A decade ago, Anne Hathaway was widely mocked for her earnest, try-hard theater-kid ways, and when Ariana Grande, totally a theater kid in her youth, decided to become a pop star, she hid that past and those attitudes. But now the pop-culture pendulum has swung 180 degrees. – The New York Times
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The first performance of Freya Waley-Cohen’s ambitious Mother Tongue, commissioned by the London Philharmonic, was the centrepiece of the orchestra’s concert with its principal conductor Edward Gardner. But many of the near-capacity Festival Hall audience were not there for the premiere, but to hear Vikingur Ólafsson as soloist in Brahms’s Piano Concerto No 1. There were a significant number of empty seats after the interval, but those who left missed not only Waley-Cohen’s attractive 25-minute piece but also a ferocious performance of the suite from Bartók’s Miraculous Mandarin ballet, which was driven to a suitably supercharged climax by Gardner.
Whether the 50 minutes of Ólafsson’s Brahms, including an encore (his own arrangement of an Icelandic song), provided good value for money for those who did not stay is hard to say. The concerto’s Adagio unfolded with the rapt clarity that has characterised his acclaimed Bach playing in concert and on disc, but elsewhere the performance was an odd mix of the fussy and the perfunctory – fussy in the treatment of themes in the opening movement, which were interrupted by tiny expressive “commas”, or by unexpected details suddenly thrust into prominence; perfunctory in the fierce, take-it-or-leave-it way in which some passages were dispatched, especially in the finale, where the ma non troppo qualification to its Allegro marking was ignored.
Every new piece by Waley-Cohen seems to come with a rich, allusive hinterland, and Mother Tongue is no exception. It starts from the idea that “a language holds all the history and culture of its people, and can be seen as an ancestral or even parental figure”, she says, though despite her explanations it is sometimes hard to see how the consequences of this concept translate into the four busy sections of her orchestral score. In the outer parts especially there is lots of frantic activity, a multicoloured wildness that is often thrilling, but there are also moments when the music seems to hang fire or retrace its steps; it’s never quite as tightly focused as it might be.
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Strictly Come Dancing announces the return of the much-loved Dance-A-Thon.
As exclusively revealed on Strictly: It Takes Two this evening, on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer, on Saturday November 23rd, the remaining Strictly couples will take to the Ballroom floor together to impress the judges with their best Samba moves in this series Samba-Thon.
Strictly’s first Dance-A-Thon challenge took place in the show’s seventh series in 2009 and has reappeared numerous times throughout the show’s 22 series. The Dance-A-Thon format is a staple of Ballroom and Latin dance competitions around the world and its timely return for this special 20th anniversary series is a nod towards the world of professional Ballroom and Latin dancing.
After all of the couples have performed their main dance in the show, they’ll shimmy back on to the Ballroom floor to Samba as a group before the judges eliminate couples one by one, until the winner is crowned. Couples will need to quickly impress the judges as their final position in the Samba-Thon will have an impact on the overall score for the night.
The first couple to be eliminated in the Samba-Thon will be awarded one point, with the second couple eliminated earning two points and so on, through to the winner who will have seven points added to their leaderboard position which is made up of the judges scores from their main dance in the show that evening. This means that the Samba-Thon could have a real impact on who stays and who leaves the competition.
The contestants taking part in the Samba-Thon will be revealed in next weekend’s Sunday results show from the Blackpool Tower on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. The Samba-Thon will feature in the show on Saturday 23rd November on BBC One and iPlayer.
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The Contextual House, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, challenges the conventional aesthetic and structural constraints of the traditional row house while honoring its history. Designed by LO Design, this project merges modern living with a unique blend of adaptive reuse, creating a dwelling that stands as both a tribute to Philadelphia’s architectural heritage and a bold statement of contemporary design. With the integration of new materials and structural elements alongside preserved foundational aspects, the house symbolizes a progressive approach to residential architecture within the city.
