Feast your eyes on food-themed art

Exhibitions stimulate five senses by melding art with cookery and musicA giant cabbage hanging from the ceiling greets visitors at the entrance. Made of hanji and dyed in red and green, it is an instant reminder of the spicy flavors of Koreans’ favorite dish. “Is this real kimchi?” asked a boy who looked to be about 5 to his mother on Monday afternoon. His friends started to argue over whether it was real or not. “Art & Cook,” currently running at Sejong Museum of Art, is an art exhibition ― bu

Jan. 3, 2012

[Herald Interview] ‘Songs just happen like acorns falling from a tree’

Irish musician Rice is Jan. 11 concert soldoutWith Guinness and Westlife among the very few Irish things that have made it to Korea, and the singer’s face rarely shown on TV, a fan of Irish singer Damien Rice may pride him/herself on being “a classy minority.” Minor fandom, however, is hardly a suitable term for a musician who sold out some 1,600 seats in just a few hours, despite modest promotion activities and relatively expensive tickets priced at 132,000 to 165,000 won (about $150).In an e-m

Jan. 2, 2012

Consistency, integrity: Legacy of Kim Whanki

Gallery Hyundai holds retrospective of late South Korean painterKim Whanki was a prolific painter ― he worked in the daytime to make use of the sunshine and at night because the electric light was too precious to waste. He worked about 16 hours a day, said Kim Geum-ja, the second daughter of the late South Korean, reminiscing in front of press members on Thursday about how stubbornly her father used to work. “He said that it is his life, to hold a brush. But my heart felt heavy and my pulse race

Jan. 1, 2012

[Herald Review] French plays charm Seoul

After Emile Zola play ‘Therese Raquin,’ black comedy ‘God of Carnage’ takes stage Following last month’s Korean adaptation of Emile Zola’s novel-based play “Therese Raquin,” another French play is on stage to charm Seoulites, this time a contemporary black comedy titled “God of Carnage.”Based on Zola’s 1867 novel, the play “Therese Raquin” was shown in Korea for the second time last month. It tells the story of Therese, a young woman married to her sickly first cousin, who has an affair with her

Jan. 1, 2012

Calendar

Exhibitions“Dreams of Atom”: Held as a part of the “International Cartoon & Art Festival 2011/12,” the exhibition showcases about 500 original drawings, paintings and publications of Japan’s legendary cartoonist Tezuka Osamu’s work including “Astro Boy,” “Jungle Emperor Leo” and “Sapphire Prince.” Other sections of the festival display works by several Korean and Japanese artists who pay homage to Osamu. The exhibition runs through April 1 at Goyang Aram Nuri’s Aram Art Museum and Gallery Nuri i

Dec. 30, 2011

Ancient Japanese Buddhist artworks in Seoul

Artifacts from Japan’s Lake Biwa District on display at national museum in SeoulLocated in Japan’s Shiga Prefecture bordering the ancient capital city of Kyoto, Lake Biwako is the largest freshwater lake in the archipelago.The region surrounding the lake was introduced to Buddhism by Korea’s Baekje Kingdom (B.C. 18―A.D. 660) before anywhere else in Japan. With this and its proximity to Kyoto, the area developed its own cultural and spiritual flair, blending its local tastes with the mainstream c

Dec. 29, 2011

Sinead O’Connor’s fourth marriage ends after 16 days

DUBLIN (AFP) ― Irish singer Sinead O’Connor has admitted that her fourth marriage has ended after just 16 days, with the star blaming pressure put on her husband by those close to him.O’Connor, 45, met therapist Barry Herridge, 38, earlier this year when he responded to an online appeal posted by the singer, and they married in a Las Vegas chapel on Dec. 8. But in a blog post on Monday, the singer revealed that the marriage had lasted only 16 days, until December 24, and that the couple had live

Dec. 29, 2011

Noel Rockmore, Picasso of New Orleans, revisited

NEW ORLEANS (AP) _ In the four-block radius where he painted and drank himself into frightening stupors, Noel Rockmore was known by the denizens of the French Quarter as an outrageous Pablo Picasso-like figure who combined the mythological and the real. He produced some 15,000 oil paintings, tempera

Dec. 29, 2011

NYT calls Gwangju Biennale show highlight of 2011

The New York Times last week mentioned Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei-directed show “Unnamed” at Korea’s Gwangju Design Biennale as one of the outstanding contemporary shows held this year.In its article titled “From Apple to Occupy, the Design Honors List for 2011,” which was published on Dec. 25, Ai’s show at Gwangju was mentioned as exceptional along with the Museum of Modern Art in New York’s communication design show called “Talk to Me.”The “Unnamed” show featured design products by

Dec. 28, 2011

Prima dancers explore life’s journey

‘Endless Voyage’ features top dancers from three major ballet troupesLife is a journey. We are all in the same boat, no matter who we are. Dancers from the nation’s top three troupes ― Korea National Ballet, Universal Ballet and The National Dance Company of Korea ― will be on a boat, literally, to depict a condensed version of life at the show “Endless Voyage.”The show takes place Jan. 4-5 at Seoul Arts Center’s Opera Theater in Seocho-dong, southern Seoul.A press call on Tuesday showed a glimp

Dec. 28, 2011

More overseas cultural centers to open in 2012

Seven more Korean Cultural Centers will open next year, making 28 around the world, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said on Tuesday. The new centers are scheduled to open in Hungary, Mexico, India, Thailand, Belgium, Brazil and Egypt by the end of 2012, the ministry said in a year-end press release. The cultural centers will continue their activities of introducing and promoting Korea’s culture, and increasing cultural exchanges with the respective organizations in each overseas city

Dec. 27, 2011

‘Staying unique, independent from fads’

U.S. indie-rock band Beirut to hit the stage in SeoulBeirut started out as a bedroom recording project of Santa Fe songwriter Zach Condon, later developing into a six-member band that combines indie, rock and folk elements into flowing ballads and harmonious instrumental interludes.While taking more upbeat, accessible turns in the years after the band’s 2006 debut, Condon’s songs have held on to their languorousness, which the band leader describes as part of the “uniqueness” he considers key to

Dec. 27, 2011