Copyright 2008 The New York Sun Wed, 01 Oct 2008 13:39:56 -0400 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Other Arts :: Stories from The New York Sun http://www.nysun.com/other-arts istoll@nysun.com (Ira Stoll) webmaster@nysun.com en-us CARYN ROUSSEAU http://www.nysun.com/arts/macarthur-foundation-awards-genius-grants/86416/ Tue, 23 Sep 2008 12:55:15 EST CHICAGO — An evolutionary geneticist in Germany, a Nigerian-born writer, and an architectural historian who studies ancient bridges are among 25 recipients of this year's MacArthur Foundation "genius grants." The $500,000 fellowships were announced today by the Chicago-based John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Recipients may use the money however they wish. A plant evolutionary geneticist at Tuebingen, Germany, Kirsten Bomblies, 34, said the money will allow her to expand her... Associated Press http://www.nysun.com/arts/baldwin-book-rails-against-family-court-system/86413/ Tue, 23 Sep 2008 11:06:04 EST SAN FRANCISCO — Alec Baldwin blamed the bitter custody battle between him and ex-wife Kim Basinger in part for the anger and frustration he was feeling when he berated his daughter in a phone message leaked to the media last year. In the message, Mr. Baldwin called the 11-year-old a "rude, thoughtless little pig." He was apparently upset that she had missed his phone call. "I'm disappointed, I'm ashamed to say this: You get angry," the 50-year-old actor told a crowd of about 120 people... KATE TAYLOR http://www.nysun.com/arts/gioia-leaves-nea-after-changing-debate-over-arts/85697/ Fri, 12 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST In the midst of a deeply contentious election, in which the major parties are divided on almost all of the issues, from abortion to health care to Iraq, one old rallying cry — that of the so-called culture wars — has hardly been heard at all. That one no longer hears Republican candidates calling for the abolition of the National Endowment for the Arts is a credit to the effectiveness of the NEA's chairman since 2003, the poet Dana Gioia, in changing the terms of the debate around government... KATE TAYLOR http://www.nysun.com/arts/metropolitan-museum-chooses-a-young-insider-as/85487/ Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Thomas Campbell, a curator in the department of European sculpture and decorative arts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, will be the next director and CEO of the museum, the Met announced yesterday. Mr. Campbell, 46, who curated two highly praised exhibitions of Renaissance and Baroque tapestries, will succeed Philippe de Montebello, who has served as director for 30 years. Mr. Campbell will take office January 1. The choice of Mr. Campbell is bold, since he has never run so much as a... GRADY HENDRIX http://www.nysun.com/arts/takashi-miikes-crime-wave/84573/ Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST For most New York film buffs, the Japanese director Takashi Miike "arrived" in August, 2001, when "Audition," his date-ending horror show, was greeted with raves in the press (Elvis Mitchell compared him with Yasujiro Ozu). Fans lined up around the block at Film Forum, only to walk out in droves as the movie's spring-loaded jaws clamped shut on their soft brains in its final 20 minutes. "Audition" was a patient, cruel film about a television executive who decides to hold casting sessions for a... JAY AKASIE http://www.nysun.com/arts/modern-art-on-an-ancestral-estate/86806/ Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST British aristocrats opening their estates to the public is nothing new. But credit the Duke of Devonshire with using the grounds of his stately home to host what's become a staple of the autumn art scene in Europe. The Duke, an art patron and aficionado who sits on Sotheby's board of directors, is using the landscaped grounds around Chatsworth, his 105-acre ancestral estate, for an extraordinary exhibition of Modern and Contemporary sculpture. It's not difficult to see why "Beyond Limits" has... SHIRA LEVINE http://www.nysun.com/arts/atlantic-antic-lives/86757/ Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Those relying on the Boerum Hill section of Atlantic Avenue for antique gems soon will have to take their hunting to eBay. The stretch of the avenue between Hoyt and Bond streets known as Antique Row for more than 30 years is history. Over the last 15 years, interest has waned, and the avenue has morphed into a shopping boulevard of home furnishings, boutiques, coffee joints, pastry shops, restaurants, bars, and nightclubs. "Twenty-five years ago it was a heavily antique district with 30 or 40... KATE TAYLOR http://www.nysun.com/arts/laying-claim-to-an-outsiders-art/86769/ Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST The term "outsider artist" is out of fashion these days, replaced by the more strictly factual "self-taught artist." But in some cases the older phrase still seems more fitting, such as when describing someone who not only worked outside the established art world but also lived outside of mainstream society. Henry Darger, whose thousands of drawings and watercolors were discovered by his landlord only at his death in 1973, was that kind of outsider. So was Martín Ramírez. A Mexican immigrant... BENJAMIN SECHER