Calendar

Exhibitions“The Masters”: Opera Gallery Seoul is showcasing 40 masterpieces by some of the greatest artists of recent times. The exhibition includes works by Claude Monet, Fernand Leger, Alexander Calder, Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro, Marc Chagall, Auguste Rodin, Georges Braque, Andy Warhol, Robert Indiana, Yves Klein, Keith Haring and Tom Wasselman. This is the first time that a high-profile exhibition is being held by the chain in Seoul while most of the Opera Gallery branches hold such big-name e

Nov. 18, 2011

Looking back on a dance legend

  She was beautiful and talented, but unfortunate. Choi Seung-hee, born in South Korea in 1911, was a leading dancer who introduced modern dance to the nation at a time when modern society was starting to develop. She performed overseas in the late 1930s and was lauded as one of the best dancers in Asia along with India’s Uday Shankar.Despite her talent and pioneering achievements, Choi did not receive much of the spotlight here because she defected to North Korea in 1946 with her husband An Mak

Nov. 17, 2011

‘Masters’ gathered at Opera Gallery Seoul

An exhibition of 40 masterpieces by some of the greatest artists of recent times kicks off on Thursday at Opera Gallery Seoul in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul. “The Masters” includes works by Claude Monet, Fernand Leger, Alexander Calder, Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro, Marc Chagall, Auguste Rodin, Georges Braque, Andy Warhol, Robert Indiana, Yves Klein, Keith Haring and Tom Wasselman. Opera Gallery is a leading gallery chain which first opened in Singapore in 1994. It has 11 branches all over the wo

Nov. 16, 2011

New generation of music central to Occupy protest

NEW YORK (AP) ― The sound of insistent drumming bounces off the sides of nearby office towers announcing the location of the Occupy Wall Street home base long before its inhabitants are otherwise seen or heard.Turn a corner in Zuccotti Park and you’re likely to run into a drum circle or find someone strumming a guitar. Maybe it’s an amateur trying to keep spirits up, or it could be the real deal ― recording artists such as David Crosby and Graham Nash.Music and musicians are woven into the fabri

Nov. 15, 2011

Lee Ufan returns with ‘vibrating’ blank space

Korean artist holds first solo show at Gallery Hyundai after monumental Guggenheim retrospective in New YorkOnly ten canvases are displayed on the first and second floors of Gallery Hyundai in Sagan-dong, central Seoul, creating a tranquil and somewhat vacant atmosphere. As if adding to the mood, each canvas features only a single square-shaped dot in the signature form of artist Lee Ufan. He made it a point, said the South Korean artist, to put as little as possible in the gallery to maximize t

Nov. 14, 2011

Superstar K3 runner-up withdraws from music scene

Busker Busker, the three-member indie band runners-up of Mnet’s reality talent show “Superstar K3,” announced they will withdraw from the music scene indefinitely.The group lost the top prize to Ulala Session, the vocal-oriented quartet led by Im Yoon-taek who has stage four stomach cancer, in the finale of the show broadcast live last Friday.The indie trio had been scheduled to participate in a press interview on Monday along with three other top contestants ― Ulala Session, Twogaewol, and Chri

Nov. 14, 2011

New York’s oldest museum reopens after $65m renovation

NEW YORK (AP) ― New York City’s oldest museum has shed its vault-like exterior for a luminous facade that invites the public to peer in, explore its vast treasures and experience them like never before through loads of new and fun interactive features.The New-York Historical Society threw open its doors on Friday following a $65 million, three-year renovation.The venerable institution for the first time also has established a children’s history museum within the building and a restaurant that wi

Nov. 13, 2011

Calendar

Classical Music“Kumho Art Hall Chamber Music Concert”: Kumho Art Hall-representing ensembles -- the Chamber Music Society of Kumho Art Hall (CMS) and Kumho Asiana Soloists -- will peform on Dec. 8 and Dec. 29, respectively. The CMS, led by artistic director and pianist Kim Dae-jin, is to stage Brahms Piano Trio No. 1 in B major, Op. 8 and invite renowned American clarinetist Jon Manasse to collaborate on Brahms Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115. The CMS has been offering “Brahms Essentials” c