From the outside, the Contextual House may appear to the casual observer as entirely new. However, the distinctive brickwork and angular design reference traditional patterns found along the historic block. By expanding a familiar brick detail into a continuous motif across the facade, LO Design managed to strike a balance between innovation and respect for the neighborhood’s character. This carefully reinterpreted pattern transforms the house into a modern canvas, creating a harmonious yet striking contrast with neighboring buildings.
Inside, the layout diverges from the classic Philadelphia row home, offering a series of tall, open spaces across multiple levels. By adding a split at the second floor and a new third level, the design achieves high ceilings while maximizing the retention of original structural materials. This approach underscores the project’s commitment to sustainability, minimizing demolition waste and conserving valuable resources.
An ornamental U-shaped staircase flows through the interior. With perforated steel guardrails and open risers, this staircase serves as both a functional piece and a sculptural element. Widened to offer more generous access between floors, the staircase enhances the vertical connection of spaces and ushers daylight through the heart of the 1,950-square-foot structure.
Within the home, a dynamic play of light and dark enhances the minimalist aesthetic. Dark volumes, including the kitchen, staircase, and bathroom vanity, provide bold accents against the lighter, airy surroundings of white walls and light wood floors. These contrasting masses create a visual serenity, lending an almost floating quality to the fixtures and emphasizing the spaciousness and calm throughout.
Oversized glass openings extend the indoor environment outwards, inviting abundant natural light while preserving privacy. With large windows at the front and rear, light filters through each level, transforming as it interacts with the perforated steel railings of the staircase. This approach achieves a level of illumination rarely found in Philadelphia’s historic row homes and supports passive ventilation, enhancing comfort within the urban setting.
The Contextual House has garnered attention from both the local community and the architecture field, earning an AIA Philadelphia Honor Award. The bold approach to reuse and adaptation has resonated with the neighborhood, drawing praise for its contemporary interpretation of a beloved housing style. This home illustrates that transformation does not always mean replacing the old with the new but can instead involve blending tradition with innovative vision.
For more on LO Design, visit lodesignco.com.
Photography by Round Three Photography.
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From the November 2024 issue of Apollo. Preview and subscribe here. In his treatise The Arte of Limning, written around 1600, the miniaturist Nicholas Hilliard recalls the first time that Elizabeth I came to sit for him. During the sitting, the Queen told Hilliard that she preferred drawings where little shade was cast across the sitter’s face; she ‘therefore chose her place to sit in for that…
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ABN: What is your background?
Cecelia: I am a self-taught artist. In adolescence, I attended drawing and painting classes but I quit because I did not like the rigid structure of not allowing me to draw or paint what I wanted. I got fed up of painting vases that did not mean anything to me. Later in life, when I was in my 30s, I took on painting again. I took individual classes, hired mentors to guide me to overcome hurdles, and I often attended webinars to listen to other painters, gallerists, art dealers, etc.
ABN: What is your work philosophy and how does that impact your work?
Cecelia: When it comes to selecting the composition, and the theme for the year, I look inside my head to discover what it is there asking to be put out. It could be a feeling or a concern regarding the world we live in. The theme for 2022-2023 was cityscapes and landscapes because I wanted to preserve the form of art in many places in nature that were being devastated by climate change. For instance, I created many paintings of gondolas in Venice because the canals were getting dried up.
In January 2024, I was desperately trying to find a solution to my migraines so I thought “What about if I chop my head off and put it in the freezer until the headache is gone.” This is what gave rise to the theme of headless self-portraits which you will see in an exhibition at Art San Diego 2024. Note that I carried over my desire to preserve the memory of cities and landscapes in my composition. My headless body shows against a background of landscapes and cityscapes.
ABN: What artist(s) inspire you?
Cecelia: I’m inspired by many great artists such as; Vincent VanGogh, Monet, Salvador Dali, Andre Breton, Rene Magritte, and Frida Kahlo.
