Another interesting item is the copy of a record by American jazz musician Oscar Pettiford, titled “Ah Dee Dong Blues.” The jazz double bassist and composer visited Korea during the Korean War (1950-1953) to perform for the American soldiers. He is said to have listened to the melody of “Arirang” while he was in the bathroom, as someone outside was whistling the song. He wrote down the notes of ...

WARSAW, Poland (AP) ― Bark beetles and old age have damaged Leonardo da Vinci’s 15th-century painting “Lady with an Ermine,’’ but the masterpiece is still holding up well, according to a conservationist at the Polish museum where it is displayed. Recent tests show the chestnut board on which Leonardo painted his masterpiece has weakened after being nibbled at by beetles over the centuries, and t...

Korea’s First Lady Kim Yoon-ok on Monday hosted a dinner for 14 spouses of the global leaders attending the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit. The spouses, who are accompanying state leaders and heads of international organizations attending the two-day global conference in Seoul, enjoyed a special banquet at the National Museum of Korea while their partners attended a separate summit business ...

Kim Kyung-shin knocks on Korea with accessories and dinnerware using hanji and lacquer The artist’s atelier is located in “hanok,” or traditional house, in Bukchon, central Seoul. Small signs reading Kyung Shin Kong Bang (Kyungshin Crafthouse) in Chinese letters hang at several corners of the area’s narrow alleys to guide the visitors. Kim Kyung-shin, a South Korean craft artist, lives, works ...

PARIS (AP) ― Yves Saint Laurent empowered women and the same could be said of his contemporary, iconic fashion photographer Helmut Newton, the subject of a retrospective at Paris’ Grand Palais that is not for the prudish. Several portraits of Saint Laurent, who gave women the male tuxedo, are included in the show, paying tribute to the designer whose empowering, masculine vision of women so infl...

Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Deoksugung offer a glimpse into traditional side of Korea As the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Summit kicked off on Monday, Seoul’s ancient palaces opened special programs for the foreign guests to get a glimpse of Korea’s royal culture throughout the week. The participating palaces are Gyeongbokgung, the main and the largest palace in Seoul; Changdeokgung, a UNESCO world her...

NMOCA showcases artworks by Korean and Japanese artists during 2012 Nuclear Security Summit While world leaders discuss the future of nuclear security during the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit, artists from Korea and Japan will express their opinions through a variety of art forms. The National Museum of Contemporary Art invited seven Korean and three Japanese artists to share their views a...

A newly discovered Mozart piano piece composed when the child prodigy was 11 years old was presented and performed for the first time here Friday in his former family home. Simply titled "Allegro Molto," the piece was found recently in a notebook in the attic of a private home in Austria's Tyrol province. Just a few minutes long, the piece is believed to have been composed in 1767 or 1768, but ...

Exhibitions “Memories of the Heart”: Canon Korea is hosting the solo exhibition of photographer Cho Seong-joon to celebrate the publication of his first photo essay book. Titled “Memories of the Heart,” the book as well as the exhibition showcases the photographer’s signature black and white photos of various spots in Korea. Canadian investment bank Scotia Waterous selected Cho as the photograph...

Director says expectations high for gallery exchange programs and curated Art HK projects The art industry can no longer be discussed without mentioning Hong Kong Art Fair. Also known as Art HK, the fair, inaugurated only in 2008, has rapidly grown into one of the most influential art events not just in Asia, but the world. Last year 260 galleries from 38 countries participated in the fair, int...

There was no real eureka moment for experts studying the still life, said Louis van Tilborgh, a senior researcher at Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum who took part in the confirmation process. “All the pieces just fell into place,’’ he told the Associated Press. The painting, on a 100 cm-by-80 cm canvas, was bought by the Kroeller-Mueller Museum in 1974 as a Van Gogh. The work was thought to come fr...

Suh Do Ho’s airy, detailed homes showcased at Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art trigger nostalgia and awe Studying abroad in the United States was the most difficult but also most important time for Suh Do Ho. Nostalgic about what he left behind but at the same time struggling to fit in, the idea of “home” never left his mind during his stay in the United States and eventually became the major theme ...