Lifestyle - The Korea Times

’Visual Anthropology of Mexico’ brings masters to Korea

By Noh Hyun-gi Since 1957, the Mexican government has collected artwork from artists in lieu of taxes. These creative contributions were categorized as Patrimonial Heritage by the Mexican Ministry of Budget and Public Finance. The Embassy of Mexico has selected masterpieces from the collection that best chronicle the contemporary art of the country and brought them especially for Korean viewers to Sookmyung Women’s University Museum in Seoul. Of the works at the “Visual Anthropology of Mexico,” a lithograph by the renowned Rufino Tamayo “Iron Cross” stands out. Tamayo was born and trained in Mexico but spent much of his life in New York. He combined Mexican folk themes with Surrealist and Cubist styles, often in vibrant colors and a textured surface. Originally commissioned for the 1988 Seoul Olympics, an edition of “Iron Cross” was displayed at “Contemporary Art and Olympics,” an art exhibition from Aug. 25 to Oct. 5, 1988 in celebration of the global festivities that marked Korea’s leap into modernization. The piece shows a gymnast in a blue, red, and black background

Feb 3, 2012

Clubs

Clubs Underlounge Seoul Hongdae or Hongik University Area This is the local club of a hip Japanese chain that also has a branch in Shanghai, located in the famous clubbing area Hongdae. Located near the main entrance of Hongik University. Call (02) 325-5715 or visit www.underlounge.kr. Club Volume Itaewon Located in the Crown Hotel near Noksapyeong Station, Club Volume offers the finest venue for specially themed weekly events. Club Volume was listed by TIME magazine among the “10 things to do in 24 hours in Seoul.” Call 1544-2635 for information. Le Nuit Blanche Cheongdam-dong Formerly Club Answer, Le Nuit Blanche is a posh restaurant, theater and club. Located in front of the Hotel Prima in Cheongdam-dong, Le Nuit Blanche offers Cirque du Soleil-type performances. World-class DJs from all over the world perform at the club. Call (02) 514-4311 for information. Cafe Mou Sinsa-dong This cafe has a rich ethnic interior that mixes inspirations from such places as Morocco and France. Its menu is limited, but features desserts. It is loca

Feb 2, 2012By Do Je-hae

Classical concerts

Classical Concerts Prades Casals Festival in Korea Seoul Arts Center* March 1 The renowned Pablo Casals Festival marks its 60th anniversary this year. Participants to this music festival will perform at Seoul Arts Center on March 1. Michel Lethiec, the most famous musician in the Pablo Casals Festival in Prades will be in Korea this year. Cellist Arto Noras, violist Gerard Poulet and Hartmut Rohde, Korean musicians violinist Baek Ju-young, Kim So-ock, cellist Song Young and pianist Park Jong-hwa will also join the concert. Tickets cost 11,000 to 66,000 won. For more information, call 1544-5142. Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Seoul Arts Center* Feb. 21-22 The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (RCO) will perform on Feb. 21-22 under the baton of conductor Chung Myung-whun at Seoul Arts Center. The Korean maestro will be leading a program of Kodaly’s “Dances of Galanta,” Mendelssohn’s violin concerto and “Concerto for Orchestra” by Bartok. This will be followed by another concert on Feb. 22 with a program of the Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3 with London-based p

Feb 2, 2012By Do Je-hae

Doosan Art Center nurtures young artists

By Kwon Mee-yoo Nine actors sat around the stage at Space 111 of Doosan Art Center, Yeonji-dong in central Seoul, Sunday. A large black table in the middle served as a counter of a small diner and the actors entered and exited, according to their roles. The manager of the diner sat on the right side of the table and led the performance. This is a reading for the musical “Shinya Shokudou,” or “Late-Night Diner,” based on a Japanese comic book of the same title. It was adapted into a television drama, first in 2009 and again in 2011. The show earned popularity in Korea, too, as it portrayed people’s individual stories through food and the genial owner-cook of the diner. Three Korean artists — book writer and lyricist Jung Young, composer Kim Hye-sung and director Kim Dong-yeon — bought the rights to prepare a musical adaptation and worked on it for about 15 months. Veteran actor Song Young-chang took the role of the blunt yet warm-hearted master of the nameless diner that opens from midnight till 7 a.m. in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Regulars include a stripper; a gay ba

Jan 30, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Picasso is the most stolen artist in the world

Pablo Picasso is the artist who has more works stolen than anyone else. The Spanish master currently has 1,147 paintings registered as stolen, missing or disputed, which is more than twice as many as the next on the list, the Daily Mail reported on Jan. 27. That figure rose recently when his 1939 work 'Woman's Head' was pinched from the Athens' National Art Gallery in Greece. The Art Loss Register has compiled a list of artists who have had the highest number of works stolen and the countries where the art is mostly taken from, with Britain being the most vulnerable place. The database lists all the stolen, missing and disputed works of art around the world. Coming second to Picasso is the modern American artist Nick Lawrence who has 557 stolen works. Most of them went missing in one go in 2004. In third place is Marc Chagall, the Russian-French 20th century all-rounder, who has 516 stolen works. Karel Appel, the Dutch painter and sculptor, comes fourth with 505 stolen works, just ahead of Salvador Dali with 504. Joan Miro, David Levine, Andy Warhol, Rembr

