MENIL COLLECTION AT 25

The Menil Collection celebrates its 25th anniversary today. OffCite recalls how revolutionary John and Dominique were to the Houston community before the collection was even built! I lived less than a block from the Menil, and it was my oasis from the dog eat dog of Houston life.

Before they brushed their great gray wings across an otherwise ordinary neighborhood of bungalows in lower Montrose, before their place in Houston’s history felt as ordained as the live oaks, and before Houstonians began trading stories about sightings of a thin and ethereal woman seated in front of her museum’s great paintings, there was simply a couple: John and Dominique de Menil. A pair of émigrés who fled France after the Nazi invasion with their three small children in tow. A couple whose wealth, a prominent Houstonian once told Grace Glueck for a May 18, 1986, New York Times Magazine article, was “really peanuts,” when measured on the same scales as Houston’s old oil aristocracies. A couple whose story is as much about Houston’s coming of age during a time of social upheaval as it is about their pushing a cadre of visionaries to accomplish the extraordinary wherever an institution gave them the space and freedom to act. To recall just a few of the details of this story is as much an elegy as it is a celebration.

Nine Tons and What Do You Get?

A Mayan temple built from 9 tons of chocolate, that's what. The small white and dark chocolate Alpine village that our Superior class at Le Cordon Bleu made in our course work was nothing compared to this monument! From designboom:

quinza [sic] specialty foods has created the world's largest chocolate sculpture: a replica ancient mayan temple weighing 18,239 pounds.

...
the chocolate temple will be on display at the quinza institute of chocolate and pastry in irvine, california, USA from june 4th until the date of december 21st, 2012 upon which the mayan calendar ends and the massive dessert sculpture will be destroyed.

More, with photos at QZNA.COM.
Image © qzna specialty foods.

Sublime Music

Philippe Jaroussky, countertenor, and his Ensemble Artaserse in concert in June 2009 in the Galerie des Glaces at the Château de Versailles. He sings Giacomelli's aria of Epitide "Sposa non mi conosci" from the Opera "La Merope." I just discovered Jaroussky after a friend on Facebook wrote that he had been to a concert last night in New York City. Truly an amazing artist!



More from the Galerie des Glaces





You can watch extracts of more Jaroussky performances here.

Krystian Zimerman's Pro-Peace Speech

The world famous Polish pianist, Krystian Zimerman, last Sunday informed a California audience that he would no longer perform in the US.

"Get your hands off my country," Zimerman told the stunned crowd in a denunciation of US plans to install a missile defence shield on Polish soil. Some people cheered, others yelled at him to shut up and keep playing. A few dozen walked out, some of them shouting obscenities.

"Yes," Zimerman responded with derision, "some people when they hear the word military start marching."

When I initially saw this story, the Guardian's subheading read "anti-US rant." Probably after complaints, it has now changed it to "anti-US tirade," but has not acknowledged the change.

A nice principled, virtuoso stand from Zimerman against the Bush "missle defence" shield (now being implemented by Obama), but the writer of the Guardian article linked above clearly is not pleased and focuses on the audience's storming out of Disney Hall. He calls Zimerman's "ranting" personal: "Shortly after 9/11, his piano was confiscated by customs officials at New York's JFK airport, who thought the glue smelled funny. They subsequently destroyed the instrument." A trademark of Zimerman's tours is his own piano, which he takes to every concert venue.

AMSTERDAM REMEMBERS JOHN & YOKO'S BED-IN

Yoko Ono and John Lennon in room 902 of the Amsterdam Hilton. Photo Nico Koster

NRC/international:-- The Amsterdam Hilton is opening up to the public the bedroom where John Lennon and Yoko Ono stayed in 1969 as part of the 40th anniversary celebration of their famous "bed-in for peace".

In all fairness, the Lennon bedroom in the Amsterdam Hilton has always been available to the public. At a price: a one-night stay costs 1,750 euros. But on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the "bed-in", the hotel has decided to relax its policy. Beatles fans can visit the suite - though not to stay in - from March 21 to 29 when a number of Lennon-related events will be taking place.

