The Korea Herald

British Council hopes to boost U.K. education’s profile

Feb 19, 2012

University of Edinburgh to commemorate late President Yun Bo-seon in autumnThis is the third of the series introducing cultural centers of different countries in Seoul ― Ed.For anyone interested in studying abroad ― especially in the U.K. ― the British Council office in central Seoul is the place to be next month. The British cultural institution will be holding a special event where representatives from six or seven of the U.K.’s world-class universities will share information on what each scho
Cirque du Soleil plans Oscar piece

Feb 19, 2012

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Aerialists, acrobats and contortionists from Cirque du Soleil are among the guests at this year’s Academy Awards.The three-minute performance at the Oscars on Feb. 26 will be among the international troupe’s biggest yet, said Cirque du Soleil special events director Yasmine Khalil, featuring more than 50 artists. Most Cirque shows employ 75 to 80 artists over two hours, she said.Cirque du Soleil has a Hollywood-themed show now at the Kodak Theatre, where the Oscars will be pre
Art underground

Feb 17, 2012

Artist residency program in Sindang Jungang Market offers unusual art sceneFor anyone who has been to Jungang market near Sindang Station in Seoul, it would be hard to imagine that more than 30 artists have their working studios underground. And that some practically live there.The area is known for its merciless traffic and its overcrowded and colorful market. Stepping through the main gate of the market, you are overwhelmed by the aroma of pickled fish and mung bean pancakes, while endless foo
Calendar

Feb 17, 2012

Exhibitions“BEING: Debbie Han 1985-2011”: Sungkok Art Museum is holding a large-scale exhibition looking back on Korean-American artist Debbie Han’s art world. It showcases about 60 of Han’s paintings, sculptures and installations through which she pondered identity issues and artistic values. The exhibition runs through March 18 at Sungkok Art Museum in Jongro-gu, central Seoul. Tickets range from 3,000 won to 4,000 won. For more information, call (02) 737-7650 or visit www.sungkokmuseum.com. “
Culture close to nature

Feb 16, 2012

‘Swiss Weeks in Seoul’ presents various cultural events throughout AprilThough it is hard to call it a house, the 10-meter-tall disorderly structure made of hundreds of fir planks had an entrance, bedrooms and even a small dining room-like place with a table. “It connects to my childhood nostalgia, it is kind of like a tree house,” Gregory Chapuisat told The Korea Herald on Tuesday. Chapuisat and his brother ― who could not make it to Seoul this time ― is known as the Swedish Chapuisat Brothers
Franco in fridge sculpture stirs up Spain art fair

Feb 16, 2012

MADRID (AFP) ― A sculpture of former Spanish dictator Francisco Franco set inside a fridge was a star attraction at a major contemporary art fair which opened Wednesday in Madrid.The work by Spanish artist Eugenio Merino depicts the general wearing a green uniform and dark sunglasses with his knees bent inside the fridge, which is decorated with a white and red design similar to the Coca-Cola logo.Merino said his piece “Always Franco” is meant to be a comment on how the former dictator, who rule
Sotheby’s finds hidden Basquiat signature

Feb 15, 2012

LONDON (AP) ― Thirty years ago, artist Jean-Michel Basquiat secretly signed one of his paintings in invisible ink, says Sotheby’s auction house, which discovered the hidden autograph as it was preparing the painting for sale.Sotheby’s experts uncovered the secret this month as they were examining “Orange Sports Figure,’’ which goes on sale Wednesday. The vibrant image of an abstract crowned figure is estimated to be worth between 3 million pounds and 4 million pounds ($4.7 million and $6.3 milli
Bacon masterpiece nets 21m pounds at London auction

Feb 15, 2012

LONDON (AFP) ― A provocative masterpiece by Irish painter Francis Bacon on Tuesday fetched 21.3 million pounds at a London auction while a Gerhard Richter abstract netted almost 10 million pounds.Bacon’s 1963 work “Portrait of Henrietta Moraes,” which features a naked model sprawled on a bed, was snapped up by an unnamed telephone bidder at Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art auction.The Bacon auction record is $86.3 million for his 1976 “Triptych” which was achieved at Sotheby’s New York i
Realistic yet implausible

Feb 15, 2012

SNU Museum of Art exhibition showcases 80 years of Dutch ‘Magical Realism’Despite being named the nation’s favorite artist in recent surveys, few Koreans realize Vincent van Gogh was Dutch.“Not many know about Dutch artists after van Gogh, either. Koreans tend to be interested only in artists from the U.S. or a few European countries like France or England. It is an unbalanced diet,” said Oh Jinyee, senior curator at Seoul National Museum’s Museum of Art. To broaden the public’s perspective, MoA
Ancient art expert to head Getty Museum

Feb 15, 2012

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― An expert in ancient art who has overseen museums in England, the U.S. and his native Australia was named Tuesday to head the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.Getty officials said Timothy Potts, director of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England, will take over Sept. 1. Potts takes over two huge, architecturally impressive museum campuses, one at The Getty Center in the hills overlooking Los Angeles and the other at the Getty Villa, in the hills above Malibu.The Getty
Stolen Dutch artworks found in U.K.

Feb 15, 2012

LONDON (AFP) ― Hundreds of works by celebrated Dutch expressionist artist Karel Appel have been discovered in a British warehouse ten years after they went missing, the Guardian newspaper reported Tuesday.Appel never recovered from the loss of his lifetime’s work of drawings, sketches and notebooks, which disappeared in Amsterdam in 2002, and died aged 85 in 2006.The 400 pieces were found by a British storage company when it cleared out the contents of a warehouse that it had bought before Chris
All that glitters: London metal thieves target works of art

Feb 14, 2012

LONDON (AFP) ― Gangs of metal thieves are targeting London’s sculptures, statues and even war memorials, stripping them from their plinths and melting them down for their scrap value as commodity prices soar.Thieves have been plundering pipes and cables for months, but police are increasingly concerned that they are turning their attention to valuable works of art.Renowned British artist Barbara Hepworth’s imposing bronze sculpture “Two Forms (Divided Circle)” once sat proudly in Dulwich Park in
Madrid opens major Marc Chagall exhibition

Feb 14, 2012

MADRID (AFP) ― Spain on Tuesday opens one of the most extensive Marc Chagall exhibitions ever mounted, a feat that organizers say will not be repeated for many years.From canvasses peopled with peasants, musicians and circus characters to illustrations of books and fables, a broad sweep of the Russian master’s works is on show in Madrid.“It is extremely rare to have so many masterpieces together, to bring together so many paintings from all over the world is something that won’t happen again for
Drug use might have killed Whitney Houston

Feb 14, 2012

As fans await autopsy results that may not come for weeks, speculation raged Monday that pop legend Whitney Houston may have died from a lethal cocktail of prescription drugs and alcohol. A T-shirt, flowers and notes are left at a makeshift memorial for Whitney Houston outside the Beverly Hills Hilt
‘Barriers of artistic institutions coming down’

Feb 13, 2012

Director of audiences and media at London’s Tate galleries talks about communicating with public in digital eraThe audience is completely changing, said Marc Sands, director of Audiences and Media at Britain’s Tate, just as it was when Tate Modern opened in 2000. “That was the moment when the audience changed both in terms of numbers and the type of people that came. Tate Modern brought contemporary art from the fringes of culture to the mainstream,” said Sands at a press conference on Monday at