"The Day’s News"
SOURCE: A Painting Today - Read entire story here.
Read More
George R.R. Martin Admits Some ‘Game Of Thrones’ Fan Theories Are Correct
There are so many theories bouncing around the Internet about how George R.R. Martin’s popular Song of Ice and Fire series will conclude, it would seem almost impossible for none of them to be right. Indeed, Martin confirmed in an interview with The Telegraph that some of the fan theories floating around correctly predict how the series will wrap up. “So many readers were reading the books with so much attention that they were throwing up some theories and while some of those theories were amusing bulls -- and creative, some of the theories are right,” he explained.
The sometimes unnerving accuracy of fan conjectures may have impressed Martin, but he claims it also drove him away from fan sites. "I want to surprise and delight my readers and take them in directions they didn't see coming," he said. "But I can't change the plans. That's one of the reasons I used to read the early fan boards back in the 90s but stopped." Martin also refrained from revealing which theories are on the money, expressing his hope to provide a reading experience filled with surprises and excitement to those readers who don't peruse fan boards.
The next installment of the series, The Winds of Winter, is still without a firm release date, though Martin plans to cut back on his involvement with HBO's "Game of Thrones" in order to work on finishing the book. Though solid plot progression won’t be happening any time soon, readers and viewers of HBO’s "Games of Thrones" can take solace in knowing their wild hypothesizing might just lead them to the truth. Time to start digging through message boards and poring through evidence to definitively prove which theories are viable!
Here are 7 wild fan theories to get you started -- could any of them turn out to be true?
SOURCE: Arts News on The Huffington Post - Read entire story here.
"A Rainy Night in Chicago"
SOURCE: A Painting Today - Read entire story here.
Read More
Coppélia at ENB
At the end of a season filled with dramatic ballets like Romeo and Juliet, and angst-inducing abstract pieces where the dancers seemed to be carrying the world on their shoulders (sometimes literally!), ENB’s Coppélia came as a breath of fresh air. In the words of the critic Edwin Denby, ‘If Giselle is ballet’s Hamlet, Coppélia is its Twelfth Night’, and on a warm summer evening at the Coliseum, its blend of comedy, character dances and famous classical variations, all accompanied by that wonderful Delibes score, proved irresistible.
Alban Lendorf as Franz and Tamara Rojo as Swanilda in English National Ballet’s Coppélia. Photo: © ASH
ENB is reviving its now 30-year-old production by former Royal Ballet dancer Ronald Hynd. He bases his version on Petipa’s, but introduces small changes to provide narrative context. Swanilda is here the Burgomaster’s daughter, and her fiancé Franz has been given more to do in the way of interactions with members of the village and participation in the various character dances. The designs and settings – which seem lifted off a cartoon storybook – are by Desmond Heeley. They are charming in their simplicity and fit well with the sunny palette of the ballet: flowers and colours everywhere, embroidered vests and skirts with hints of Bavaria, Moldova, and everywhere-in-between.
While Swanilda is not a role one would naturally associate with Tamara Rojo – and, in fact, she had not performed it for over ten years – she gives us a truly spunky heroine in this staging. Her jealousy at Franz’s flirting with the doll Coppélia (as well as every other girl in the village) was infused with just the right amount of melodramatic flair, with hints of coquette. She made use of her wonderful arches and beautifully articulated feet during Swanilda’s solos, and to top it off, she even got to play Kitri during the Spanish variation in Act II (you can take the Spaniard out of Spain, but you can’t take Spain out of the Spaniard).
Tamara Rojo as Swanilda and Michael Coleman as Dr. Coppelius in English National Ballet’s Coppélia. Photo: © ASH
Danish star Alban Lendorf, making his debut as Franz, truly made something out of a role that is so often overlooked for its relative lack of substance. From the moment he entered, we knew he was best mate to all the boys and loved by all the girls. When he wasn’t dancing, his presence still registered: you could see him exchanging pleasantries with the tavern people, or fooling around with his friends. He reminded me of that other great Dane, and it is interesting to observe how well the role of Franz suits those raised in the Danish tradition. Look no further than Lendorf’s dancing for proof: beautiful and detailed in every movement, at every sharp turn, clean and bouncy jump, with the best use of a plié outside the classroom. If only we could see him more often…
The music, as usual, was top-notch, with conductor Gavin Sunderland giving shape and form to this wonderful score. Other highlights were Michael Coleman’s Dr Coppélius, here more the eccentric inventor than a pure doll-maker, and creator of the Slinky-powered Stephenson’s Rocket, no less! I also admired the perfect comedic timing of Begoña Cao as one of Swanilda’s friends. Alison McWhinney, Laurretta Summerscales and Ksenia Ovsyanick were a well matched trio. With the end of the season starting to take its toll on the dancers, it wasn’t all smooth sailing on Thursday evening, but the energy of ENB’s artists ensured that they did justice to this most charming of classical ballets.
Meanwhile, Alice Pennefather was at the general rehearsal and photographed the double debuts of Shiori Kase & Yonah Acosta, who is now ENB’s newest principal:
© The Ballet Bag, 2013.
The post Coppélia at ENB appeared first on The Ballet Bag.
SOURCE: The Ballet Bag - Read entire story here.
Portfolio reviews at Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival, Toronto
© Ian Willms, from the series The Road to Nowhere, 2012-13. Winner of the 2013 Portfolio Reviews Exhibition Award.
Just a heads up to our readers in Canada. On Sunday 4 and Monday 5 May, our Editor in Chief Tim Clark will be participating alongside a whole host of curators and directors, publishers and photo editors who have been brought together for two days during Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival in Toronto, Canada to do reviews for established and emerging artists, with a focus on documentary, photojournalism or photo-based art practices.
