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A 'Frankenstein' that never lived
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- When the curtain went up at the Palace Theater on Jan. 4, 1981, the expectations and the stakes were high. Frankenstein, an adaptation of Mary Shelleys novel, had cost a reported $2 million at the time a record for a Broadway play. Screen legend John Carradine and a young Dianne Wiest were in the cast, and the unprecedented stage effects came courtesy of Bran Ferren, the wunderkind behind the mind-bending hallucinations in the film Altered States, released two weeks earlier. Opening night had been pushed back three times, including to accommodate a last-minute recasting of the lead, sending gossip swirling. Yet the bells and whistles like a massive Tesla coil that jolted Dr. Frankensteins creation to life went off without a hitch. The reviews, however, were eviscerating, including ... More

West Virginia outsider artist has unique DNA signature
NEW CUMBERLAND, WV .- The term outsider art originated by Roger Cardinal, an art scholar from Canterbury, England in his 1972 book tilted Outsider Art. Almost 50 years later, the term referring to visual artists without formal training is still in controversy and often debated. Outsider art is commonly in reference to folk, naÃ¯ve, art brut, primitive, compulsion, or raw art. Call it what you may, this category of art is becoming highly collectible and increasing in value in the art world, including major auction houses including Christies and Sothebys. In some instances, outsider artists are as unique as their paintings; some suffer from disorders, some spend their whole life creating art not viewed by anyone. But many Outsiders create art that can rival traditional art created by artists with high pedigrees. One such outsider artist gaining ... More

Mystery monolith makes appearance in Canada
OTTAWA (AFP).- A mysterious monolith -- similar to ones that have appeared briefly in the Utah desert, on a heath in the Netherlands, in Warsaw and on a Romanian hilltop -- has now popped up in Toronto. Canadian media said the four-meter (12-foot) tall shiny metal structure, which appeared to be hollow, was spotted on the city's shore on New Year's Eve. Similar ones were also recently reported in Vancouver and in the midwestern city of Winnipeg. Images posted on social media describing it as "Mono-terrific" showed Toronto's downtown including the iconic CN Tower in the distance. Local residents were giddy, eager to get a glimpse of the installation that some suggested online was either "rogue art," left by aliens, or a promotion for an upcoming film. Others worried that crowds would flock to the Humber Bay Shores neighborhood ... More

New platform aims to empower and impact the Tel Aviv contemporary art scene
TEL AVIV.- Nassima Landau is a new and ambitious platform that aims to empower and impact the Tel Aviv contemporary art scene, by showcasing emerging and established International artists. Nassima Landau will act as a foundation identifying and supporting artists with outstanding talent, quality, and promising market value, whilst engaging in activities yielding financial support. Its innovative program includes exhibitions, site-specific installations and one-time events of the highest standard in its new art space located in the center of Tel Aviv. The project is a result of a partnership between Steeve Nassima and Suzanne Landau; Steeves successful years as both an avid collector and active supporter of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, teamed with Suzannes extensive experience and knowledge in international contemporary art, as former ... More

MF Doom, masked rapper with intricate rhymes, is dead at 49
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Daniel Dumile, the masked rapper who performed as MF Doom and built a lasting underground fan base with his offbeat wordplay and comic-book persona, died on Oct. 31, a statement from his family said on Thursday. He was 49. The rappers record label, Rhymesayers, provided the statement, signed by Dumiles wife, Jasmine. The label did not provide details on a cause of death or why the information was being shared two months later. Over six solo albums released between 1999 and 2009 and five collaborative LPs (with Madlib and Danger Mouse, among others) between 2004 and 2018, Dumile honed a style that was intricate and imaginative, calling on both esoteric and lowbrow references as well as cartoonish imagery in lyrics that could be poignantly emotional. Born in London ... More

