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'Lost in Parys', Alison Lapper to reveal new work following the death of her son
LONDON.- A new exhibition at Bethlem Museum of the Mind showcasing Alison Lappers (b.1965) work that explores her journey of grief since the untimely death of her son Parys. Alison Lapper: Lost in Parys presents a range of new work that delves into a world where silence often shrouds the depths of human suffering, and the power of creativity emerges as a beacon of hope. Alongside her own work will be sculptures and photographs from friends and contemporaries Marc Quinn (b.1964) and Rankin (b.1966), echoing and exploring the recent life events of Alison and the effect it has had on her as both a mother and an artist. The dialogue between these three artists present visitors to the Bethlem Museum of the Mind with an intimate narrative that explores grief and mental health alongside Alisons reflection on the complexities ... More

Hinton Battle, three-time Tony winner in musicals, dies at 67
NEW YORK, NY.- Hinton Battle, a dazzling dancer who won the first of his three Tony Awards in 1981 for his performance in the Duke Ellington musical revue Sophisticated Ladies after learning how to tap dance in the weeks before opening night, died Jan. 30 in Los Angeles. He was 67. His death, at a hospital, was confirmed by Leah Bass-Baylis, a family spokesperson, who danced with him on Broadway. She did not provide a cause. Some people are born with the spirit of the dance, said Debbie Allen, the dancer, choreographer and actress, who had known Battle since he was 16. Hinton Battle was that kind of person. She added: He was just technically superior to anyone who came close to him. He had rhythm and style. You were looking at a supernova. Battle auditioned for Sophisticated Ladies several years after he originated ... More

At Ghana event, Fowler Museum returns items taken from Asante Kingdom
NEW YORK, NY.- Seven items taken from the Asante Kingdom in West Africa by British forces during a 19th-century conflict were returned to the Asante king in what is now Ghana on Monday by officials of the Fowler Museum at UCLA. The museum, which focuses on the cultures of Africa, Asia, the Pacific and the Indigenous Americas, had received the items in 1965 as part of the largest gift in its history, a collection of some 30,000 objects from a trust in the name of the benefactor, Sir Henry Wellcome, a British pharmaceutical entrepreneur and artifact collector. The Sir Henry Wellcome Collection forms the core of the African and Pacific holdings at the museum, which was founded in 1963 as the Museum and Laboratories of Ethnic Arts and Technology. On Monday, in the Ghanaian city of Kumasi, the Fowlers director, Silvia Forni, ... More

The book behind 'American Fiction' came out 23 years ago. It's still current.
NEW YORK, NY.- Theres a scene in Percival Everetts 2001 novel, Erasure, in which the main character, a cerebral Black novelist named Thelonious Monk Ellison, goes to a bookstore to hunt, as writers often do, for his own books. He finds four of them including The Persians, an obscure reworking of a Greek tragedy placed, infuriatingly, in the African American Studies section. The only thing ostensibly African American about the book, he fumes to himself, was my jacket photograph. Erasure, the basis for Cord Jeffersons new movie, American Fiction, is a mordant satire of the way the literary world imposes broad-strokes racial stereotypes on nonwhite authors, as well as a moving portrait of a complicated Black man from a complicated family. In a fit of fury after the rejection of his latest novel, an abstruse story about Aristophanes, Euripides and the death of metaphysics, ... More

Six spongy sea creatures suggest warming might be worse than thought
NEW YORK, NY.- Since the dawn of the industrial age, our species has warmed the planet by considerably more than todays most widely accepted estimates imply, according to a team of scientists who have gleaned detailed new information about Earths past climate from an unusual source: centuries-old sponges living in the Caribbean Sea. Networks of satellites and sensors have measured the rising temperatures of recent decades with great precision. But to assess the full arc of global warming, scientists typically combine this data with 19th-century thermometer readings that were often spotty and inexact. This is where the sponges come in. By examining the chemical composition of their skeletons, which the creatures built up steadily over centuries, the researchers have pieced together a new history of those earliest decades ... More

Tragedy, resilience and a miracle at Chile's burned botanical garden
NEW YORK, NY.- Friday afternoon, several hundred people were roaming the idyllic grounds of Chiles national botanical garden, mostly unaware that, just across some hills and a highway, a raging wildfire was galloping toward them. The danger quickly became clear. Rangers began racing around the park on motorbikes, shouting for visitors to flee to the exits. But by the time many got there, the fire had already arrived. Thick black smoke was billowing above us, so we laid down on the grass just inside the gate, Alejandro Peirano, the parks director, recalled Monday morning. One of my rangers turned to me and said, Director, are we going to die? Elsewhere, three other rangers were trying to rescue a colleague, Patricia Araya, 60, a greenhouse keeper who lived in the park and was caring for her two grandsons and 92-year-old mother. ... More

In 'Last Days,' strange sounds of simultaneous joy and sadness
LONDON.- It can feel easy to cast a swift judgment on composer Oliver Leith. First, there are his titles, such as Uh huh, Yeah, Bendy Broken Telemann No.3, and yhyhyhyhyh. Then, there is the inspiration for his sounds, in which everyday objects like glass bottles and cereal bowls are considered intensely, becoming weird instruments themselves. But if Leith seems flippant, he rejects that characterization entirely. People talk about irony in society all the time now, and I find that a little dull, Leith said in an interview. Its a very British way of looking at things. Like, Oh, are you being serious or are you not? No; I am deadly serious when Im doing these things. Im just chasing this strange feeling. Leiths way of talking about music is a lot like his actual music: blurry and discursive, but also precisely evocative. That strange feeling hes chasing, for example, is one he compared to being ... More

Sharon Louden's immersive installation explores access to art spaces
NEW YORK, NY.- signs and symbols is currently showing Barriers to Entry, a site-specific installation comprising raw aluminum, vinyl and works on paper by New York-based artist Sharon Louden. Known for her practice that encompasses both minimalist paintings and immersive installations, Louden has developed a distinct formal language that examines the infinite compositions and possibilities proposed by basic elements of line and color. Her installations further incorporate reflective materials which playfully expand and alter the viewer's perception of space. Continuing this line of inquiry, Barriers to Entry is not a static environment but one built through interaction, where reflections and vantage points create a multitude of unique experiences. Thus Louden considers questions of physical and symbolic access within art spaces, ... More

The Hispanic Society announces new Chairman & Philippe de Montebello steps down
NEW YORK, NY.- The Hispanic Society Museum & Library the primary institution dedicated to the preservation, study, understanding, exhibition and enjoyment of art and cultures of Portuguese and Spanish-speaking countries and communities announced Mark Rosenberg as its new Chairman. Rosenberg succeeds Philippe de Montebello, who significantly raised the museums profile for nearly a decade. Philippe de Montebello will remain with HSM&L as Chairman Emeritus, working closely in collaboration with Rosenberg and the team at the HSM&L. In addition, Sergio J. Galvis and Maria Cortez de LobÃ£o are elected Co-Vice-Chairs of the HSM&L. It has been an honor to serve and lead the Board of the Hispanic Society Museum & Library for nine years. It is not without some degree of nostalgia that I decided it was time ... More