This is an important event for artists with projects at advanced stages of development who are seeking opportunities for publishing and exhibiting nationally or internationally- as well as looking for guidance on conceptual approaches or career development advice.
2014 Reviewers include:
Mauro Bedoni Photo Editor, Colors, Milan
Matthew Brower Lecturer in Museum Studies, University of Toronto
Laurence Butet-Roch Photo Editor, Polka, Paris
Johan Hallberg-Campbell International Board of Editors, Photo Raw, Helsinki
Federica Chiocchetti Independent Curator and Founder, Photocaptionist, London
Tim Clark Editor-in-Chief and Director, 1000 Words, London
Stacey McCarroll Cutshaw Editor, Exposure, Los Angeles
James Estrin Senior Staff Photographer, New York Times, New York
Kristen Gresh Assistant Curator of Photographs, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Cheryl Newman Photography Director, The Telegraph Magazine, London
Bonnie Rubenstein Artistic Director, Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival, Toronto
Jonathan Shaughnessy Associate Curator, Contemporary Art, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
Stefano Stoll Director, Images Festival, Vevey
Amber Terranova Freelance Senior Photo Editor, The New Yorker, New York
Shelbie Vermette Director of Photography, The Grid, Toronto
Fu Xiaodong Independent Curator, Beijing
Portfolio Reviews Exhibition Award
One artist will be awarded with a solo exhibition presented at the CONTACT Gallery in January 2015. The award includes a $1000 credit at Vistek, and a $2500 credit at Toronto Image Works. Chosen by a jury of international professionals in the field of photography, this award recognises outstanding work presented at the Portfolio Reviews. The programme was created to support and advance the careers of talented emerging photographers.
Related Events
Portfolio Night & Cocktail Reception
Monday 5 May, 7pm
Artists and photographers are given the opportunity to share their work in an open forum with reviewers and invited local professionals.
Stories and Pictures
Tuesday 6 May, 5pm
Join James Estrin from the New York Times and Cheryl Newman from the Telegraph for an evening of lively discussions about identity and documentary today. The evening will also include a Q&A with members of the Boreal Collective moderated by Shelbie Vermette, Director of Photography, The Grid.
Stay for the afterparty with the band Das Piumas.
Presented with the Boreal Collective.
The Review Days take place at The Gladstone Hotel and the cost is $200 for 4 reviews. For those interested in attending, there may still be slots available. Please check with the organisers at Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival here.
SOURCE: 1000 Words Photography Magazine Blog - Read entire story here.
Banksy’s Spy Booth Mural Punctured
Banksy, Spy Booth (2014), now vandalized.
Photo: via Western Daily Press.
Removing grey spray paint is one thing, but it will be hard for the residents of Cheltenham to get those four gaping holes out of Banksy’s Spy Booth mural. Though a perspex cover had been put over the mural—which shows three men dressed like stereotypical spies and wielding phone-tapping devices painted on either side of a phone booth—it was removed, and four large holes were punched in the wall at the four corners of painting, the BBC reports.
“There are four very large holes on the four corners, which I’ve measured, and one is 10 centimeters,” or nearly four inches, according to Hekmat Kaveh, the local businessman who bought the building the mural was painted on in an attempt to keep it in Cheltenham. “It looks as if it was being prepared to be taken away, despite the fact I’m in the process of purchasing it to make sure it stays…There’s been damage to the plaster and the painting…It’s been reported to the police and the council. It’s on a listed building, it’s criminal damage.”
Banksy mural in Cheltenham.
Photo: lamentables/Flickr.
The mural appeared in April some three miles from the UK government’s GCHQ surveillance facility. Kaveh supported a plan to make the mural the centerpiece of a GCHQ museum, to be housed inside the building where Banksy painted his latest pop-political public artwork.
“Unknown offenders removed a piece of wood surrounding the Banksy artwork on the side of the building and a number of holes were drilled around the image,” Gloucestershire Police said in a statement. “The artwork was not damaged and there is no sign of forced entry to the property.”
The post Banksy’s Spy Booth Mural Punctured appeared first on artnet News.
SOURCE: artnet News - Read entire story here.
Read More
Throw the Book at Him, Ernie, and Other News
Manhood not pictured.
- Hemingway once slapped a critic in the face with a book. Here’s what that critic wrote: “Hemingway lacks the serene confidence that he is a full-sized man … ”
- One of many bizarre real Victorian novel titles: The Egg, Or The Memoirs Of Gregory Giddy, Esq: With The Lucubrations Of Messrs. Francis Flimsy, Frederick Florid, And Ben Bombast. To Which Are Added, The Private Opinions Of Patty Pout, Lucy Luscious, And Priscilla Positive. Also The Memoirs Of A Right Honourable Puppy. Conceived By A Celebrated Hen, And Laid Before The Public By A Famous Cock-Feeder.
- “What no one wants to accept—and no doubt there is an element of class prejudice at work here, too—is that there are many ways to live a full, responsible, and even wise life that do not pass through reading literary fiction. And that consequently those of us who do pursue this habit, who feel that it enriches and illuminates us, are not in possession of an essential tool for self-realization or the key to protecting civilization from decadence and collapse. We are just a bunch of folks who for reasons of history and social conditioning have been blessed with a wonderful pursuit.”
- As Hollywood continues to reboot every franchise in sight instead of developing new concepts, one cultural critic has some strong advice: Keep up the good work! “Our cultural mythologies exist not to be venerated and preserved in amber, but to be played with, reconstituted, reconsidered, dismantled, dissected, and stripped for parts.”
- Remembering Idris Muhammad, one of the greatest drummers in jazz, who died last week.
SOURCE: The Paris Review - Read entire story here.
