Guitar on a smoking hot roll

LOS ANGELES ― The pages of newspapers, or history books for that matter, don’t runneth over with stories of happy accidents involving chainsaws.But that’s just what put Philadelphia musicians Lucy Tight and Wayne Waxing, who tour as Hymn for Her, in possession of a musical instrument that changed the direction of their career.The incident also brought them into a surprising community that’s sprung

March 16, 2011

140,000 Korean cultural artifacts scattered overseas

More than 140,000 Korean cultural artifacts are currently in overseas countries, the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage announced on Tuesday.Last January the research institution drew up a list of Korea’s missing cultural assets that have been located in foreign countries. At the time, the list had concluded that there are a total of 116,896 Korean items located overseas. The newly r

March 15, 2011

Opera ‘Faust’ to put love, faith to the test

French composer Charles Goudnod’s opera “Faust,” which premiered in the mid-19th century in Paris, is one of the most frequently performed operas in the world. The Metropolitan Opera in New York City alone has staged it more than 750 times since 1883.The Korea National Opera is to stage “Faust” from March 16-20 at the Seoul Arts Center’s Opera Theater. It is the second of the opera company’s four-

March 15, 2011

Korea’s dramatic history in artists’ eyes

Leeum presents 80 artworks looking back on Korea’s history from 1876 to presentKorea’s restless modern history will unfold at Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art in Hannam-dong, central Seoul, in the form of paintings, photographs, installations and media works. The exhibition “Korean Rhapsody: A Montage of History and Memory,” which opens on Thursday, displays 80 historical documents and artworks that r

March 15, 2011

Director returns with his 101st film

Im Kwon-taek’s ‘Hanji’ features ‘moon-like’ beauty of traditional Korean mulberry paperAfter making a series of films that were “replicas of Hollywood films” in the 1960s, director Im Kwon-taek set one solid goal in his mind.“The films I made in the 1960s were solely created for box-office profits and audience appeal,” Im told The Korea Herald on Monday. “But I wanted to get away from that America

March 15, 2011

Dr. John inducted into Rock Hall of Fame

NEW YORK (AP) ― New Orleans piano maestro Dr. John wore a bright purple suit for his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Monday, leading a class with Neil Diamond, Alice Cooper and Tom Waits.Fellow pianist Leon Russell and “Wall of Sound” singer Darlene Love also were to be inducted at a black-tie dinner at The Waldorf-Astoria hotel in Manhattan. A tape of the ceremony is to air March

March 15, 2011

Icon of Korean theater celebrates 20th anniversary

Commemorative performance ‘Hakchon Repertoire’ turns fans nostalgicVeteran actor Kim Yun-seok, who mesmerized cinephiles with his impressive role as a fraudulent gambler in the movie “Tazza,” was at the entrance of Hakchon Blue Theater in Daehangno, central Seoul, on Friday evening, checking names and handing out tickets. A PR official standing next to him handed a ticket and wanted to confirm if

March 14, 2011

‘Legally Blonde’ scoops 3 Laurence Olivier Awards

LONDON (AP) ― Frothy, film-inspired funfest “Legally Blonde: The Musical” won three big prizes at London’s Laurence Olivier theater awards, while Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Love Never Dies’’ went home empty-handed despite seven nominations.“Legally Blonde” was named best new musical at Britain’s equivalent of Broadway’s Tonys on Sunday. Star Sheridan Smith was crowned best actress in a musical, and Ji

March 14, 2011

S. Korean pop star makes donation for Japan quake relief

Kim Hyun-joong, a member of the popular South Korean boy band SS501, has donated 100 million won (US$88,700) for earthquake relief efforts in Japan, his agency said Monday.Keyeast, Kim's management agency, said the singer/actor sent the money to his Japan-based agency, DA, earlier in the day.To mark the Japanese premier of his South Korean television show, Kim was scheduled to meet with fans in To

March 14, 2011

Artworks for the ‘in between’

Mexican artist melds media, time, fantasy and reality at solo show in SeoulThe ancient Egyptians were not the only ones who liked to put animal heads on human bodies. Mexican artist Carlos Amorales also enjoys creating “manimals,” his own term for the half-human, half-animal creatures, through different media such as photograms. Photograms are photographic images made without using a camera. When

March 13, 2011

Celebrating genius of an undiscovered photographer

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) ― Fractions of seconds, captured by Vivian Maier a half-century ago or more ― fleeting moments of life on the streets at a time when men wore fedoras and dragged on Lucky Strike cigarettes, when women favored babushkas, when families piled in Studebakers and Packards for Sunday drives.She and her photos seemed destined for obscurity until a young man with an eye for bargains

March 13, 2011

Spanish artist looks for Korean faces

Jaume Plensa, a Spanish installation artist renowned for his witty installation works, is looking for orean faces for his work “State Tower-Gwanghwamun,”which will be built in Cheongjin-dong, central Seoul, in July next year. Plensa’s public installation works are found across the world, with some of his famous work including “As One” in Toronto International Airport and “Breathing” on the BBC bui

March 13, 2011

Co-stars in “ATHENA” spotted dating in Paris: report

Two stars in “ATHENA: Goddess of War” were apparently spotted on a date in Paris, domestic news reports said Friday. The local Kyunghyang Shinmun revealed three photos of Jung Woo-sung and Lee Ji-ah, walking on a street in the French capital looking like a couple.“Lee Ji-ah was with Jung Woo-sung with her hand inside of Jung’s coat pocket. They walked a street while looking around to check if anyo

March 11, 2011

Tax credits help Louisiana win ‘Battle: Los Angeles’

In the upcoming movie “Battle: Los Angeles,” L.A. represents the last stand for humankind in a fight against invading aliens.The action-packed film, however, was mostly shot in the other LA: Louisiana.Having Baton Rouge and Shreveport stand in for Santa Monica, California, and L.A. might seem as preposterous as aliens attacking the city.But several factors drew filmmakers to the Bayou State, chief

March 11, 2011

Event calendar

Exhibitions“WA: The Spirit of Harmony and Japanese Design Today”: This show explains why adjectives such as “minimal,” “delicate” and, surprisingly, “thoughtful,” cannot help but be used to describe products made in Japan. It does more than introducing the latest cutting-edge designs: it offers an overall view of historically important designs by the Japanese that were created over 50 years ago an

March 11, 2011

Box Office

Red Riding Hood (U.S.)Opening March 17 Fantasy. Horror. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke. Valerie (Amanda Seyfried) is a beautiful young woman torn between two men. She is in love with a brooding outsider, Peter (Shiloh Fernandez), but her parents have arranged for her to marry the wealthy Henry (Max Irons). Unwilling to lose each other, Valerie and Peter are planning to run away together when they

March 11, 2011

‘Red Riding Hood’: From fairy tale to scary tale

The Little Red Riding Hood of our collective imaginations is usually carrying a basket, but what she’s really got is baggage ― the kind of socio-sexual-psychological baggage that has kept certain fairy tales and myths alive from one end of the media forest (oral tradition) to the other (iPads).As a movie star, Red hasn’t had quite the career of Cinderella, say, or Snow White or Sleeping Beauty, ev

March 11, 2011