Jan 29, 2012

Universal Ballet to stage modern masterpieces

By Do Je-hae The Universal Ballet Company (UBC) will open its 2012 season with a collection of modern ballet masterpieces, the company said in a press release, Friday. To break the misconception that modern ballet is hard to understand, UBC will bring together the works of three masters of modern ballet choreography: Jiri Kylian, William Forsythe and Ohad Naharin. The show, entitled “This is Modern 3,” includes Kylian’s “Petite Mort” and “Sechs Tanze,” Forsythe’s “In the Middle, Somewhat Elated” and Naharin’s “Minus 7.” They will be presented at Universal Arts Center in Seoul on Feb. 18 and 19, followed by performances in Japan and Taiwan. The show will aim to demonstrate UBC’s growing expertise in modern ballet, according to the company. “Today’s choreographers check each dance company carefully to be sure that they are capable of performing their works in the correct style before granting the company a license to perform them,” Kim Sei-young, a PR official at UBC said. “We are proud to be the first Asian company to have obtained licenses to perform works by Kylian,

Jan 29, 2012By Do Je-hae

Korean ’Zhivago’ inspires director

By Kwon Mee-yoo Des McAnuff, two-time Tony Award-winning director, arrived in Korea to add final touches to the new musical “Doctor Zhivago,” which raised its curtain Friday. “Zhivago is a witness to history and also a courageous man. He ultimately discovers that love can survive through the worst of times by living on art. He captivates Lara and his love for her in his poetry,” he said in an interview with The Korea Times. He joined the project of staging Boris Pasternak’s 1957 novel of the same name a few years ago at the request of Lucy Simon, the composer of “Doctor Zhivago,” who first had the idea. “We assembled a creative team and spent about a solid year and a half just trying to figure out whether it was possible to adapt the novel, before a word was written or a note composed,” he said. “I confess that I liked the idea but I wasn’t entirely sure how easy it would be to adapt until we put the time in. It gradually became clear.” The original novel explores the history of Russia in the early 20th century and the people whose lives are swept up by revolution and

Jan 27, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Classical Concerts; Museums; Dance; Pop and Jazz

Classical Concerts Prades Casals Festival in Korea Seoul Arts Center* March 1 The renowned Pablo Casals Festival marks its 60th anniversary this year. Participants to this music festival will perform at Seoul Arts Center on March 1. Michel Lethiec, the most famous musicians in the Pablo Casals Festival in Prades will be in Korea this year. Cellist Arto Noras, violist Gerard Poulet and Hartmut Rohde, Korean musicians Violinist Baek Ju-young, Kim So-ock, cellist Song Young and pianist Park Jong-hwa will also join the concert. Tickets cost 11,000 to 66,000 won. For more information, call 1544-5142. Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Seoul Arts Center* Feb. 21-22 The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (RCO) will perform on Feb. 21-22 under the baton of conductor Chung Myung-whun at Seoul Arts Center. The Korean maestro will be leading a program of Kodaly’s “Dances of Galanta,” Mendelssohn’s violin concerto and “Concerto for Orchestra” by Bartok. This will be followed by another concert on Feb. 22 with a program of the Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3 with London-based pianist K

Jan 26, 2012By Kwon Mee-yoo

Clubs; Traditional; Arts exhibitions; Sports game

Clubs Underlounge Seoul Hongdae or Hongik University Area This is the local club of a hip Japanese chain that also has a branch in Shanghai, located in the famous clubbing area Hongdae. Located near the main entrance of Hongik University. Call (02) 325-5715 or visit www.underlounge.kr. Club Volume Itaewon Located in the Crown Hotel near Noksapyeong Station, Club Volume offers the finest venue for specially themed weekly events. Club Volume was listed by TIME magazine among the “10 things to do in 24 hours in Seoul.” Call 1544-2635 for more information. Le Nuit Blanche Cheongdam-dong Formerly Club Answer, Le Nuit Blanche is a posh restaurant, theater and club. Located in front of the Hotel Prima in Cheongdam-dong, Le Nuit Blanche offers Cirque du Soleil-type performances. World-class DJs from all over the world perform at the club. Please call (02) 514-4311 for more information. Cafe Mou Sinsa-dong This cafe has a rich ethnic interior that mixes inspirations from such places as Morocco and France. Its menu is limited, but features desserts. I

Jan 26, 2012

CJ EandM brings curtain down on Chinese version of ’Mamma Mia’

HONG KONG (Yonhap) -- Korea's CJ E&M Corp. said Wednesday its Chinese joint venture has brought the curtain down on the Chinese version of the global hit musical "Mamma Mia!" after successfully running for the last six months in China. United Asia Live Entertainment Co., a joint venture established among CJ E&M, China Arts and Entertainment Group, and Shanghai Media Group, staged the Chinese version of "Mamma Mia!" in the six Chinese cities of Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Chongqing and Xian, starting in July. The final show of the Chinese version of "Mama Mia!" was performed Thursday in Shanghai after 200 hundred performances during the six-month run, attracting a total of 250,000 theatergoers. The show has posted 20 billion won (US$17.8 million) in sales and 3 billion won in net profit. CJ E&M officials attributed the success to the well-executed localization by the Chinese staff both on stage and backstage, enhancing the show's appeal to the local market. The show's success was also attributable to the rise of the middle class amid China's robust economic gr