An undated photo provided by Joseph R. McConnell shows a sample ice core for use in analyzing the fallout from the eruption of the Okmok volcano in the Aleutian Islands in 43 B.C. Scientists have linked historical political instability to a number of volcanic events, the latest involving the eruption in the Aleutian Islands and the fall of the Roman Republic. Joseph R. McConnell via The New York Times.
by Katherine Kornei
NEW YORK(NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Chaos and conflict roiled the Mediterranean in the first century B.C. Against a backdrop of famine, disease and the assassinations of Julius Caesar and other political leaders, the Roman Republic collapsed, and the Roman Empire rose in its place. Tumultuous social unrest no doubt contributed to that transition — politics can unhinge a society. But so can something arguably more powerful. Scientists last week announced evidence that a volcanic eruption in the remote Aleutian Islands, 6,000 miles away from the Italian peninsula, contributed to the demise of the Roman Republic. That eruption — and others before it and since — played a role in changing the course of history. In recent years, geoscientists, historians and archaeologists have investigated the societal impacts of large volcanic eruptions. They rely on an amalgam of records — including ice cores, historical chronicles and climate modeling — to pinpoint how ... More
In an undated image provided by Guy Mendes, the writer Wendell Berry. Guy Mendes via The New York Times.
by Julia Jacobs
NEW YORK(NYT NEWS SERVICE).- For years, there has been a simmering debate over what to do with a New Deal-era mural at the University of Kentucky that students have denounced as a racist sanitizing of history and a painful reminder of slavery in a public setting. The wall-length mural, a 1934 fresco by Ann Rice O’Hanlon, is covered with vignettes that are intended to illustrate Kentucky’s history. At the center of the mural is an image of enslaved people tending to tobacco plants, and at the bottom, there is a Native American man holding a tomahawk and peering out from behind a tree at a white woman as if poised for attack. Since 2015, university administrators have tried to find a resolution that doesn’t involve removing the mural. But last month, as many predominantly white institutions in the United States were being forced to answer ... More
The free-standing stabile is being sold by the current owner of the holiday park Belambra Clubs and is estimated to be worth between 2.5 and 3.5 million euros ($2.8-4.0 million).
PARIS(AFP).- A huge sculpture by American artist Alexander Calder will be auctioned this week in Paris after spending over 50 years at a holiday park in southern France, the auction house said on Monday. The influential sculptor is known primarily for his colourful and abstract mobiles, of which he made thousands over the course of his career. But he also made "stabiles" -- the opposite of mobiles -- one of which has remained concealed from the general public in La Colle-sur-Loup village, a few dozen kilometres from the ritzy city Cannes. Until now. The black steel 3,5 metre (11 foot) structure, which will go under the hammer at the auction house Artcurial on Wednesday, was made by Calder in 1963. It was installed six years later in front of a holiday park which aims to attract low-income families by maintaining affordable prices. The free-standing stabile is being sold by the current owner ... More
In this file photo taken on October 01, 1984 Italian composer Ennio Morricone poses at the Olympia in Paris. AFP PHOTO.
by Ljubomir Milasin
ROME(AFP).- Ennio Morricone, one of the world's best-known and most prolific composers of film scores notably for spaghetti westerns, died in Rome on Monday at the age of 91. Tributes poured in for the man who composed the music for about 500 films, including his old childhood friend Sergio Leone's 1966 epic "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" and Quentin Tarantino's "The Hateful Eight" for which he finally won an Oscar in 2016. Morricone died in hospital where he was being treated for a fractured femur following a fall, according to a statement from lawyer and family friend Giorgio Assuma. Morricone "passed away in the early hours of July 6 with the comfort of his faith", the statement said. He remained "fully lucid and with great dignity right until the end," it added. Tributes began pouring in for the maestro soon after his death was announced. ... More
This photo taken on June 23, 2020 shows members of a police squad on patrol in a temple complex in Bagan, Mandalay Region. A squad of gun-toting police patrol Myanmar's sacred site of Bagan under the cover of night, taking on plunderers snatching relics from temples forsaken by tourists due to coronavirus restrictions. Ye Aung THU / AFP.
