MUSEYON GUIDES

News: Van Gogh’s Bedroom is Back

Kellas — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 20:45:39 +0000

The Van Gogh Museum has announced that after six months of labor, Van Gogh’s 1888 masterpiece, The Bedroom, has been restored. “It looks much fresher and brighter now,” Van Gogh Museum curator Leo Jansen told the Associated Press. “It’s more … as van Gogh intended it to be. It’s more peaceful.” The conservator in charge of the operation, Ella Hendriks, said that much of her work involved undoing previous restoration efforts that had added paint in some sections. Hendriks also removed a yellowing varnish that was applied to the canvas around 1930, which had apparently been dulling the glow of the artist’s characteristically effervescent colors.

According to ArtInfo, “some of the problems with the canvas date back to van Gogh’s time. Returning to his Arles studio after a stay in a hospital in 1889, van Gogh discovered that the canvas had suffered some moisture damage. He covered the oil painting in newspaper — a practice that is not generally encouraged by contemporary conservators — and later sent it to Theo, who worked for an art dealer in Paris. Hendriks told the wire service that some of the fragments of the newspaper were still visible on the canvas, when viewed through a microscope. (It’s tempting to imagine — but unlikely — that this episode inspired Picasso to add newsprint to some of his Cubist works.)”

You can learn more about the restoration of The Bedroom on the Van Gogh Museum’s special blog dedicated to chronicling the journey here.

Van Gogh Museum
Paulus Potterstraat 7, 1071 CX Amsterdam, Nederland – 020 5705200

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Spotlight On: Liberty & Co.

Kellas — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:42:31 +0000

What was started by visionary Arthur Lasenby Liberty in 1874 with only a £2,000 loan from his father-in-law has since surfaced to become one of the most iconic British brands, Liberty & Co.

When Liberty opened his first store, he was convinced that he could change the look of homewares and fashion by carrying brightly colored ornaments, fabric and objets d’art from Japan and the East. Quickly, the store became the most fashionable place to shop in London and iconic Liberty fabrics were used for both clothing and furnishings. Its clientele was exotic and included famous members of the Pre-Raphaelite movement who took inspiration from the East for their works.

It was not until 1924 that the iconic flagship, ‘Tudor,’ building was erected on Great Marlborough Street. The structure, which now graces many a London postcard, was constructed from the timbers of two ships: HMS Impregnable and HMS Hindustan. The frontage at Great Marlborough Street is the same length as the Hindustan and it is a Grade II* listed building. The shop was engineered around three light wells that formed the main focus of the building. Arthur Liberty wanted to create the feeling that you were walking around your own home when you came to his store, so each of these wells was surrounded by smaller rooms to create a homely feel. Many of the rooms had fireplaces and some still exist today. The wells created a wonderful environment in which to drape exotic rugs and quilts, whilst the smaller rooms allowed the display of smaller items.

Nowadays, Liberty as stretched their reach around the globe with a shop in Japan, an online market and their line of Liberty fabric inspired clothing and home furnishings at Target.

Liberty & Co.
Great Marlborough Street, London W1B 5AH, United Kingdom‎ – 020 7734 1234‎

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News: The Branchage Int’l Film Fest

Kellas — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:01:51 +0000

The third Branchage International ﬁlm festival takes place September 23 – 26 on the island of Jersey in the UK with ﬁlm screenings, live music events and parties in an array of weird and wonderful locations.

Making use of the island’s many unusual indoor and outdoor settings such as the 13th Century Mont Orgueil Castle, Jersey War Tunnels, several churches, the grandiose Jersey Opera House and the festival’s hub, the Barclays Wealth Spiegeltent – a century old structure crafted from wood, canvas and mirrors, Branchage is unlike any ﬁlm festival.

Kicking off the festival this year is Stephen Frears’ new comedy Tamara Drewe, starring Gemma Arterton and Dominic Cooper opening the festival on September 23rd in the grandiose Jersey Opera House. The Closing night gala screening on September 26th, also at the Opera House, is Out of the Ashes, a documentary following the rise of the Afghan cricket team, partly shot in Jersey.

Music Interview: Adrian Santos + Memphis

Kellas — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 19:08:01 +0000

Adrian Santos not only makes the party, he is the party. This owner of the marketing company Revolt is a full-time event maker and dj and holds down the fort in his adoptive hometown of Memphis. Adrian shares with us his musical tips for this legendary music city.

