One of the best collection of sculptures in town is in a small museum on the outskirts of Moscow. The Vadim Sidur museum honours one of Russia’s greatest modern sculptors who has often been compared with Henry Moore. In his lifetime Sidur never had an exhibit in his home country, though many of his monuments can be seen around Moscow. Popular in West Germany, Sidur’s pieces are often disturbing, but also dazzling with wondrous curves.
December 30, 2008
December 26, 2008
Fantasia 2000
Disney fans looking for a fix on New Year’s Eve should head for the suburban town of Pasadena, where the long-awaited reworking of the classic animation movie ‘Fantasia’ sees its world première, with a live accompaniment by the 120-piece Philharmonic Orchestra of London conducted by Derrick Inouye. Music includes pieces by Beethoven, Shostakovich, Elgar, Gershwin and Stravinsky. This sumptuous black-tie affair, which begins with a feast cooked up by top chef Joachim Splichal, will set you back an eyewatering $2000 per person (part of the proceeds from ticket sales goes to the California Institute of the Arts). After the screening there’ll be music and dancing, including live performances by ’70s supergroup Chicago and swing sensation Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. The evening will be rounded off by a midnight countdown, firework display and orgy of confetti throwing. The following day, ‘Fantasia 2000′ will make its debut in IMAX cinemas around the globe.
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December 24, 2008
Peter Fischli & David Weiss
For their exhibition ‘Visible Worlds’ in the MACBA, Zurich artists Fischli and Weiss have created an ‘anti-atlas’ of nearly 3,000 colour slides from their voyages around the world. Mounted on a vast, light table, the slides form a colourful mosaic of snapshots that forces the viewer to question standard ways of seeing the world. Also included in the exhibition are endless, unedited yet engaging videos of street scenes in Zurich. After viewing this carefully crafted show, one is left with the somehow reassuring sense that everything, everywhere is connected.
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December 23, 2008
Vonda Shepard
Cult-status is a good thing if you previously found yourself dropped by your record company. Vonda Shepard was without a record contract and a manager, having been dropped by Warner Bros, when she was spotted by ‘Ally McBeal’ creator David E Kelley; and the rest, they say, is TV history. Putting music to the angst-ridden lawyer’s TV life hasn’t done much harm to Shepard’s career, who started off as a backing singer to Jackson Brown. Now, she kicks of a European tour with this, her second visit to Dublin.
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December 21, 2008
David Helfgott Shines!
Several years on from the movie ‘Shine’, which promoted Helfgott in a major way around the world, the pianist is still performing and still touring. Taronga Zoo may sound an exotic venue for a romantic evening of Liszt and Rachmaninov – although if anyone could upstage a bunch of elephants, Helfgott could – but these open-air concerts are very popular. Expect over a thousand people lolling about the lawns, nibbling their strawberries and cream and sipping their champers. Bring your own or buy it all there.
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December 20, 2008
No Panic 2: The Girls are Back in Town
This ‘one and only boat-comedy on the Amsterdam canals’ begins as an innocent sightseeing tour, but soon descends into chaos as it becomes apparent that the tour guides are actually bad girls in rehab. When they find a pill stash on board, things turn from bad to worse as the audience becomes hostage to a high-speed and high-slapstick chase through the city…
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December 18, 2008
Yann Arthus-Bertrand
On display in this spectacular exhibition are the landscapes of the planet as seen from the sky. Over the last ten years, Arthus-Bertrand has spent 3,000 hours flight-time in a helicopter and visited 76 countries in order to gather over 100,000 photos of the earth’s surface. The photographs on display in ‘The Earth From the Sky’ include shots of beautiful abstract forms of nature, the humanised landscape of cities and dwellings and frightening vistas of destruction and disaster.
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December 10, 2008
Karen Prendergast – The End and the Beginning
Karen Prendergast, widely regarded as one of leading Irish artists of her generation, exhibits from her work of the last eight years at the IMMA. She produces art that deals with issues such as the body, mapping, landscape, power, sexuality and identity. This exhibition is her first solo museum show, having previously exhibited in a group show at the Tate Gallery in London. One aspect of the exhibition is an ongoing project of transcribing in pencil the anatomy of every capital city in the world. Called ‘The City Drawings’, the IMMA has purchased it in its entirety.
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December 7, 2008
December 5, 2008
BalletFest 2000
BalletFest 2000 is Southern California’s first summer ballet festival, and therefore quite a treat for all dance aficionados. It brings together six ballet companies including Los Angeles Chamber Ballet, Pasadena Dance Theatre, Francisco Martinez Dance Theatre, Inland Pacific Ballet and State Street Ballet. One of the evening’s highlights will be a special appearance by Silicon Valley’s Diablo Ballet in a performance of George Balanchine’s ‘Apollo’. A rare pleasure not to be missed.
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