ABN: What is the best advice you’ve received?
Cecelia: To paint from the heart rather than what might sell fast.
ABN: What have you done recently that enhanced you as an artist?
Cecelia: I have become a board member for the San Diego Museum of Art Artist Guild
ABN: Any plans for growing your business and market in 2025?
Cecelia: Besides continuing to create paintings with composition from my imagination or through commissioned requests, I am also a writer and have published many books; After the Walk – The Amazing Places the Mind Goes (2022), Thinking with Rhythm (2023), Cyber Defense for Women (2024), Cyber Defense for Law Enforcement and First Responders (2024), Cyber Defense for, Executives and Board Members (2024). I am currently writing one for 2025.
ABN: When you are not working, where can we find you?
Cecelia: When I am not at the studio, you can find me walking my Golden Retriever Nena and Svalinn Breton or curled up reading a book.
The post Meet the Artist: Cecilia Anastos appeared first on Art Business News.
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But did you know that this creative artist has also dabbled in creating captivating indoor pieces? In this blog post, we’ll journey through 15 of Banksy’s less-known artworks that found their home away from the bustling streets.
From intricate canvases to sculptural wonders, these indoor creations carry the same poignant messages and iconic imagery, but in a more intimate setting. Join us as we delve into this intriguing blend of comfort and chaos, showcasing Banksy’s versatility beyond the walls.
More!: 24 artworks by Banksy: Who Is The Visionary of Street Art
More: Banksy’s Identity Unveiled? The Artist Speaks Out in a Rare BBC Interview
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Sotheby’s will stage its first live auction in Saudi Arabia in February. The event will also be the “first-ever international auction in the kingdom’s history,” according to a statement from the auction house.
The sale will take place on February 8, 2025, and is titled “Origins.” It will feature art by both Saudi artists and internationally known names, as well as a range of luxury items, including jewelry, watches, cars, sports memorabilia, and handbags.
The auction and a related pre-sale exhibition will be held in the historic Diriyah, where the First Saudi State was inaugurated in 1727.
Sotheby’s leaders said the company was officially incorporated in the country at the end of last year. The auction house plans to open an office in the Riyadh landmark Al Faisaliah Tower, which was designed by Norman Foster.
“We wanted to inaugurate our official new home in Saudi Arabia with a taste of what Sotheby’s can bring to the doorsteps of both those who have started their own collections, and others who are about to enter this world for the first time,” Ashkan Baghestani, Sotheby’s head of sale and contemporary art specialist for the region, said in a statement.
Sotheby’s CEO Charles Stewart said it is “a very dynamic time for culture in Saudi Arabia.” He noted that Sotheby’s has been active there for a number of years and “witnessed the blossoming of the cultural scene with great interest.”
Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Al Faisaliyah Center, faisaliah tower. Courtesy of Sotheby’s.
The auction house’s ties to the broader Gulf region have also been expanding. In August, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, ADQ, acquired a minority stake in Sotheby’s. Under the agreement, ADQ, along with Sotheby’s majority owner Patrick Drahi, will bring a new investment of approximately $1 billion to the house.
Sotheby’s moves in Saudi Arabia are the latest sign that the nation has restored its standing with foreign businesses and cultural institutions, following international outcry over the murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in late 2018. At that time, many art institutions distanced themselves from Saudi Arabia. Museums returned funding from the nation; business executives, including then-Sotheby’s CEO Tad Smith, pulled out of Saudi-sponsored conferences; and companies rejected Saudi investment.
In 2018, the U.S. Senate voted to blame Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the death of Khashoggi, a columnist for the Washington Post who had been critical of his regime.
Regarding its decision to expand its business operations in Saudia Arabia now, a spokesperson for the auction house said that, within the last decade, the country has undergone a “sustained period of unprecedented and positive change that is hard to dispute” and that the house’s leadership takes the “momentum established at face value.” They added that the Kingdom has a desire to engage with the international community “and in that, Sotheby’s has a clear role to play.”