http://www.nysun.com/arts/the-world-of-warhol-tv/86759/ Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST 'I can work anywhere: big places or small places," David Hockney says in a rare American television interview from 1981. "I do the watercolors in small rooms and the large paintings in large rooms." His interviewer sits out of sight, saying nothing in response to these banalities. "Very occasionally," the British artist says, as if compelled to fill the silence, "I'll do a large painting in a small room." As he speaks, the camera roves like a restless eye across his outfit, picking out... Associated Press http://www.nysun.com/arts/busta-rhymes-denied-entry-into-britain/86621/ Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Rapper Busta Rhymes was briefly detained at a London airport Thursday by immigration officers who said he should not be allowed into the country, a concert promoter said. He was released, however, after a High Court judge ruled that the rapper was entitled to either bail or immediate release while he formulated a defense. Justice Julian Flaux said it was "difficult to see upon what basis" Rhymes had been detained. Mr. Flaux ordered a hearing for the rapper's legal challenge to the government's... Bloomberg News http://www.nysun.com/arts/hirst-to-launch-art-retail-shop/86623/ Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Three weeks after Damien Hirst's $206 million auction at Sotheby's, the artist will open a shop next door to the auction house in London. The retail arm of Other Criteria, Mr. Hirst's publishing and merchandising company, will start business at 36 New Bond St. on October 6, said Robyn Katkhuda, projects director, in an e-mail. Passersby will notice the black-painted façade of the shop to the left of Sotheby's, where the "Beautiful Inside My Head Forever" auction was held. "It's a 'soft' opening... ERICA ORDEN http://www.nysun.com/arts/graffiti-adorns-new-gallery/86607/ Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST The dealer who represents the infamous British artist Banksy is opening his first gallery in New York. Steve Lazarides, who owns Lazarides Gallery, which has four outposts in and around London, will open a pop-up gallery in a former restaurant-supply store on the corner of Bowery and Houston Street beginning tomorrow. The show, "The Outsiders," which will be open for two weeks, features new work from Mr. Lazarides's stable of provocative artists, including a portrait of President Bush made out... Associated Press http://www.nysun.com/arts/study-97-of-teenagers-are-gamers/86349/ Tue, 23 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Who plays video games? Just about everybody — if they're ages 12-17. According to a new survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 97% of youths in that age group (99% of boys, 94% of girls) play computer, console, or portable games. The most popular genres among teens are racing ("Mario Kart," "Burnout Paradise"), puzzle ("Bejeweled," "Solitaire"), and sports ("Madden NFL," "FIFA"). "Madden" also scored as the third-most popular franchise, following "Guitar Hero" and "Halo" — all... NICHOLAS WAPSHOTT http://www.nysun.com/arts/the-view-from-the-clark-institute/86279/ Mon, 22 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST New Yorkers who enjoy a leafy journey north to the Hudson Valley and the Berkshires have a welcome addition to their array of attractions: the new extension of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown. The Stone Hill Center is set a little distance from the core of the collection, up the hill from the art museum and nestling in trees. It is the new building's location almost as much as its unusual design, by the Japanese autodidact architect Tadao Ando, that sparks the... Bloomberg News http://www.nysun.com/arts/lehman-collection-headed-for-liquidation/86167/ Fri, 19 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Artworks by Takashi Murakami, Andreas Gursky, and Jasper Johns are among the lesser-known assets in Lehman Brothers' meltdown. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. owns about 3,500 contemporary artworks that have been displayed in the investment bank's offices around the world, and the fate of the collection is unclear. Depending on Lehman's bankruptcy proceedings and whether portions of its businesses are acquired, some or all of the art may be sold. Lehman inherited a separate collection when it... Associated Press http://www.nysun.com/arts/motown-producer-norman-whitfield-dies-at-67/86063/ Thu, 18 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Norman Whitfield, who co-wrote a string of Motown classics including "War" and "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," has died. He was 67. A spokeswoman at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles said Whitfield died there Tuesday. He suffered from complications of diabetes and had recently emerged from a coma, the Detroit Free Press reported. Whitfield was a longtime Motown producer who during the 1960s and '70s injected rock and psychedelic touches into the label's soul music. Many of his... JASPER GERARD http://www.nysun.com/arts/warhols-elusive-acolyte/86077/ Thu, 18 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST After Damien Hirst sold a load of works for $125 million this week, it's tempting to say the entire art world is one gigantic joke. But even