PARIS (AFP) ― The painted grins are stretched so wide they seem to hurt. And that is pretty much what Yue Minjun intended, the Chinese artist explained at the Paris opening of his first major show in Europe.A former electrician turned contemporary artist, Yue shot to international attention in 1999 when his signature laughing-man self-portraits made a much-noted eruption at the Art Biennale in Venice.“If I paint laughter it is because I feel pain towards human life,” the 50-year-old, one of Chin

Theater director Keith Batten shares his experience staging musicals around the world

From Da Vinci to Raphael, Italian masters show history of Western art

LONDON (AP) ― Sotheby’s says an original piece of artwork from the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” album has fetched 55,250 pounds ($88,000) at an auction.The auction house said the original 1967 collage for the insert to the album sold to a bidder in London on Tuesday. The sale marked the first time the collage by Sir Peter Blake was on the market. The auction house said Blake was introduced to the Beatles by his dealer, and that he and his wife worked closely with Paul McCartn

Lee Hi’s hit debut single “1,2,3,4” remains at the top of the charts for two consecutive weeks, the best chart performance for a rookie artist this year. The 16-year-old breakout artist released her first single on Oct. 28 and has been reigning on the music charts ever since. The retro-pop style track has remained at the No. 1 position on many of the major Korean music charts including Mnet, Melon, Naver and Daum. “1,2,3,4” also ranked at the top of the K-pop Billboard chart immediately upon its

‘IRIS II’ lead Jang Hyuk promises less glitz, more grit

Korean director Yi Seung-jun’s documentary “Planet of Snail” won the top prize at the 6th International Disability Film Festival in Moscow on Monday. The everyday portrayal of a hearing and visually impaired poet and his wife also won the top prize last year at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, the world’s largest documentary film festival. Russian actor and filmmaker Vladimir Menshov, who serves as the head of the jury of the film fest, reportedly praised the film for its a

Producers of the latest James Bond movie “Skyfall” said that they used a 3-D-printed Aston Martin DB5 instead of a real one.Three replica cars, a third of the size of the real car, were created using a 3-D printer to film stunt scenes where the priceless vehicle explodes in flames.The models were made by British film props production firm Propshop Modelmakers Ltd., which used Voxeljet to print the cars.Officials at Propshop and Voxeljet said that it is impossible to distinguish the Aston Martin

A former BBC presenter has been charged with sexually abusing children, although it was not related to the ongoing Jimmy Savile investigations, British police said on Tuesday.Norfolk Police said that Michael Souter, a former presenter for BBC Radio Norfolk in eastern England, had been charged with 18 offences against boys, one offence against a man and one against a woman.The alleged offences date back to between 1979 and 1999.A spokesman for the force told AFP the charges were not connected to

Korean artists Moon Kyung-won and Jeon Joon-ho met in 2007 when they were both growing tired of the politics of the art world.It prompted them to ponder on the role of art from scratch.The 43-year-old artists’ search for the answer has eventually taken them on the path to Kassel Documenta, the world’s largest contemporary art event — only the second time Koreans have been invited. They also won artist of the year by the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea.“We wanted to break the high wall

A total of seven Korean musicals will be performed in Tokyo’s affluent Roppongi district, according to local entertainment company CJ E&M.The Korean company is collaborating with Amuse, a prominent Japanese entertainment agency, for a project to stage Korea’s homegrown musicals with all-Korean cast starting next April. The shows are: CJ E&M’s “Cafe-in,” “Poongwoljoo,” “Finding Mr. Destiny” and “While You Are Asleep,”; PMC Production’s “Music in My Heart” and “Brothers Were Brave”; and Aga Compan

The sweet, melodic vocals of the soulful group Brown Eyed Soul can be heard live starting next month. The group announced that it would embark on a nationwide tour starting Dec. 15. The tour will hit seven cities, beginning with Gwangju and moving on to Ilsan, Daegu, Daejeon, Suwon, Busan and Seoul.The tour, which has been named “Soul Play,” will be the group’s second nationwide tour after 2011’s “Soul Fever” tour. The Korean R&B quartet is known for their soaring vocals and harmonizing sound. T

The National Changgeuk Company of Korea to present ‘Janghwa Hongryeon’