled in dust from a massive explosion.Authorities on Sunday acknowledged they could not bring
Controversial Dutch artist Johannes Heesters dies at 108

Dec 25, 2011

Dutch-born entertainer Johannes Heesters, who made his name performing in Adolf Hitler’s Germany and was dogged later in his long career by controversy over his Nazi-era past, died Saturday, his agent said. He was 108.The tenor Heesters made his debut on the big stage at the Volksoper in Vienna, Austria in 1934. His career took off in Berlin where, starting in 1935 ― two years after the Nazis took power ― he became a crowd favorite at the Komische Oper and Admiralspalast.He died in a clinic in t
Cartwheeling Alagna takes over leading role in ‘Faust’ at Met

Dec 25, 2011

NEW YORK (AP) ― A debuting Swedish soprano and a cartwheeling Roberto Alagna took over leading roles as Des McAnuff’s atomic-scientist production of Gounod’s “Faust” continued its run at the Metropolitan Opera.As Marguerite, the maiden seduced and abandoned by Faust, Malin Bystrom got off to a slow start Friday night with a muted “King of Thule” song and a jewel aria that was too soft-grained to sparkle.But she improved as the evening wore on, bringing pathos to the spinning song, desperation to
Queen to host royals’ Christmas, Kate’s first

Dec 25, 2011

LONDON (AP) ― It will be a traditional Christmas weekend for Queen Elizabeth II’s extended family, which now includes the former Kate Middleton, with the quiet holiday break to be followed by a year’s worth of festivities to mark the queen’s 60th year on the throne.Most of the senior royals, including Prince William and his wife, now formally known as the Duchess of Cambridge, will be dispatched across the globe to help the aging monarch celebrate her Diamond Jubilee in grand style.Elizabeth and
Winners in 2011

Dec 25, 2011

‘Arrow, the Ultimate Weapon,’ ‘Jekyll & Hyde,’ Super Junior top their genresAlthough bestsellers aren’t necessarily the most superior or well-made ― especially when it comes to the diverse culture sector ― sales performance is nevertheless an important barometer of public opinion.Despite the lingering impact of the economic downturn and inflation, more Koreans were willing to open their wallets to go to concerts and the movies, and buy books and records, year-end statistics show, with overall sa
eye-like

Dec 23, 2011

Jenkins creates her own genre in 8th album Katherine Jenkins“Daydream” (Warner Music)While “junior Sarah Brightman” might not be the worst nickname for a popera diva, Katherine Jenkins may have longed for a chance to establish her own identity. The Welsh musician does more than that in her eighth studio album “Daydream,” which sees the record-breaking multi-platinum-selling mezzo soprano not only returning to her musical roots, but creating her very own musical genre once and for all. As her mos
Jeju officially named one of new 7 wonders

Dec 22, 2011

Korea’s Jeju Island was officially proclaimed one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature this week, as the chief of the Swiss-based organization congratulated Jeju via an email, officials here said Thursday.According to Korea’s National Committee for Jeju New7Wonders of Nature, Bernard Weber, chairman of the New7Wonders Foundation, sent an email to the head of the committee Chung Un-chan to inform him of the official result. Jeju became one of the provisional winners earlier this month, but the foun
Herald artday’s second auction holds up despite low season

Dec 22, 2011

The second online auction held by Herald artday, a subsidiary of Herald Media group, closed on Wednesday with 64 percent of items on the bidding block sold. A total of 68 pieces among 106 artworks were sold, marking a total sales of 186 million won ($145,000). Among the articles, Lee U-fan’s piece “With Wind” was sold at the highest price of 65 million won. Competition was tough during the six-day event where artworks by up-and-coming figures such as Mari Kim, Lee Woo-lim and Heo Yang-gu and vet