by these fine standards, the latest story seemed more like the elaborate plot for a novel: that a supposed acolyte of the great Pop artist Andy Warhol — whose works have been auctioned at Christie's and Sotheby's — might not have ever existed. John Nicholson, a Surrey auctioneer, has been forced to postpone his latest sale of works by Pietro Psaier, whom... Associated Press http://www.nysun.com/arts/stewart-maher-cho-to-honor-carlin-at-twain-prize/85978/ Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Jon Stewart, Bill Maher, and Margaret Cho are among an all-star lineup of entertainers who will honor the late comedian George Carlin at this year's Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. The prize was announced just before Carlin's death in June. It will be awarded during a tribute performance November 10 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington. The program, announced Tuesday, will be aired later on PBS stations. Others who will honor Carlin include Garry Shandling... ERICA ORDEN http://www.nysun.com/arts/lincoln-center-plans-yearlong-50th-anniversary/86006/ Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts will announce today its plans for a yearlong celebration of its 50th anniversary in 2009, including a variety of new commissions, concerts, and performances from its 12 resident organizations, as well as the launch of a digital time capsule and the first major exhibition of its history in a show at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. The programming will kick off on May 11, 2009, with the commemoration of the campus's original... PIA CATTON http://www.nysun.com/arts/andree-putmans-masterful-output/86010/ Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST When the owners of high-end hotels want to make a splash, they hire celebrity fashion designers to create stylish interiors. But such collaborations weren't always de rigueur. In 1984, Morgans commissioned the French interior designer Andrée Putman to put the hotel on the map. And she did — with style so modern and glamorous it looks as though it could have been put up yesterday. One step into Morgans, which was recently restored, will give you a sense of Ms. Putman's sleek, yet warm design... Bloomberg News http://www.nysun.com/arts/pink-floyds-richard-wright-dies-at-65/85865/ Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Richard Wright, a founding member of British rock band Pink Floyd, whose keyboard lines were an integral part of its psychedelic sound, has died. He was 65. Wright died Monday after a short battle with cancer, said his spokesman, Doug Wright, who isn't related. While Richard Wright gets credit mostly for his work on the keyboard — which he taught himself — he also wrote songs and sang on Floyd classics such as "Time" and "Echoes." Wright was one of five founders of the band, which released its... KATE TAYLOR http://www.nysun.com/arts/levy-looks-left-in-manhattan/85785/ Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST The French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy thinks that the political left is in trouble. Simultaneously hobbled by cultural relativism and haunted by its own forms of intolerance — most particularly, anti-Semitism — the left is, to Mr. Lévy, a body diseased. Mr. Lévy will deliver this message and propose a solution — a recommitment to universal values and human rights — in two appearances in New York this week. On Tuesday, he will face off at the New York Public Library with another leftist... Associated Press http://www.nysun.com/arts/opening-of-abba-museum-delayed/85672/ Fri, 12 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST The opening of a museum dedicated to the Swedish pop group Abba has been delayed. The initial target for the opening was June 2009, but project co-founder Ulf Westman said Thursday the renovation of the building will take longer than expected because it is "more complicated than what was predicted earlier." Mr. Westman did not say when the museum might open. Abba is one of the world's most successful bands, with album sales of more than 370 million since the 1970s. The group has not performed... Staff Reporter of the Sun http://www.nysun.com/arts/armory-show-adds-former-modern-painters-publishers/85673/ Fri, 12 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST The Armory Show has appointed a former magazine publisher, Deborah Harris, to be the managing director of the Armory Show - Modern, a new section of the Armory Show that will occupy Pier 92, just south of the main fair on Pier 94. Whereas the main fair includes primarily Contemporary art, the Armory Show - Modern will feature Modern and historical work. The Armory Show - Modern will accommodate some 70 new exhibitors. Both fairs will run March 5 through March 8. The Armory Show was purchased... Associated Press http://www.nysun.com/arts/kanye-west-arrested-at-lax/85675/ Fri, 12 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Kanye West and one of his bodyguards were arrested Thursday at Los Angeles International Airport after an altercation with paparazzi in which the rapper allegedly smashed a camera on the floor. Airport police arrested Mr. West and his road manager, Don Crowley, who also serves as a bodyguard, on suspicion of felony vandalism shortly before 8 a.m. Pacific time, an LAX spokesman, Marshall