What should we know before we go to the Memphis?
Memphis is a nitty gritty town known for it’s musical legacy, historical civil rights significance and some damn good BBQ

Who are your local musical heroes?
Lucero, Johnny Cash, Alex Chilton/Big Star, Elvis Presley, Al Green, Isaac Hayes

What local bands or musicians should we be listening out for?

Skewby, Teflon Don, Dirty Streets, Magic Kids, Electrocity Crew (my dj crew)

What are your favorite music venues and where should we eat and drink around there?
Favorite Music Venues
Hi Tone (THE place to catch the best in indie music in a hot and intimate setting, everyone has played here: Elvis Costello, Of Montreal, Cat Power to name a few)
Odessa (my crew just took over this venue it’s an art gallery and music space)
Nocturnal (we throw our monthly dj/electro dance parties here)
The Abbey (Johnny Cash played his very first gig here)
Levitt Shell (great free outdoor shows)
P&H (hole in the wall smokey bar, cheap beer and genuine blue collar Memphis folk)
Cozy Corner for amazing BBQ. This is a true hole in the wall that has very inconvenient hours but definitely worth the hassle
Pho Hoa Binh the Lemongrass Tofu is addicting. During the week they have the famous $5.13 all you can eat lunch buffet

Any local music festivals or events we should put on our calendar?
Electrocity is our monthly indie electro dance party. 700+ come out each month. Check out the madness

Goner Fest – Goner Records annual music festival highlighting the best in lo fi garage rock

Folk Alliance Conference- one of SXSW’s founder Louis Meyers started the Folk Alliance. Folk, blues, bluegrass, americana artists take over the downtown marriot for a weekend. all the rooms on the top 2 floors turn into mini venues and it’s non stop boozing and music into the early morning

Is there a ” Memphis sound”? Or is there a community/scene vibe in the city?

Memphis is known for it’s historical and legendary soul and blues scene. Stax Records was at the forefront of the Soul scene back in the 50’s through the 70’s. Memphis is also credited as the birthplace of Rock n Roll when Elvis first preformed at the Levitt Shell.

Now the music scene has evolved into various genres-

rap/hip hop: Three 6 Mafia developed i guess you would call it dirty south but then we also have new hip hop sounds coming from Skewby
Indie rock: lo fi garage rock i.e. Jay Reatard RIP
cock rock: Saliva, Sore Eyes
Electro/indie/Arty: Magic Kids, Electrocity crew djs

What’s your perfect night out in Memphis?
Grab some ribs at Cozy Corner, head over to Hi Tone for a show then end up at the P&H for cheap pitcher beers

Any other things that are a must see and do in Memphis?
Stax Museum
Loraine Motel / National Civil Rights Museum
Wolf River where Jeff Buckley died
Graceland Too it’s outside of memphis but definitely a must see to get the Memphis experience

What is your favorite city/venue to play on the road and what place has the craziest fans?

Drunken Unicorn, Atlanta, GA. The place is a real dive but when it gets packed with kids, the energy and sweat make it an unforgettable place.

What’s the best roadside food you’ve found?

Mema’s Alaskan Tacos in Ybor City Tampa FL. The ingredients are really fresh, you can get alligator meat then the taco is deep fried. Definitely one of the best places for fish tacos.

Hi-Tone
1913 Poplar Avenue, Memphis, TN‎ – (901) 278-8663

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Odessa
2613 Broad Avenue, Memphis, TN‎ – (901) 555-5555‎

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Nocturnal
1588 Madison Avenue, Memphis, TN‎ – (901) 726-1548‎

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Museyon’s Guide To…ATP NY

Kellas — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 21:32:34 +0000

Imagine Dirty Dancing except with Iggy Pop as Johnny and the Vivian Girls (collectively) as Baby and that’s maybe close to what you’ll get on a trip to All Tomorrow’s Parties, New York. The American branch of this UK festival takes place at Kutsher’s Country Club in Monticello, NY. Kutsher’s is one of the last of a dying breed of family travel resorts, much like the vacation spot Baby’s family visit each summer in Dirty Dancing. Unlike the Kellermans Mountain House though, Kutsher’s exudes a forgotten feeling with long crumbling corridors, damp guest-rooms and charmingly decaying ballrooms. For one weekend each year, this year from Friday 3rd September to Sunday 5th September, the resort is filled with rock stars, comedians and fans who, because of the inclusivity of the resort, mingle, play music and maybe even some tennis together.

