Biggest names in Korean entertainment to attend 2016 Asia Artist Awards

Global Hallyu stars are getting together Wednesday for the 2016 Asia Artist Awards. 　The awards ceremony, in its first iteration this year, aims to recognize Korean entertainers who rose to international fame across Asia this year.　A panel of judges will decide the final winners, but fans have already voted online to determine the finalists for three of the awards’ categories.  Boy band EXO earned 40 percent of votes to emerge as the top candidate for the most popular musician category. Meanwhil

TelevisionNov. 15, 2016

4Minute's Kwon So-hyun signs with 935 Entertainment

Actress-singer Kwon So-hyun is getting a fresh start. 　The 22-year-old, a former member of the now-disbanded K-pop group 4Minute, has signed with 935 Entertainment in a bid to further her acting career, the company announced Tuesday. 　“(Kwon) has shown lots of potential since her early days as a child actress,” 935 Entertainment said in a statement. “We will be supporting her wholeheartedly in her activities as an actress at home and abroad.”　 Others under the agency include veteran actors such

PerformanceNov. 15, 2016

Rockefeller family promotes cultural exchange through art

The name Rockefeller resonates with wealth. In 2016, the oil-rich Rockefeller family ranked 23rd on the Forbes list of America’s richest families with a net worth of $11 billion.What is much less known about the Rockefeller’s is their philanthropic mission to pursue a cultural exchange between Asian and American artists. Wendy O’Neill, a fifth-generation Rockefeller, expressed her wishes to increase philanthropic support for Korean artists at a press briefing held in Namsan Art Center in Seoul,

PeopleNov. 15, 2016

Rome in shock as another historic landmark vandalized

ROME (AFP) -- Police in Rome are examining CCTV footage in a bid to identify vandals who damaged one of the city’s most famous pieces of public sculpture, Bernini’s “Elephant and Obelisk.”The landmark work, tucked away in a little square near the Pantheon, features an elephant carrying the obelisk on its back and was first placed in the Piazza della Minerva in the 17th Century. Gian Lorenzo Bernini oversaw the sculpture of the elephant, which had the tip of its left trunk broken off in the overn

PerformanceNov. 15, 2016

Director Paul Verhoeven bemoans Hollywood's lack of sex

LOS ANGELES (AFP) -- “Basic Instinct” director Paul Verhoeven complained Sunday that Hollywood had stopped making “challenging” movies featuring provocative sex as it clamored to cash in on mainstream audiences.The Dutch filmmaker, famous for a slew of films that shocked audiences with their sex and violence, said studios chasing ratings were now mainly interested in the lucrative “PG-13” market. “If you say it has to be PG-13, there are a lot of things you cannot do. You cannot be provocative,

FilmNov. 15, 2016

Berlin's wild charms make it first choice for Syrian artists

BERLIN (AFP) - From sculptors to actors and filmmakers, Berlin has become a magnet for Syrian artists fleeing their country's brutal violence to a place where they can express themselves without fear.While Beirut and Paris have long been the destinations of choice for Arab artists, the German capital has in recent years earned a reputation as a more adventurous, progressive alternative for exiled creators.As well as offering affordable spaces to live and work, Berlin is “the city of anarchy and

PerformanceNov. 15, 2016

New show 'Circus 1903' brings back live elephants, sort of

NEW YORK (AP) -- Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus may have retired their iconic elephants but there is still a way to see the huge beasts onstage. The new touring show “Circus 1903,” which makes its American debut next year, features two life-size elephants -- one baby, one massive mamma -- created by the puppeteers and model-makers of Significant Object, who made the lifelike horse featured in the hit play “War Horse.”“These puppets feel real. They’ve been built in a way, even when the

CultureNov. 15, 2016

Munch's 'Girls on the Bridge' fetches $54.5m at auction

Edvard Munch’s “Girls on the Bridge” sold for $54.5 million in New York on Monday, the second-highest auction price paid for a work by the Norwegian painter, Sotheby’s said.The 1902 painting depicting women in colorful dresses that contrast with a dark, anguished landscape, fetched a price solidly higher than the auction house’s estimate of above $50 million.The painting has broken records every time it has gone under the hammer. It went for $30.8 million in 2008, compared with $7.7 million in 1