Lowe, said. He said early reports indicated that a camera valued at more than $10,000 was broken. The... Staff Reporter of the Sun http://www.nysun.com/arts/also-opening-this-weekend-forgiveness/85688/ Fri, 12 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST A hybrid of realism and fantasy, Udi Aloni's "Forgiveness," which opens Friday at Cinema Village for a one-week engagement, is a psychological thriller that explores the tragedies of the Middle East. David (Itay Tiran), a young Israeli-American, returns to his homeland to join the army, only to fall into a catatonic state after accidentally shooting a Palestinian girl while on patrol. He is committed to a psychiatric institution that sits on the ruins of a Palestinian village. The head... Staff Reporter of the Sun http://www.nysun.com/arts/also-opening-this-weekend-secrecy/85689/ Fri, 12 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST This documentary by Harvard professors Peter Galison and Robb Moss examines the complexities of the government's interest in secrecy and the effect it has on individuals and laws. Using interviews and original animation, the film attempts to shed light on the reasons behind the need to classify a document as secret, and asks who polices the state's ability to do so. "Secrecy," which opens Friday at Cinema Village, includes interviews with proponents and detractors of government policies... Bloomberg News http://www.nysun.com/arts/indian-painter-set-to-return-from-exile/85580/ Thu, 11 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Maqbool Fida Husain, one of India's top-selling artists, plans to return home from exile after the Supreme Court in New Delhi threw out a petition calling for his trial on criminal charges including obscenity. "I will be coming very soon," Mr. Husain, 92, said in a telephone interview from London today. "There is no fixed time to come back. The dignity of Indian contemporary art has been upheld by the decision of the Supreme Court." Mr. Husain has been living in self-imposed exile in Dubai and... Associated Press http://www.nysun.com/arts/kennedy-center-will-honor-streisand-freeman-tharp/85483/ Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Barbra Streisand, actor Morgan Freeman, and country singer George Jones will be honored by the Kennedy Center in December along with choreographer Twyla Tharp and musicians Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey of the Who. Kennedy Center chairman Stephen Schwarzman hailed the "extraordinary genius and tenacity" of the 2008 lifetime-achievement award recipients, who were announced Tuesday. Their work, Mr. Schwarzman said, has "redefined the way we see, hear, and feel the performing arts." Performers... Staff Reporter of the Sun http://www.nysun.com/arts/streisand-to-lead-obama-benefit/85407/ Tue, 9 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Barbra Streisand will be among the headlining performers at a September 16 fund-raiser for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, the Web site Broadway World announced yesterday. The benefit, which will be held at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, will be Mr. Obama's final fund-raising appearance before the November election... KATE TAYLOR http://www.nysun.com/arts/an-artists-play-on-priced-to-sell-in-east-hampton/85308/ Mon, 8 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST A cheeky art installation is stirring up Hamptonites' anxieties about the economy and the local real estate market. As part of an exhibition at Glenn Horowitz Bookseller, on Newtown Lane in East Hampton, the artist Adam McEwen soaped up the store's front window and hung two signs: one saying "FORECLOSURE," and the other a hand-painted facsimile of a Century 21 realty sign, complete with a 631 number to call about the property. Mr. McEwen also added some graffiti in the soap, making the effect... Associated Press http://www.nysun.com/arts/britney-spears-returns-to-open-mtv-awards/85207/ Fri, 5 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST It's Britney, baby, one more time. Despite her train-wreck performance at the MTV Video Music Awards last year, the network confirms Ms. Spears will kick off the show once again. But it won't be a performance. Instead, the president of MTV Networks Music Group, Van Toffler, said Wednesday, it'll be something "fun and unexpected" on Sunday night's show. Unexpected is probably the kindest way to describe Ms. Spears's performance at last year's VMAs. In what was heavily promoted as the troubled... Bloomberg News http://www.nysun.com/arts/stevie-wonder-second-winner-of-gershwin-prize/85125/ Thu, 4 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Stevie Wonder, who helped define the sound of black America as a 12-year-old singing sensation and made pop hits for more than four decades, was awarded the Gershwin Prize by the Library of Congress, which put in a request of the 58-year-old composer: Write us another one. The library commissioned Mr. Wonder to write a musical work for violin and keyboards that's 10 to 18 minutes long, said Susan Vita, a spokeswoman for its music division. The piece could be a score just for a violin, piano, or... Associated Press http://www.nysun.com/arts/rock-and-roll-hall-to-honor-les-paul/85037/ Wed, 3 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will pay tribute