YANGON(AFP).- Two high-ranking officers were fired for having "failed their responsibilities" after a landslide in Myanmar killed at least 174 jade miners, the country's military said on Monday in a rare public sanctioning. Heavy monsoon rains on Thursday sent mud cascading down a hillside over workers scouring the land for the green gemstone in Hpakant in northern Kachin state. The victims were largely poor migrants who had travelled across the country to prospect in the treacherous open-cast mines, hoping to find valuable stones left behind by the big companies. It was the worst tragedy in living memory to hit the shadowy, multi-billion dollar industry dominated by firms linked to the military. A Facebook post Monday by the military announced Kachin Security and Border Affairs Minister Colonel Nay Lin Tun and another unnamed commander ... More
Visitors wearing face masks take pictures in front of Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece Mona Lisa. FRANCOIS GUILLOT / AFP.
by Aurelie Mayembo and Jean-Louis De La Vaissiere
PARIS(AFP).- The world's most visited museum, the Louvre in Paris, reopened Monday after nearly four months of coronavirus closure, with a restricted number of masked visitors enjoying a rare chance to view the "Mona Lisa" and other treasures without the usual throngs. Several dozen visitors queued outside the vast former palace of France's kings, eagerly awaiting the opening at 9:00 am (0700 GMT) as the museum hopes to start recuperating losses estimated at more than 40 million euros ($45 million) due to the lockdown. When the doors opened, spontaneous applause rang out. "I am very, very happy to welcome visitors to a museum that exists first and foremost to welcome visitors," said museum director Jean-Luc Martinez. "We have dedicated our lives to art, we like to share this passion, and here we are!" The museum's most popular draws will be accessible, including Leonardo's "Mona Lisa," the Venus de Milo and the Louvre's vast antiquities ... More
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson participates in a national NHS celebration clap outside 10 Downing Street in London on July 5, 2020. Tolga AKMEN / AFP.
by Alex Marshall
(NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Britain’s arts sector, largely shuttered since March because of the pandemic and warning of an imminent collapse, is being given a lifeline through what Prime Minister Boris Johnson described as a “world-leading” rescue package for cultural and heritage institutions. The organizations will be handed 1.57 billion pounds, about $2 billion, the culture ministry said Sunday evening. The money will go to a variety of recipients, including Britain’s “local basement” music venues and museums, Johnson added, although he did not provide details. Museums in England were allowed to reopen Saturday, but it is unclear when theaters and music venues will be permitted to. The figure is on par with rescue packages for the arts in Europe’s largest nations. On Friday, Germany’s parliament approved a fund of 1 billion euros (about $1.13 billion) to get its culture sector back up and running, building on already generous support from its regional ... More
GELEEN.-Royal HaskoningDHV, DSM - a global purpose-led, science-based company in Nutrition, Health and Sustainable Living, and City of Rotterdam, have announced the intention to collaborate in the design and build of a new circular composite footbridge which will be installed in Rotterdam. Rotterdam is a dynamic, innovative city at the forefront in the use of composite bridges to underpin the city’s drive towards circularity and sustainability. Mozafar Said, Asset Manager from the City of Rotterdam, said: “The city of Rotterdam is proud to be a leader in the smart and circular use of composite bridges. Together with Royal HaskoningDHV and DSM, we are continuing to push the frontiers of sustainability for bridges, using thermoplastics which will enable greater circularity. “The 3D printed FRP footbridge as a circular composite aligns with our city’s ambitious sustainability targets to reduce carbon footprint and ... More
NEW YORK, NY.-David Zwirner is presenting The Visible and the Invisible, an exhibition of work by the Japanese American sculptor Leo Amino (1911–1989) curated by Genji Amino, director of the Leo Amino Estate. On view at the 537 West 20th Street location in New York, the exhibition features a range of the artist’s work from the 1940s to the 1980s, including previously unseen sculptures and works on paper from the artist’s estate. Born in Taiwan under the auspices of Japanese colonial rule and educated in Tokyo, Amino immigrated to the United States as a young man in 1929. During the second Sino-Japanese and World Wars, Amino became disillusioned with both Japanese and American nationalist traditions, seeing the provincialism and conformity they encouraged as anathema to the spirit of modernity. Amino ... More
ROME.- Francesca Torzo has been awarded the Italian Architecture Prize 2020 in the best building category, for the new exhibition wing for Z33 - House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture in Hasselt (BE). The announcement was made by the MAXXI in Rome and the Milan Triennale. With this first edition of the architecture prize, the two organizations aim to promote innovation, design, quality and the social role of architecture. The award recognizes the best project or building completed in the past 3 years, the best designer under 40, or an outstanding career. In the best building category, an international jury chose Francesca Torzo and Z33 from more than 30 candidates. “The project is distinguished by its in-depth capacity to interpret the history of the location and the typology of the building. The exhibition space shows a spatial ... More
Maestro Harout Fazlian conducts rehearsals ahead of the Sound of Resilience concert inside the Temple of Bacchus at the historic site of Baalbek in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley, on July 4, 2020. AFP PHOTO.