Closer to home - Imagine: John & Yoko's pacifist anthem: a second bed-in was held at The Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Canada, from May 26 to June 2, 1969. (Hilarious 1969 CBC interview with John & Yoko here.) To commemorate the event, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts , in collaboration with Yoko Ono, has curated an exhibition which will run from April 2 to June 21, 2009.

MARIZA

Back in the 1960s my aunt and uncle had spent holidays in the Algarve and fell in love with Amália Rodrigues, the original "Rainha do Fado" -"Queen of Fado." During my school hols in NYC, they took me to see her at Lincoln Center and I've been hooked on Fado ever since.

Last night I saw an incredible, exhilarating and soulful performance by Mariza, the new queen of Portuguese Fado. "Fado," a musical genre indigenous to Portugal - with roots in Africa - is untranslatable; the closest in English is "fate" or "destiny." In fact, Mariza was born in Portuguese East Africa - now Mozambique - and has an ethnic Portuguese father and black African mother. The songs sometimes have that bittersweet of - saudade - lost love or an anticipation of love, but all have a lilting rhythm which will mesmerise you. I was captivated by two songs last night - one, to celebrate her African roots; the other had been sung by the great Amália. So it was a complete joy to see Mariza's show, with terrific back-up musicians - traditional fado mixed with a few jazzy musical numbers, plus a short lesson in Portuguese! Haha. I counted 4 standing ovations and 2 encores, the last being a fado accompanied by acoustic guitar and Portuguese guitarra. From where I was sitting, even in that last unamplified song, I felt the intimacy of being in a taverna in Lisboa! If only I'd had a glass of cool red wine to toast Mariza!

She's currently on tour in America - here she is on David Letterman in 2007:--

VENEZUELAN HIGH SCHOOL MUSICIANS

WORLD PRESS 2008 AWARD GOES TO US FORECLOSURE PHOTO

RNW reports from Amsterdam

The international World Press Photo jury has selected a photo by US photographer Anthony Suau as photo of the year 2008. It shows an armed police officer searching a deserted home in the state of Ohio.

Pistol drawn, the officer was searching the house to make sure the residents had moved out, after they had been evicted having failed to keep up with their mortgage payments.

The black and white photograph was part of TIME magazine's Tough Times in Cleveland report on the effects of the credit crunch.

Dutchman Roger Cremers clinched the first prize in the Art and Entertainment category. His winning entry in colour features two visitors to the Auschwitz Nazi death camp. Dressed in the same track suits, the two men are seen from the back taking photographs of a monument on the site.

ABOUT BURLINGTON'S BURGEONING MUSIC SCENE

Go:check this out!>>> BurlingtonUnderground -- a new site up and running to catch the all the events - bands, singers, venues - surrounding Burlington's flourishing and diverse music scene.

Live music is the heart and soul of Burlington, and the primary facet to our website. It is our hobby, mission, and civic responsibility to maintain that.

ST PAUL'S ICON EXHIBIT ON ARTWALK

This coming Friday, February 6, St Paul's Cathedral will be part of Burlington's monthly ArtWalk, inviting people to visit “The Light in the Darkness”: a show of icons (egg tempera with gold leaf on panels) and to meet the artist, Vermont iconographer Zachary Roesemann. The ArtWalk Reception will run from 5 to 7:30.

C'EST SI BON

Rest in Peace, Eartha.

HAROLD PINTER, 1930-2008

The Guardian's theatre critic Michael Billington (and friend of Pinter) has written the obituary.

Very much worth a re-read now is Pinter's 2005 Nobel Prize lecture on art, truth and politics.

The invasion of Iraq was a bandit act, an act of blatant state terrorism, demonstrating absolute contempt for the concept of international law. The invasion was an arbitrary military action inspired by a series of lies upon lies and gross manipulation of the media and therefore of the public; an act intended to consolidate American military and economic control of the Middle East masquerading - as a last resort - all other justifications having failed to justify themselves - as liberation. A formidable assertion of military force responsible for the death and mutilation of thousands and thousands of innocent people.