to the "father of the electric guitar" this fall. Les Paul will be honored at the annual American Music Masters series, a weeklong event that begins November 10, Rock Hall officials said Tuesday. A tribute concert — artists will be named later — is scheduled for November 15 at Cleveland's State Theater. Mr. Paul still performs weekly at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York City. He was inducted into the early-influence category of the rock hall in... ALIX FINKELSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/arts/seeing-street-art-through-the-camera/84863/ Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST Fall is a time of decay for the natural landscape, but photographer Charlene Weisler isn't watching the changing of the leaves: She's keeping an eye on the urban landscape. Since 2005, Ms. Weisler has roamed the city looking for the decayed layers of street art that, when framed by a camera lens, become something more than vandalism. For her ongoing project, "Urban Montage," she has taken more than 5,000 photographs of what she sees as an anarchic form of art making. "I don't photograph acts of... LIZZIE SIMON http://www.nysun.com/arts/he-paints-marshmallows-lots/84923/ Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST For painter Derek Buckner, inspiration came in a pile of sugary, mushy cubes, the squeezable kind most often seen impaled by a long stick while facing a friendly inferno. His muse is the marshmallow. On a vacation with his family along the Baja Peninsula in Mexico, Mr. Buckner was having a difficult time looking for plasticine clay to build models for a new series of paintings, but he found something far more intriguing instead. "All of a sudden, I came across a big bag of marshmallows at a... NEIL TWEEDIE http://www.nysun.com/arts/portraits-can-lie-or-not-if-theyre-by-freud/84864/ Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST LONDON — Oliver Cromwell was given to the odd bout of brutality during his career, but no one could accuse him of vanity. Typical was his injunction to Sir Peter Lely, the German-born painter. "Mr. Lely," the Lord Protector said, "I desire you would use all your skill to paint your picture truly like me, and not flatter me at all; but remark all these roughness, pimples, warts, and everything as you see me. Otherwise, I will never pay a farthing for it." Portraiture has always been a delicate... Associated Press http://www.nysun.com/arts/neil-diamond-promises-refund-to-frustrated-fans/84747/ Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST Disappointed Neil Diamond fans will get a refund after attending a concert at Ohio State University in which the 67-year-old singer's voice sounded raspy. Some fans left the Monday concert early and others said that Mr. Diamond completed the concert without mentioning anything to the audience about his voice. A statement from Mr. Diamond, the singer of such hits as "Sweet Caroline" and "Song Sung Blue," on Tuesday said a doctor has diagnosed acute laryngitis. Mr. Diamond's spokeswoman, Eve... Associated Press http://www.nysun.com/arts/australia-ponders-snoop-dogg-visa/84748/ Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST Australia's immigration department said Wednesday it was conducting a character assessment of Snoop Dogg, including his criminal history, as the nation considers whether to grant the rapper a visa for a concert tour later this year. A department spokesman said reports that the visa had already been granted were false. He said the rapper, whose birth name is Cordozar Calvin Broadus Jr., applied for a visa in July and that the department carried out a preliminary assessment. Snoop Dogg and fellow... Associated Press http://www.nysun.com/arts/fbi-arrests-blogger-for-leaking-chinese-democracy/84750/ Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST Federal authorities say they have arrested a Web logger suspected of streaming songs from Guns N' Roses' unreleased album, "Chinese Democracy," on his Web site. FBI agents arrested 27-year-old Kevin Cogill on Wednesday morning on suspicion of violating federal copyright laws. Federal authorities say Mr. Cogill posted nine unreleased Guns N' Roses songs on his Web site in June. The songs were later removed. According to an arrest affidavit, Mr. Cogill admitted to agents that he posted the songs... Associated Press http://www.nysun.com/arts/suge-knight-arrested-for-drugs-assault/84751/ Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST Police say rap music mogul Marion "Suge" Knight is in a Las Vegas jail on drug and assault charges after he was accused of beating his girlfriend while brandishing a knife. The 43-year-old Knight was arrested Wednesday on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a controlled substance, possession of dangerous drugs without a prescription, and battery domestic violence. Police responding to a report of a car hitting a curb near the Las Vegas Strip say they found Knight standing... Bloomberg News http://www.nysun.com/arts/sao-paulo-acts-to-protect-graffiti/84555/ Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST Sao Paulo artists Otavio and Gustavo Pandolfo obliged London's Tate Gallery by painting their distinctive yellow graffiti on outside walls of the museum. Just a month later, their hometown began rolling gray paint across one of the