BEIRUT(AFP).- A philharmonic orchestra performed to spectator-free Roman ruins in east Lebanon Sunday, after a top summer festival downsized to a single concert in a year of economic meltdown and pandemic. The Baalbek International Festival was instead streamed live on television and social media, in what its director called a message of "hope and resilience" amid ever-worsening daily woes. The night kicked off with the Lebanese philharmonic orchestra and choir performing the national anthem, followed by Carmina Burana's "O Fortuna", a 13th century poem set to music. The programme, which ran for just over an hour, included a mix of classical music and rock and folk tunes by composers ranging from Beethoven to Lebanon's Rahbani brothers. Held in the open air ... More
1927-D Double Eagle, Ex: Dr. Steven Duckor, MS65+.
DALLAS, TX.- A review of the U.S. rare coin market through the first six months of 2020 shows Heritage Auctions leading the trade with world record-setting sales and the most valuable coin sold so far this year. Of the $167 million worth of U.S. coins sold publicly so far in 2020, Heritage sold $97,248,747 – or 58 percent – during the first six months of 2020, according to a report issued by the Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG) on Monday, July 6. “Our year to date market share is a higher percentage for us than any year since the PNG began surveying auction sales in 2013,” said Greg Rohan, President of Heritage Auctions. “Our online bidding platform allows buyers and sellers to safely and securely purchase both volume and value.” PNG described the state of the 2020 market as “active amidst pandemic-related closures of many retail locations and cancelation of dozens of coin shows and numismatic ... More
In this file photo taken on March 25, 2014, singer/Songwriter Charlie Daniels talks with The Press during Lipscomb University's Copperweld Charlie Daniels' Scholarship for Heroes event. RICK DIAMOND / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP.
NEW YORK(AF).- Charlie Daniels, a musical force who melded country music and southern rock, showcasing his blistering fiddle skills on hits like "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," died Monday. He was 83 years old. The Country Music Hall of Fame musician died following a hemorrhagic stroke in Tennessee, a statement on his website said. Originally a session musician who worked with icons including Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr and Leonard Cohen, Daniels made his name as leader of the Charlie Daniels Band, a country-rock group that hosted the Volunteer Jam annual music festival. An outspoken persona who waffled between patriotic and countercultural bents, Daniels' intrepid attitude was on full display in his best known hit "The Devil Went ... More
Quote Painting is a way of being. Jackson Pollock
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Dalai Lama channels 'Inner World' in album to mark 85th birthday NEW DELHI(AFP).- Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama launched an assault on the music charts on Monday by releasing his first album to mark his 85th birthday. "Inner World", in which the Dalai Lama chants meditations and Buddhist sayings, was inspired by New Zealand follower Junelle Kunin who spent five years working on the project after persuading him to take part. The Dalai Lama went to her home in Auckland three times and she recorded some sessions at his residence in Dharamsala in India, where the Tibetan government in exile is based. "He had a clear vision with this work and has been very committed to it," Kunin, who produced the music with her husband Abraham, told the Radio New Zealand programme Nine to Noon. "It's not a religious project although they are mantras. It's really just a work to try and benefit people. So I thought about what we need day-to-day -- ... More
Dulce Nunes, bossa nova star of the 1960s, dies at 90 NEW YORK(NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Dulce Nunes seemed poised to become a movie star, with her face plastered on the cover of national magazines and a high-profile marriage to one of Brazilian cinema’s leading men. But instead she took a detour into singing, releasing a trio of popular albums in the 1960s that capitalized on the surging popularity of bossa nova. Nunes died June 4 in a Rio de Janeiro hospital. The cause was COVID-19, her cousin Sergio Bressane said. She was 90. Nunes appeared in magazine ads for cigarettes and a textile company, made several films in her early 20s and found a place in the society pages thanks to her storybook marriage. The public eagerly awaited her next film. She chose instead to study guitar. Nunes is best known for the 1964 album that launched her singing career, “Poor Little Rich Girl,” with songs arranged ... More