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A pair of ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz are on the auction block nearly two decades after a thief stole them, thinking they were adorned with real jewels.
Online bidding has started and will continue until 7 December, Heritage Auctions in Dallas announced in a news release on Monday. Bidding currently stands at just over $812,000 (£631,000).
The auction company said it received the sequin-and-bead-covered slippers from Michael Shaw, a memorabilia collector who previously owned the footwear from the 1939 musical. Shaw had loaned the shoes in 2005 to the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. However, in the summer of the same year, someone smashed through a display case and stole the slippers. Their whereabouts remained a mystery until the FBI recovered them in 2018.
Now the museum is among those vying for the slippers, which were one of several pairs Garland wore during the filming. Only four remain.
Grand Rapids raised money for the slippers at its annual Judy Garland festival. The funds will supplement the $100,000 set aside this year by Minnesota lawmakers to buy the slippers.
The man who stole the slippers, Terry Jon Martin, was 76 when he was sentenced in January to time served because of his poor health. He admitted to using a hammer to smash the glass of the museum’s door and display case in what his attorney said was an attempt to pull off “one last score”, after an old associate with connections to the mob told him the shoes had to be adorned with real jewels to justify their $1m insured value.
The auction of movie memorabilia includes other items from The Wizard of Oz, such as a hat worn by Margaret Hamilton’s Wicked Witch of the West and the screen door from Dorothy’s Kansas home.
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At any mall, guests are content to grab a quick bite to eat at a basic fast food eatery, without giving much thought to their surroundings, which are created with grab-and-go utility in mind. At the Studio Aisslinger-designed Le Big TamTam, a new food court in Hamburg, Germany, shoppers enter a culinary hub that delights the senses. “We didn’t want to create a typical marketplace,” says Werner Aisslinger, founder and principal of his eponymous firm. “At Le Big TamTam it’s all about the experience, and the unexpected color combinations.”
The food court is located inside Hanseviertel at Große Bleichen, the first heritage-listed mall in the city, which opened in 1980. While most areas of the shopping center still have the same decades-old style, the architects, in collaboration with Tellerrand Consulting, envisioned a vibrant place where guests are encouraged to stay and savor meals.
Le BigTamTam forms a contemporary food cosmos, with story-driven elements that bring the surprises that are hallmarks of digital environments to an analog world. It’s a spot that emphasizes fun and discovery.
A range of Instagram-worthy nooks attract a clientele of all ages. Custom seating includes booths and banquettes upholstered in alternating solids and fabrics with geometric motifs. Surfaces that are easy to clean are essential in the high-traffic commercial zone. Finishes are mixed and matched to offer subtle texture. Terrazzo and lacquered wood tabletops have a touch of sheen that complements the matte powder-coated metal stools and light fixtures.
Under the expansive dome, the farming tower spirals upward, surrounded by ringed planters that hold greenery and herbs. A stairway leads to the highlight of the space – Hamburg’s smallest bar. Patrons can sit in the capsule-like structure, like a modern crow’s nest, and enjoy libations as they take in the buzz of activity below. “Le Big TamTam has become an event that is just as important as the food itself,” Aisslinger adds.
Five top Hamburg restaurateurs offer plenty of delicious fares for every palate, from the Japanese dishes at Momo Ramen to Neapolitan pizza by ÜberQuell. Each station is essentially a unique mini restaurant. A Willy Wonka-esque palette of candy pink, yellow, blue, and green tones enlivens the circular section. Le Big Kiosk is a freestanding pop-up unit for different activations. One moment it is a nail salon, on another day it is transformed into an art gallery. Visitors can take pictures at the attached photo booth as keepsakes of their time at the mall.
For more information, visit aisslinger.de.com.
Photography by Martin Kunze and Nicolo Lanfranchi.
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New Paltz Photo Works Celebrates One Year In Print SUNY The New Paltz Oracle
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