We have brought torture, cluster bombs, depleted uranium, innumerable acts of random murder, misery, degradation and death to the Iraqi people and call it 'bringing freedom and democracy to the Middle East'.

How many people do you have to kill before you qualify to be described as a mass murderer and a war criminal? One hundred thousand? More than enough, I would have thought. Therefore it is just that Bush and Blair be arraigned before the International Criminal Court of Justice. But Bush has been clever. He has not ratified the International Criminal Court of Justice. Therefore if any American soldier or for that matter politician finds himself in the dock Bush has warned that he will send in the marines. But Tony Blair has ratified the Court and is therefore available for prosecution. We can let the Court have his address if they're interested. It is Number 10, Downing Street, London.

MARC MULDERS UTRECHT

Photo: Marc Mulders - glas-in-loodraam voor het Oranjefonds

A Dutch friend has written me

This never hit the press.
The Orange Fund (Willem-Alexander & Máxima's wedding fund) commissioned Marc Mulders to make this stained glass window at their premises at Utrecht (at the Utrecht stately avenue/"mall" the Maliebaan). Our good man who designed the Silver Jubilee Window in Amsterdam...
Fascinating with that light falling through it.
It was unveiled by the couple Dec. 2007. They must love his work.
I hope they will commission him to make a work for one of the palaces once. Of course they will... The Orange artistic taste is impeccable.

Oranje Fonds window.

And yes, I was blown away by Mulders' Silver Jubilee window when I was in Amsterdam in 2000.

JEFF KOONS VERSAILLES

This is very cool: Jeff Koons is one of my most favourite artists:

WORLD'S FIRST GRAPHIC DESIGN MUSEUM OPENS

24ORANGES: On 11 June 2008, Queen Beatrix royally opened the Graphic Design Museum in Breda, the first museum in the world dedicated to graphic design. The museum plans to function as a museum, knowledge centre, training facility, shop, designer café and production house for graphic design. It offers an international stage for established designers as well as a springboard for new talent.

HOOKED ON ROSENKAVALIER!

FOR YOUR SUNDAY MUSIC PLEASURE, Anne Sofie von Otter (Octavian) presents a silver rose to Barbara Bonney (Sophie) in 'Mir ist die Ehre widerfahren' from Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier, Royal Opera House Covent Garden 1985:

STUDENTS FREE SPEECH IN A VERMONT SCHOOL CHALLENGED

“Insist upon yourself. Be original.” -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Jesus statue project was primarily conceived by Helms, who asked Olivetti to help out. Helms, 18, says he was connecting to themes in the play, "The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail," which was on the AP course reading list. The play examines, among other things, the 19th century writer Henry David Thoreau's act of civil disobedience in refusing to pay taxes to the U.S. government while it waged what he viewed as an immoral war in Mexico.

Thoreau was trying to point out hypocrisy by the U.S. government, Helms said, and the student in turn wanted to point out what he views as hypocrisy at Mount Abraham with regard to the constitutional separation of church and state.

The school asks students to say the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, and has a permanent mural displaying Apollo, an ancient Greek God, Helms said. Yet it wouldn't allow him to display the Jesus statue. "My thesis was that the government and the administration of our school is often hypocritical in what they allow and what they do not allow."

HORROR FILM CASTING

Two males (early twenties) are needed for lead roles in a short horror film. Shooting will be in August and September. Actors will need to be available for night shoots.

PAY is $200.00 and free meals. More info here.

Open Call Wednesday, May 21st 6:30-8:30PM. Burlington Fletcher Free Library downstairs in the community room. Try out for one of the lead roles!!

SPIEGEL

I went to this contemporary dance program last night at the Flynn. "Ultima Vez" is the name of the Brussels-based company. 90 minutes of pure energy and movement. No intermission, to have one would have broken up the flow of it. They are not acrobats, but there was that aspect to it. It reminded me of some of the dances by Martha Graham and had a bit of the humor of Pilobous.

It was their USA premiere for "Spiegel," a look-back of 20 years work by the director of the company, Wim Vandekeybus.



Vandekeybus interview (in Flemish):

THE BEST BOY BAND

Libera