10 classical concerts to stream in January
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- As the live performing arts still reel from the coronavirus pandemic, here are 10 highlights from the flood of online music content coming in January. (Times listed are Eastern.) This winter, Katharine Mehrling was scheduled to reprise her Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady at the Komische Oper in Berlin. The pandemic got in the way, but the companys devoted audience need not spend the season without this singers gifts. This performance (first streamed live late in December) offers a fresh look at Kurt Weill, focusing on that composers years in Paris and New York. Devotees know many of these songs. But Mehrlings energy aided by Barrie Kosky, the Komische Opers artistic director, on piano gives a saucy charge to a medley from the rarely staged Lady in the Dark. SETH ... More

Vanessa Kirby has been waiting for a role that scares her
LONDON (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Vanessa Kirby has never given birth, but after shooting her first lead movie role in Pieces of a Woman, she kind of feels like she has. Whenever I see a pregnant woman now, or someones telling me that theyve just given birth, I smile, she said in a recent video chat. I feel with them. The two full days she spent shooting a searing scene for the film could explain this psychic confusion, as could the thorough way Kirby, 32, immersed herself in the role. In Pieces of a Woman, which debuts Jan. 7 on Netflix after a limited theatrical release in December, Kirby plays Martha, a pregnant woman whose home birth goes horribly wrong. This pivotal event at the beginning of the film plays out in a 24-minute, single-take scene that starts with Marthas first contractions and ends in tragedy. The camera follows Martha, her ... More

A choreographer and her girls retell a tragedy through dance
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- For choreographer Tiffany Rae, dance is a language, deeper and more articulate than words. Im better at showing you with dance what I need to say than actually talking, she said in a recent interview. You will understand how Im feeling. Part of what drives Rae apart from her innate love of dance is exploring issues rooted in social justice and Black culture. Dance is a way to demonstrate artistry and activism, and last summer she did both during a protest at Borough Hall in Brooklyn, where she chose dancing over speaking and, to her surprise, the crowd paid attention. Everyone sat down, she said. We didnt even have to ask. It was just so amazing thousands of people sitting down so everyone could see. At that protest, Rae, 24, presented a version of Underground, which examines ... More

Tyshawn Sorey: The busiest composer of the bleakest year
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Everything Changes, Nothing Changes: Tyshawn Sorey wrote the string quartet that bears that title in 2018. But the sentiment is so tailor-made for the past year that when the JACK Quartet announced it would stream a performance of the work in December, I briefly forgot and assumed it was a premiere, created for these tumultuous yet static times. I should have known better. Sorey already had enough on his plate without cooking up a new quartet. The final two months of 2020 alone brought the premieres of a pair of concerto-ish works, one for violin and one for cello, as well as a fresh iteration of Autoschediasms, his series of conducted ensemble improvisations, with Alarm Will Sound. That wasnt all that happened for him since November. Mills College, where Sorey is composer in residence, streamed ... More

The album Steve Earle never wanted to make: A tribute to his son
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- On the evening of Aug. 20, Steve Earle spoke to his son Justin Townes Earle for the last time. In a phone call initiated by Earle's son, they caught up on family business, and Earle, the country-rock singer-songwriter who struggled with addiction for years, told his son a lauded musician in his own right that he would support him if he was ready to begin his own recovery. I said, Do not make me bury you, the elder Earle recalled in an interview. And he said, I wont. That night, Justin Townes Earle, 38, died alone in an apartment in Nashville, Tennessee, of an accidental drug overdose; an autopsy found evidence in his blood of cocaine laced with fentanyl, a powerful opioid. For Steve Earle, the death of his eldest son set off waves of grief. He had watched Justin Townes Earle grow from a scraggly ... More

The Bavarian town where US troops are life and soul
GRAFENWÃHR (AFP).- When the United States announced last year that it would be withdrawing troops from Germany, shockwaves rippled through the country -- but nowhere more than in the Bavarian town of Grafenwoehr. For the town located on the edge of the most important US army base in Europe, hope was revived in November by the election of Democrat Joe Biden as the next US president. But much remains at stake for the community known as "Little America", whose prosperity has depended on the presence of US troops since the end of World War II 75 years ago. "Grafenwoehr is nothing without the US soldiers," said Piri Bradshaw, whose parents run an Irish pub in the town centre. Establishments like this have become the life and soul of Grafenwoehr, where traditional barbers stand alongside tattoo ... More