From the perch of an auction-house seat, you might think that the world economy was flourishing, that bankers and bus drivers alike were in the black and in the chips. Last night, a Alberto Giacometti bronze statute, “Walking Man 1” (above, left) netted $104.3 million at a Sotheby’s auction in London, handily breaking the pre-recession record of $104.1 million ... Read More »
Pablo Picasso was no slouch—in his 92 years, scholars estimate he created over 50,000 works (1,885 paintings, 4,100 sculptures and ceramics, and some 12,000 drawings.) As many of his pieces appear in museums, thousands more are in the hands of wealthy and not-so-wealthy collectors. Still, the sale of his “Tête de Femme (Jacqueline)” (detail, above), a 1963 portrait of ... Read More »
Home of Sun Records, Elvis Presley, and blocks of blues joints, Memphis, Tennessee is where rock was born, where white bluesman stirred together black energy with Country tunesmithing to create the sound that defined the latter half of the 20th Century. But of all American music forms, it may be Soul that lies closest to the heart of this ... Read More »
Those outside of the New York sphere may not know the scrappy institution known as Film Forum—a small three-screen theater on a lonely section of Houston Street dedicated to running on the best and most important of what cinema has to offer. Despite—or perhaps even in part because of—its “only in New York” awkward layout, Film Forum has become ... Read More »
From the vicious spiel of celebrity blogging stars like Perez Hilton to the underground waves produced by those touting the latest in lovable indie starlets, there’s no doubting that these days, popular blogs and their musical tastes can be considered a scene. Not only are record labels happily shipping album after album to the more popular pontificators in the hope ... Read More »
There was a long, snaking line of children, little old ladies, and art lovers of all ages as The Folkwang Museum in Essen, Germany reopened earlier this week after a three-year restoration and expansion project whose design was spearheaded by British architect, David Chipperfield. The little old ladies and kids were, of course, just the right crowd to help ... Read More »
Through our “Music + Travel” guides and music-related posts here on the blog, we’re used to connecting sound and travel in ways that bring you the best in emerging and longstanding scenes from all around the world. Well, the reissuing of famed conceptual pop composer Bob Thompson’s “The Sound of Speed” wraps all that up for us in a ... Read More »
Education vacations are nothing new. Universities from Padua to Princeton offer short-form courses for youths looking to experience learning abroad as well as lifelong students just looking for a little didactic fun. But a new, tuneful twist comes courtesy of the “Oxford Experience”—a continuing education service at the ancient English university that offers crumpet-sized samplings of their lecture-and-tutorial based ... Read More »
MUSEYON BOOKS Smart City Guides for Travel, History, Art and Film Lovers