San Francisco’s revamped modern art museum eyes global splash

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) -- The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art reopens in mid-May after an ambitious $305 million expansion and facelift that aims to rival the world-class art spaces of New York, Paris or London.　The revamped museum will be unveiled May 14 following a three-year upgrade entrusted to the Norwegian architecture firm Snohetta -- best known for the dramatic new Alexandria Library in Egypt -- that included more than doubling the exhibition space.　The brick structure that has housed th

May 5, 2016

NYC art auction season to kick off, break taboo

NEW YORK (AFP) - The spring art auction season kicks off Sunday in New York with paintings by Jean-Michel Basquiat and Cy Twombly and a taboo-smashing statue of Hitler.　Some 1,500 artworks are to go under the gavel over the course of five days of auctions expected to fetch more than $1 billion. 　The most important ones will be held in the evening, with three hosted by Christie’s and two by Sotheby’s. 　First comes Christie’s thematic evening “Bound to Fail,” with a selection of 39 works of modern

May 4, 2016

KNO chief sorry for appointing wife, introduces new Korean premiere

Following its Korean premiere of Antonin Dvorak’s dramatic fairy tale opera, “Rusalka,” the Korea National Opera is preparing for yet another premiere production – Antonio Vivaldi’s “Orlando Finto Pazzo.”　However, soon after the finale performance of “Rusalka” on Sunday, KNO artistic director Kim Hak-min drew flak when it was revealed that he had appointed his wife -- who has no musical background -- to act as the production’s dramaturg. She had also been put in charge of translating the opera.

May 4, 2016

Beast to make comeback as five-member group

K-pop boy band Beast is working on a new album to be released this summer.　The group recorded the lead song of its upcoming album on Tuesday, according to a local report quoting an industry insider. The lead song is written by Yong Jun-hyung of the group, who produces the band’s albums. K-pop boy band Beast (Cube Entertainment)　The upcoming album is their first as a five-member group after Jang Hyun-seung left to pursue a solo career. It is also the first album since their eighth mini album “Ord

May 4, 2016

Seoul Open Art Fair to highlight young talents

The Seoul Open Art Fair returns to Coex in Samseong-dong for its 11th edition, running from May 10-14.　A total of 90 Korean and overseas galleries will be participating in the country’s second-largest art fair, presenting some 5,000 pieces of art by 4,000 artists. 　In keeping with its reputation as an event to discover emerging artists, the art fair each year selects talented young artists through a contest. This year, 21 young artists working with diverse mediums will be introduced at the fair.

May 4, 2016

Ballet Festival Korea to kick off sixth year highlighting contemporary trends

From a classical homage to Bolshoi to the modern-day high octane choreography of Nacho Duato in “Duende,” the upcoming sixth annual Ballet Festival Korea promises to be a feast for all tastes. 　Raising its curtain on May 13 at the Seoul Arts Center, this year’s festival will involve 13 performances throughout the month. They will be held in various SAC theaters including the Opera Theater, the CJ Towol Theater, the Jayu Theater and the Shinsegae Square Outdoor Stage. A scene from “The Edge of th

May 3, 2016

BTS breaks into iTunes Charts abroad

K-pop boy band BTS’ special album “Young Forever” swept domestic music charts and broke into the iTunes top 30 albums in 17 countries, the group’s agency Big Hit Entertainment announced Tuesday.　The album topped the iTunes top albums charts in Singapore and Taiwan, ranked second place in Indonesia, third place in Finland, fourth place in Thailand and Hong Kong, and 18th place in the U.S.　“Fire,” the lead song of the band’s special album released Monday, immediately topped seven domestic music ch

May 3, 2016

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

May 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

May 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

May 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

May 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

May 2, 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

May 1, 2016