Nov. 11, 2011

eye-like

Rossy PP’s first studio album outRossy PP“Alohaoe”(Sony Music Entertainment Korea)After releasing her first single in 2006, singer-songwriter Rossy PP gained the reputation of a new genre pioneer with her unusually dreamy sounds. She has released her first studio album “Alohaoe,” writing, composing and producing all of the 10 tracks in the album herself. The title track “A Dialogue with a Cat” is narrated by a feline who asks a woman what it means to live in the human world. She answers that lif

Nov. 11, 2011

Dubu jeongol (Tofu hot pot)

Dubu jeongol is a hotpot of tofu, beef, and vegetables in broth. Dubu-jeongol is rich in protein and soft in texture. Jeongol (hotpot) is a communal dish that fits in ideally with Korean dining culture in which several people around the table enjoy food from a large pot in the center. Ingredients ● 250g tofu, ¼ tsp salt, 2 tbsp starch, 2 tbsp vegetable oil ● 150g beef (top round or sirloin) for broth : 300g beef (brisket), 6 cups water ● For fragrant seasoning: 20g green onion, 10g garlic● For s

Nov. 11, 2011

Young musicians honored by The Korea Herald

Singers, violinists, cellists and more take top prizes in nine categories total of 25 young artists have won first place at the 3rd Korea Herald Music Competition. The competition to discover young musicians with great potential was held at Seoul Arts High School in Pyeongchang-dong on Sept. 17-18 for preliminaries and on Sept. 25 for the final competition.The competition had invited all aspiring musicians from elementary to university students to compete for cash prizes and a letter of recommen

Nov. 10, 2011

Planting artist’s thoughts in major museums

Korean contemporary artist Yang Haegue blurs national and genre boundariesArtist Yang Haegue walked into the interview room in Kukje Gallery in Sogyeok-dong, central Seoul, looking chic as usual, donned in black from head to toe, including her signature black smoky eyes. After greeting the interviewer for a few seconds, her eyes quickly darted towards an artwork installed at a corner of the room. “This is placed wrong. I never do it like this. You see how all the pressure is on this part? Someth

Nov. 10, 2011

Pop star Rain adjusting well to military life

Fans wept as he was drafted into the army last month but South Korean pop sensation Rain is apparently adjusting well to military life.Rain, whose real name is Jung Ji-Hoon, will become an assistant instructor next month at the boot camp which he entered in October, the defence ministry said Wednesday.“Assistant instructors are chosen based on outstanding training results and their willingness, and Jung has shown that,” a ministry spokesman told AFP.Rain was recently also named top marksman at t

Nov. 10, 2011

Book prize for ‘distinguished’ Keith Richards

NEW YORK (AP) ― On a night he was honored for his way with words, Keith Richards was clearly winging it.“This is one for the books, if you get my drift ― you hacks,” the 67-year-old Rolling Stones guitarist joked Tuesday as he accepted the Mailer Prize for Distinguished Biography, a prize earned by his million-selling memoir “Life.”Wearing tinted glasses, a long scarf around his neck and a wide red band around his sprawl of salt and pepper hair, Richards stood before hundreds dressed in suits an

Nov. 10, 2011

Roy Lichtenstein canvas pops $43 million auction record

NEW YORK (AFP) ― A Pop Art canvas by Roy Lichtenstein, “I Can See the Whole Room! ... and There’s Nobody in It!,” popped previous world records for the landmark contemporary artist when it sold for $43.2 million in New York on Tuesday.The sale at Christie’s beat the artist’s previous auction record of $42.6 million and led a strong performance for contemporary works.“I Can See the Whole Room! ...” was executed in 1961 with oil and graphite in Lichtenstein’s familiar cartoon style, depicting a st

Nov. 9, 2011