PerformanceNov. 15, 2016

Upcoming crime flick ‘Master’ hits close to home

The hotly anticipated crime flick “Master” features three characters, played by a trio of top stars, who are each “masterful” at what they do. Lee Byung-hun portrays a criminal organization’s maniacal leader who dons a myriad of disguises; Kim Woo-bin is an unpredictable genius hacker and the mastermind behind the organization’s operations; and Kang Dong-won stars as the head detective of a white collar crime investigation unit who doggedly pursues elusive villains. “Things that shouldn’t happen

FilmNov. 14, 2016

2AM’s Im Seul-ong to hold first solo concert

Singer Im Seul-ong of K-pop boy band 2AM will hold his first solo concert next month. “This concert is an opportunity for fans to experience Im’s various releases from the past eight years,” said the artist’s management agency sidusHQ on Monday. Special guests are also scheduled to join Im on stage, the company added. The 29-year-old made his debut as a 2AM member with the hit single “This Song” in 2008. Originally signed under JYP Entertainment, the four-member act has been on a break since Im

PerformanceNov. 14, 2016

Kim Gun-mo returns to the stage

Singer-songwriter Kim Gun-mo is gearing up for his much anticipated return to the music scene. 　The 48-year-old artist, who debuted in 1992, will be releasing a new mini album “50” on Saturday, according to the record label Music & New last week. This is Kim’s first album in five years, following the release of his 13th studio album “Autobiography” in 2011.The upcoming six-track EP will feature collaborations with other artists, including UJi of K-pop girl group BESTie and Jo Hyun-ah of rhythm-a

PerformanceNov. 14, 2016

Italian, US artists to create works for Louvre Abu Dhabi

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) - Abu Dhabi's Louvre museum said Sunday it was commissioning artists Giuseppe Penone and Jenny Holzer to create artworks to be displayed at its grand opening next year.Designed by French architect Jean Nouvel and built at a cost of half a billion euros, the Louvre Abu Dhabi will feature 9,200 square meters of gallery space.“Giuseppe Penone and Jenny Holzer have worked closely with the Louvre Abu Dhabi team to develop sculptures and installations reflecting t

PerformanceNov. 14, 2016

Munch, Monet, de Kooning to star in New York fall auctions

NEW YORK (AFP) -- New York's fall auction season kicks off this week with a sparkling array of masterpieces expected to draw bidders from around the world at Christie’s and Sotheby’s.From Edvard Munch’s Expressionist “Girls on the Bridge” to Willem De Kooning’s abstract “Untitled XXV,” the two major auction houses have put together an impressive collection of paintings and sculptures from some of the 20th century’s greatest names for the prestigious sales running Monday to Thursday.There will be

PerformanceNov. 14, 2016

Eagles of Death Metal singer denies trying to enter Sting gig

PARIS (AFP) -- The frontman of the US rock group on stage in Paris when jihadists massacred 90 people a year ago Sunday denied claims he was barred entry to the show marking the first anniversary of the killings.Management of the Bataclan venue said they prevented two members of the Eagles of Death Metal including lead singer Jesse Hughes from entering the Sting gig on Saturday night.“They came, I threw them out -- there are things you can’t forgive,” the venue’s co-director Jules Frutos said la

FilmNov. 14, 2016

Nimrud, jewel of ancient Iraq

BAGHDAD (AFP) -- The Assyrian city of Nimrud, located in an area Iraqi forces said was recaptured during the operation to retake jihadist-held Mosul, is one of the region’s most important archaeological sites.Built in the 13th century BC, the city on the Tigris River about 30 kilometers southeast of Mosul once served as capital of the Assyrian empire. But in April last year, the Islamic State group released a video of its fighters destroying monuments there before planting explosives around the

CultureNov. 14, 2016