brothers' murals as part of cleanup efforts. Officials did an abrupt about-face after the Pandolfos and other artists complained both to the city and in the press. Now Sao Paulo is creating a registry of street art to be preserved, exempt from Mayor Gilberto Kassab's... KATE TAYLOR http://www.nysun.com/arts/lawsuit-over-disputed-warhol-will-go-forward/84574/ Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST A suit involving the artist John Chamberlain and a work that may or may not be by Andy Warhol will go forward, after a judge denied Mr. Chamberlain's attorney's request for summary judgment. The dispute is between Mr. Chamberlain and a former Warhol assistant, Gerard Malanga. Mr. Malanga claims that Mr. Chamberlain misappropriated and then misrepresented a work, titled "315 Johns," as a Warhol, when actually it was created by Mr. Malanga in 1971, with the help of two other artists, Jim Jacobs... Staff Reporter of the Sun http://www.nysun.com/arts/lavignes-show-will-go/84482/ Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST Avril Lavigne will get to strut her stuff in Kuala Lumpur after all — well, not all of it. The Malaysian government has approved Ms. Lavigne's upcoming August 29 performance, despite scrapping the concert last week for being "too sexy." The government reversed its decision after the singer's promoters assured officials the concert wouldn't corrupt the predominantly Muslim country's youth or disrupt its independence day celebration on August 31. "In giving the approval, the Cabinet also... Associated Press http://www.nysun.com/arts/onstage-madonna-mixes-politics-with-pop/84483/ Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST Even at 50, the queen of pop just can't stop courting controversy. As Madonna kicked off her international "Sticky and Sweet" tour Saturday night, she took a none-too-subtle swipe at the presumptive Republican nominee for president. Amid a four-act show at Cardiff's packed Millennium Stadium, a video interlude carried images of destruction, global warming, Adolf Hitler, Zimbabwe's authoritarian President Mugabe — and Senator McCain. Another sequence, shown later, pictured slain Beatle John... Staff Reporter of the Sun http://www.nysun.com/arts/critic-john-russell-dies-at-89/84485/ Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST John Russell, lead art critic for the New York Times from 1982 through 1990, died Saturday at the age of 89, the newspaper reported Sunday. An Englishman, Russell had come to New York from the Times of London, where, in the years after World War II, he played a significant role in advocating the work of the now-canonical postwar British artists Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud, among others... Staff Reporter of the Sun http://www.nysun.com/arts/neh-announces-nearly-3m-in-new-york-grants/84377/ Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST The National Endowment for the Humanities Thursday announced $27.6 million in grant awards, including almost $3 million in grants to New York State organizations and individuals. The Greenwich Village-based Aquila Theatre Company was one of the bigger winners in the city, getting $292,585 to stage readings and discussions of classical theater. The China Institute in America, on the Upper East Side, received $214,231 for an exhibition exploring the history of the city of Xi'an, while the... Associated Press http://www.nysun.com/arts/memphis-airport-declines-to-honor-hayes/84282/ Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST Officials of Memphis International Airport say they probably won't change the airport's name to honor the late singer Isaac Hayes. During a memorial service for Hayes on Monday, U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen publicly suggested changing the name of the airport. Airport board chairman Arnold Perl told the Commercial Appeal newspaper that Memphis is one of the most respected and recognized brands in the world. Mr. Perl said Hayes was a great ambassador for Memphis, but the current airport name best serves... Associated Press http://www.nysun.com/arts/gary-glitter-refused-entry-to-hong-kong/84284/ Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST A British diplomatic official says China has refused to allow convicted pedophile Gary Glitter to enter Hong Kong. The fallen British glam rocker served nearly three years in a Vietnamese prison for molesting children. He was released on Tuesday and flew to Hong Kong on Wednesday night after refusing to return to England. But a spokeswoman for the British Foreign Office says Chinese authorities have refused to allow him into Hong Kong. She says it is unclear what will happen to Glitter next and... Associated Press http://www.nysun.com/arts/malaysia-shuts-down-avril-lavigne-show/84192/ Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST On Tuesday Muslim-majority Malaysia canceled a concert by Canadian rock singer Avril Lavigne, saying it could taint the country's independence day celebrations after the Islamic opposition slammed her show as being "too sexy." The Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage said it had decided not to permit Ms. Lavigne's show because it was unsuitable to Malaysian culture and could not be held on August 29, two days ahead of independence day. "It is not timely. It's not in the good spirit of our...