Photos give hope to HIV patients

Eight Magnum photographers touch hearts in ‘Access to Life’ projectLiving in the scorching sun in Haiti, Autha Adolph, 26-year-old at the time, could barely stand, talk or let alone smile due to extreme malnutrition and HIV infection. She weighed only 35 kg, her limbs bony and her digestive organs practically ruined. When she went to the hospital in November 2007, the doctors doubted that she would survive more than a few more days. Nine others who were sharing the same hospital room with her di

Jan. 5, 2012

T-ara reel in the years in retro musical

 Girl group’s hit single ‘Roly Poly’ taken to musical theaterPopular girl group T-ara’s 2011 retro-heavy hit single “Roly Poly” is back ― only this time as a stage musical with the same nostalgic flash of the 1970s and ‘80s.Three members of the girl group ― Jiyeon, Hyomin and Soyeon ― are starring as reckless teenagers in Korea’s 1980s in upcoming musical “Roly Poly,” teamed up with older-generation heavyweights including popular musical actress Park Hae-mi and “Nagasu” star singer Jang Hye-jin.

Jan. 5, 2012

Broadway’s ‘Spider-Man’ musical earns new record

NEW YORK (AP) ― Look who’s got a big smile behind his mask on Broadway ― none other than the once-mocked Spider-Man.The Broadway League reported Tuesday that “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark’’ took in a whopping $2,941,790 over nine performances last week, which is the highest single-week gross of any show in Broadway history.The Spider-Man show shatters the old record held by “Wicked,’’ which last January recorded the then-highest one-week take on Broadway with a $2,228,235 haul, though over eigh

Jan. 4, 2012

Bonnie Raitt prepares first album in 7 years

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) ― Bonnie Raitt is releasing a new album in 2012, her first in seven years.“Slipstream,’’ out April 10, follows a long break from studio work for the Grammy-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member. She lost her parents, her brother and her best friend.“I hadn’t stopped moving in a very long time, so I really wanted to take a total break and not concentrate on making a new record or what I was going to do next,’’ Raitt said. “So that was really valuable because I waited

Jan. 4, 2012

DVD mixes artistic talents of Korean, Japanese

Japanese art management house Office Tomoe will release a DVD album in March, containing collaboration projects of South Korean and Japanese artists. The main presentation of the DVD is a poetic music video titled “Landscape on the Way to Sleep,” which features vast landscapes and two people who are described as sages. Tomoe Shizune, the sole Japanese composer and artist who is carrying on the mainstream Butoh, a neo-expressionist contemporary Japanese dance form, took care of the music and chor

Jan. 4, 2012

Jackman on Broadway translates into cold cash

NEW YORK (AP) ― Hugh Jackman has left Broadway with a lot of broken hearts ― and records.The hunky Australian actor’s one-man Broadway concert show closed last weekend at the Broadhurst Theatre after having earned $2,057,354 in its final week, the highest weekly gross recorded by the Shubert Organization, which owns the Broadhurst and 16 other Broadway theaters.Over its 10-week run, Jackman earned a whopping $14,638,428, producers said. He now owns 10 of the 11 top grossing weeks at the Broadhur

Jan. 3, 2012

Feast your eyes on food-themed art

Exhibitions stimulate five senses by melding art with cookery and musicA giant cabbage hanging from the ceiling greets visitors at the entrance. Made of hanji and dyed in red and green, it is an instant reminder of the spicy flavors of Koreans’ favorite dish. “Is this real kimchi?” asked a boy who looked to be about 5 to his mother on Monday afternoon. His friends started to argue over whether it was real or not. “Art & Cook,” currently running at Sejong Museum of Art, is an art exhibition ― bu

Jan. 3, 2012

[Herald Interview] ‘Songs just happen like acorns falling from a tree’

Irish musician Rice is Jan. 11 concert soldoutWith Guinness and Westlife among the very few Irish things that have made it to Korea, and the singer’s face rarely shown on TV, a fan of Irish singer Damien Rice may pride him/herself on being “a classy minority.” Minor fandom, however, is hardly a suitable term for a musician who sold out some 1,600 seats in just a few hours, despite modest promotion activities and relatively expensive tickets priced at 132,000 to 165,000 won (about $150).In an e-m

Jan. 2, 2012

Consistency, integrity: Legacy of Kim Whanki

Gallery Hyundai holds retrospective of late South Korean painterKim Whanki was a prolific painter ― he worked in the daytime to make use of the sunshine and at night because the electric light was too precious to waste. He worked about 16 hours a day, said Kim Geum-ja, the second daughter of the late South Korean, reminiscing in front of press members on Thursday about how stubbornly her father used to work. “He said that it is his life, to hold a brush. But my heart felt heavy and my pulse race

Jan. 1, 2012

[Herald Review] French plays charm Seoul

After Emile Zola play ‘Therese Raquin,’ black comedy ‘God of Carnage’ takes stage Following last month’s Korean adaptation of Emile Zola’s novel-based play “Therese Raquin,” another French play is on stage to charm Seoulites, this time a contemporary black comedy titled “God of Carnage.”Based on Zola’s 1867 novel, the play “Therese Raquin” was shown in Korea for the second time last month. It tells the story of Therese, a young woman married to her sickly first cousin, who has an affair with her

Jan. 1, 2012

Calendar

Exhibitions“Dreams of Atom”: Held as a part of the “International Cartoon & Art Festival 2011/12,” the exhibition showcases about 500 original drawings, paintings and publications of Japan’s legendary cartoonist Tezuka Osamu’s work including “Astro Boy,” “Jungle Emperor Leo” and “Sapphire Prince.” Other sections of the festival display works by several Korean and Japanese artists who pay homage to Osamu. The exhibition runs through April 1 at Goyang Aram Nuri’s Aram Art Museum and Gallery Nuri i

Dec. 30, 2011

Ancient Japanese Buddhist artworks in Seoul

Artifacts from Japan’s Lake Biwa District on display at national museum in SeoulLocated in Japan’s Shiga Prefecture bordering the ancient capital city of Kyoto, Lake Biwako is the largest freshwater lake in the archipelago.The region surrounding the lake was introduced to Buddhism by Korea’s Baekje Kingdom (B.C. 18―A.D. 660) before anywhere else in Japan. With this and its proximity to Kyoto, the area developed its own cultural and spiritual flair, blending its local tastes with the mainstream c

Dec. 29, 2011

Sinead O’Connor’s fourth marriage ends after 16 days

DUBLIN (AFP) ― Irish singer Sinead O’Connor has admitted that her fourth marriage has ended after just 16 days, with the star blaming pressure put on her husband by those close to him.O’Connor, 45, met therapist Barry Herridge, 38, earlier this year when he responded to an online appeal posted by the singer, and they married in a Las Vegas chapel on Dec. 8. But in a blog post on Monday, the singer revealed that the marriage had lasted only 16 days, until December 24, and that the couple had live

Dec. 29, 2011