ATP has a long history of allowing a variety of celebrities to curate their festivals. Curating the New York festival is film director Jim Jarmusch (Coffee and Cigarettes).

Besides watching the full line-up of bands all weekend, those attending the festival and staying at the resort can take advantage of the club’s amenities like:
Indoor Pool
Bicycles
Outdoor Tennis and Basketball Courts
Indoor Cardio-Vascular Equipment and Free Weights
Health Club / Wet and Dry Sauna
Ping Pong Tables, Pool Tables
Boating on the lake
Tennis Lessons and Private Court Time.
18 Hole Championship Golf Course / Golf Club rental.
Massages at the health club.

Kutsher’s Country Club
1 Kutsher Rd, Monticello, NY 12701

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News: Caravaggio Returns to Ukraine

Kellas — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:32:24 +0000

A Caravaggio painting stolen two years ago from the Odessa Museum of Western and Eastern Art was recovered in Berlin by German and Ukrainian police this past July. The painting, called “The taking of Christ” or “The kiss of Judas” by scholars, is considered the most valuable painting in the Ukraine. Originally belonging to a Russian Ambassador to France, then the Russian prince and finally the museum in Odessa, it was stolen in 2008 by thieves who broke into the museum over night and cut the painting from its frame.

Now the painting is back home, brought to Ukraine by a delegation headed by President Viktor Yanukovych during his visit to Germany on Monday. For their part, Germany has spent about $38,040 US dollars on restoration of the work, with further restoration to be carried out in Kiev.

Odessa Museum of Western and Eastern Art
9, Pushkinskaya str., Odessa, Ukraine, 65026

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Chronicles: Top of the Chrysler Building

Kellas — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 18:58:09 +0000

At the corner of 42nd St. and Lexington Avenue sits one of the most iconic buildings in New York City, the Art Deco skyscraper The Chrysler Building. For eleven months after The Chrysler Building was completed in 1930, it was the tallest building in the world- until The Empire State Building succeeded it.

At the time ground was broken in Manhattan to build The Chrysler Building, competition was heating-up to see who could build the tallest skyscraper in the world. In the race for the top, Walter P. Chrysler, who personally funded the building for his children’s inheritance, had workers completing four floors per week- a frantic pace.

Designed by architect William Van Alen, the building was as the headquarters for the Chrysler Corporation and its distinctive ornamentation is based on features that were then being used on Chrysler automobiles; the corners of the 61st floor are graced with eagles, replicas of the 1929 Chrysler hood ornaments and on the 31st floor, the corner ornamentation are replicas of the 1929 Chrysler radiator caps.

But what The Chrysler Building is most famous for is its terraced crown. The crown is composed of seven radiating terraced arches, mounted up one behind each other. The stainless-steel cladding is ribbed and riveted in a radiating sunburst pattern with many triangular vaulted windows, transitioning into smaller segments of the seven narrow setbacks of the facade of the terraced crown. The entire crown is clad with silvery “Enduro KA-2″ metal, an austenitic stainless steel developed in Germany by Krupp.

Nowadays, The Chrysler Building is no longer owned by the Chrysler family or as the headquarters for the car manufacturer. Instead it is used by a variety of companies and can be seen in tv and film, being attacked by monsters, or blown-up in scenes of the Armageddon.

The Chrysler Building
New York, NY 10174

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News: Van Gogh Stolen in Egypt

Kellas — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:51:36 +0000

Van Gogh's Poppy Flowers

Last week, Egypt and the art world were stunned when Vincent Van Gogh’s Poppy Flowers valued at $50 million was stolen from Cairo’s Mahmoud Khalil Museum. This theft is actually the second time the painting has been stolen from the museum, the first being in 1978- it was recovered two years later in Kuwait.

The theft occurred during daytime hours and was possible because only 7 out of 47 cameras in the museum were functional at the time and the alarm system was not working, or had been disconnected. Zahi Hawass, the head of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, is pledging for a renewed effort to secure the country’s artifacts but meanwhile, the painting still remains at large despite the Egyptian government detaining staff and confiscating passports.

Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris has offered a reward of 1 million Egyptian pounds ($175,000) for information that would help recover the Van Gogh painting.

Mahmoud Khalil Museum
1, Kafour St., El Cairo, Ägypten – 02 3362378

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Museyon’s Guide to the Weekend

Kellas — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 20:59:05 +0000

Celebrate: If in New York City this weekend, celebrate what very well may be the end an era with the final Pool Party taking place on the Williamsburg Waterfront after five years running. As always, the show is free and starts at 2pm but fans of the promoters JellyNYC can start lining up an hour ahead of time. This week will include bands Delorean, Dominique Young Unique and a special yet to be announced guest headliner.

Watch:
The Milk of Sorrow – Fausta is suffering from a rare disease called the Milk of Sorrow, which is transmitted through the breast milk of pregnant women who were abused or raped during or soon after pregnancy. While living in constant fear and confusion due to this disease, she must face the sudden death of her mother. She chooses to take drastic measures to not follow in her mother’s footsteps.

The Last Exorcism – When he arrives on the rural Louisiana farm of Louis Sweetzer, the Reverend Cotton Marcus expects to perform just another routine “exorcism” on a disturbed religious fanatic. An earnest fundamentalist, Sweetzer has contacted the charismatic preacher as a last resort, certain his teenage daughter Nell is possessed by a demon who must be exorcized before their terrifying ordeal ends in unimaginable tragedy.

Buckling under the weight of his conscience after years of parting desperate believers with their money, Cotton and his crew plan to film a confessionary documentary of this, his last exorcism. But upon arriving at the already blood drenched family farm, it is soon clear that nothing could have prepared him for the true evil he encounters there. Now, too late to turn back, Reverend Marcus’ own beliefs are shaken to the core when he and his crew must find a way to save Nell – and themselves – before it is too late.

Read:
Trickster Makes This World: Mischief, Myth, and Art by Lewis Hyde, forward by Michael Chabon – Hyde brings to life the playful and disruptive side of human imagination as it is embodied in trickster mythology. He first revisits the old stories–Hermes in Greece, Eshu in West Africa, Krishna in India, Coyote in North America, among others–and then holds them up against the life and work of more recent creators: Picasso, Duchamp, Ginsberg, John Cage, and Frederick Douglass.

Loveykins by Quentin Blake – Written and illustrated by renowned artist and children’s author Quentin Blake, best known for illustrating the Roald Dahl books, Loveykins takes place one bright spring morning, after a night of gales in the great woods when Angela discovers a small helpless bird who has fallen from his nest. She scoops the creature up and bears him home. From that day on, Angela lavishes all her nurturing care and attention upon the bird. Augustus is wrapped in the softest of blankets and is fed the finest of foods. He travels in style in an elaborate basket, or in his magnificent pushchair. Nothing is too good for Angela’s little loveykins. And when Augustus grows too large for his blankets, his basket and his pushchair, Angela builds him his very own shed. All is well, until one fateful night when the storms rage through the great woods once again.

News: Fashion’s NYC Night Out

Kellas — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 18:05:41 +0000

Do you obsess over Project Runway and model your wardrobe over Rachel Zoe? Then get ready for Fashion’s Night Out on September 10th. Happening in cities across the world, the epicenter of celebration will of course be New York City where there will be block parties like the Teen Vogue Block Party sponsored by ASOS and will include a full fashion show and live performance by VV Brown and exhibitions such as the Indigo Light: a collection of portraits by Claiborne Swanson Frank taking place at the Akris boutique.

Another special event taking place on Fashion’s Night Out is the displaying of hand-sewn, hand-painted rag-dolls of Vogue Editors Anna Wintour and Grace Coddington. Barneys New York commissioned the dolls from Brooklyn-based artist Andrew Yang who says about his creations “I had to special-order Anna’s wig and cut it myself to get the bob right, and Grace’s hair was the right color, but it needed a perm. The outfits are my own take on their signature looks, it would have been unfair to single out specific designers.” Anna and Grace will be auctioned off on charitybuzz.com beginning August 31, with the proceeds benefiting The New York City Aids Fund.

Barney’s New York
660 Madison Avenue, New York, NY‎ – (212) 826-8900‎

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