Artist Eliasson plans gigantic fountain for Versailles

PARIS (AFP) -- Danish artist Olafur Eliasson, who wowed New Yorkers with his 10-story urban waterfalls and Londoners with his giant trippy sunset at Tate Modern, said Monday he wanted to “make dreams come true” with his latest project in France.　He plans to follow Anish Kapoor’s controversial “Queen’s vagina” sculpture at the Palace of Versailles outside Paris with “an incredibly high” fountain in its gardens.　But he refused to say how big the jet of water which will be shot from the top of the

PerformanceMay 3, 2016

[Herald Review] Long-lost granddaughter returns in ‘Canola’

“Canola” is a genuinely moving film. It is refreshingly simple. It employs no gimmicks and focuses on delivering an original story about the bond between a grandparent and a grandchild. 　The film is set on the idyllic coast of Jejudo Island, where a young girl Hye-ji lives with her grandmother, Gye-choon, played by Youn Yuh-jung. A female diver, Gye-choon makes a modest living by selling the clams and fish she catches, and provides for her granddaughter, whose parents’ whereabouts are unknown. H

FilmMay 3, 2016

Met fashion exhibit explores dialogue between hand, machine

NEW YORK (AP) -- For decades, argues Andrew Bolton, the star curator of blockbuster fashion exhibits at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, we’ve all been looking at fashion through a flawed prism. We’ve assumed, he says, that hand-made garments are better, purer, fancier, more luxurious. And that machine-made garments are inherently inferior, even mediocre. 　We’re wrong, Bolton says, and his new Met exhibit opening this week, “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology,” seeks to prove that t

Arts & DesignMay 3, 2016

[Herald Review] KNB combines classic with contemporary in ‘Serenade & The Rite of Spring’

The Korean National Ballet unveiled its combined performance of “Serenade & The Rite of Spring” over the weekend, showcasing a night of blissful classical ballet and unorthodox modern dance. 　　While the KNB’s past performances of Stravinsky’s wildly unexpected avant-garde ballet “The Rite of Spring” were coupled with the performance of the Beethoven classic “The Seventh Symphony,” this season’s replacement and premiere of “Serenade” was a much-welcomed surprise when it was staged at the LG Arts

PerformanceMay 2, 2016

[Herald Review] Korean folk hero meets Sherlock Holmes

“Phantom Detective” was inspired by the Korean folk tale “The Story of Hong Gil-dong,” according to the film’s director Jo Sung-hee. In the tale, the main character is a Robin Hood-like antihero who exercises his own brand of vigilante justice by stealing from the corrupt rich and redistributing his spoils to the poor. 　The lead of “Phantom Detective,” also named Hong Gil-dong and played colorfully by actor Lee Je-hoon, is something like a cross between the old folk hero and Sherlock Holmes. Lik

FilmMay 2, 2016

Director Park Chan-wook says ‘The Handmaiden’ is juicy

Award-winning director Park Chan-wook said Monday his Cannes-bound film “The Handmaiden” is a lot different from his previous works for having the most lines and giving subtle pleasures. 　“It has the most lines of all films that I have made. It also has four protagonists, a long running time and is a very juicy film,” Park said during a news conference at a Seoul hotel to promote the upcoming thriller. “I think this is the most singular of all my films since it is full of small funs.”　So, it cam

FilmMay 2, 2016

Jazz fest’s last day finishes soggy, but strong

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Wind, rain and a lightning strike beside the stage where Bonnie Raitt was singing didn’t stop the soggy last day of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival from rollicking to a close.　Lightning hit the scaffolding for a giant TV screen showing fans close-ups of Raitt and the band performing “Keep Your Mouth Shut.”　People nearby jumped backward at the bright flash at the screen’s top outer corner. Then came a thunderclap, sounding like a brief explosion. Raitt kept singing

PerformanceMay 2, 2016

Art against the system

Chinese artist Liu Wei has been at the center of controversy in the Chinese contemporary art world.  　In 1999, he and fellow artists put up a radical exhibition that displayed a dead fetus on an ice bed, with human and animal parts hanging from the ceiling. Liu also presented a video installation showing naked people crawling on the floor like bugs.Liu Wei poses in front of “Merely a Mistake.” (Plateau)　The exhibition prompted the Chinese government to enforce a legal ban on “bloody, brutal disp

PerformanceMay 2, 2016

Salonen, a conductor in demand, eyes more time to compose

NEW YORK (AFP) - As one of the leading lights in contemporary classical music, Esa-Pekka Salonen is in an enviable position where he can pick and choose at will.　The 57-year-old Finn is in New York conducting the Metropolitan Opera’s triumphant production of “Elektra,” the challenging Strauss work that Salonen said had figured on a list he jotted down in his 20s of operas he hoped to perform.　But Salonen, who led the Los Angeles Philharmonic for 17 years, during which he was hailed for putting t

PerformanceMay 2, 2016

Freedom and diversity at JIFF

Among Jeonju International Film Festival’s rich lineup of films this year is a controversial documentary titled “Spy Nation.” The work spotlights a 2013 case in which South Korea’s intelligence agency accused Yu Woo-sung, an ethnic Chinese -- who defected from North Korea and has since become a Seoul Metropolitan Government official -- of spying for the North. In the trial process, it was exposed that the National Intelligence Service had fabricated evidence against Yu in an attempt to charge hi

FilmMay 1, 2016

Freedom and diversity at JIFF

Among Jeonju International Film Festival’s rich lineup of films this year is a controversial documentary titled “Spy Nation.” 　The work spotlights a 2013 case in which South Korea’s intelligence agency accused Yu Woo-sung, an ethnic Chinese -- who defected from North Korea and has since become a Seoul Metropolitan Government official -- of spying for the North. In the trial process, it was exposed that the National Intelligence Service had fabricated evidence against Yu in an attempt to charge h

FilmMay 1, 2016

Akdong Musician to hold mini concert

Music duo Akdong Musician will be holding a mini concert ahead of the official release of their new album, the duo’s agency YG Entertainment announced on their official blog www.yg-life.com.　The poster on the agency’s blog reads “See you on Children’s Day in Seoul Forest/ enter adolescence” and announces the concert schedule. Poster for Akdong Musician’s mini concert (YG Entertainment)　The duo, consisting of siblings Lee Chan-hyuk and Lee Su-hyun, won the first prize in season two of SBS’ auditi

PerformanceMay 1, 2016

‘Train to Busan’ to premiere at Cannes Film Festival

The blockbuster movie “Train to Busan” has been invited to the 69th Cannes Film Festival, according to the film’s distributor NEW. 　Director Yeon Sang-ho and the film’s main cast -- actor Gong Yoo, actress Jung Yu-mi and child actress Kim Soo-an -- will attend the film’s world premiere at Cannes and its official red carpet event. From left: actor Gong Yoo, actress Jung Yu-mi, and child actress Kim Soo-an (NEW)　The movie, which depicts the story of people trying to flee to Busan, will be screened

FilmMay 1, 2016