Memorial in Brixton in honour of Cherry Groce to be unveiled this Autumn LONDON.-Adjaye Associates has designed a memorial in Windrush Square to honour Cherry Groce, who was shot in her home by the Metropolitan Police in front of her children on September 28, 1985. Paralyzed by the shooting, Cherry passed away as a direct result of her injuries in 2011. The 35 years since the shooting is a story of a family and community working together in the pursuit of truth and justice, refusing to accept that this is simply how our society works. Commissioned by the Cherry Groce Foundation, Sir David Adjaye’s vision for the memorial aims to create awareness and understanding of the life, strength, and experience of Cherry Groce and her family. Cherry’s son, Lee Lawrence explained “not only will this memorial acknowledge the terrible injustice to my mum Cherry Groce but it will also act as a beacon of hope. It will ... More
The return of the art fair: VOLTA Miami debuts during Miami Art Week 2020 NEW YORK, NY.- Ramsay Fairs announced the opening of VOLTA Miami this December during Miami Art Week. Completing an unrivaled trio of art fairs across the globe in Basel, New York City and Miami, VOLTA will cultivate an environment of discovery for the engaged collector, refocusing on the most important feature: the artists and their work. Ramsay Fairs acquired the VOLTA brand in 2019 and recognized the brand’s opportunity to expand. “VOLTA has been a key fair during Basel and New York City art weeks; Miami is the perfect location for international expansion to meet the demand from U.S. and South American collectors. Having staged PULSE fair in Miami for 15 years, we feel this is the right time to transition all of our knowledge and history in Miami to VOLTA’s evolution,” stated Ramsay Fairs Founder, Will Ramsay. Led by VOLTA ... More
Patricia Fleming Projects opens an online exhibition of works by Kate V Robertson GLASGOW.- Post, by Glasgow based artist Kate V Robertson, delivers the next step towards reshaping and rethinking how we can remain connected to audiences and each other meaningfully in digital spaces. Kate V Robertson has long been observing how digital spaces are becoming the default setting for all kinds of human experience, questioning the potential detachment from the truths of materiality and physicality that have defined the human condition. Using collage, drawing and photography the works in Post were made by Robertson before and during lockdown measures were introduced in the UK in March 2020. With the sudden changes, online chat rooms and digital landscapes were brought to the fore. Robertson explores the tools with which we connect our interior and exterior lives, and the conditions that allow for true connection; a universal ... More
The Phillips announces first digital Intersections WASHINGTON, DC.-The Phillips Collection launches its first digital Intersections project, Picture: Present, by Italian-born, New York-based artist Luca Buvoli, building on the contemporary art series in which artists are invited to create new work in dialogue with the Phillips’s collection and architecture. Picture: Present is part of the artist’s ongoing series Astrodoubt and The Quarantine Chronicles that features tragicomic visual narratives commenting on the current covid-19 health and social crisis. The 12 scenes from Picture: Present will be unveiled simultaneously on the Phillips’s website and Instagram account from July 20–August 7, 2020. Created for the Phillips, Picture: Present is the most recent episode from Buvoli’s Astrodoubt and The Quarantine Chronicles series. By utilizing images of works from the Phillips’s permanent collection, it reads like a ... More
New monumental sculpture by Not Vital is unveiled at Muzeum Susch ZERNEZ.- A new major work has joined the collection in Susch and was inaugurated on July 4th. Commissioned by Grażyna Kulczyk, the founder of Muzeum Susch, Tuor per Susch (Tower for Susch) has been conceived and designed by the renowned Swiss artist Not Vital as an outdoor site-specific work. ‘I am extremely excited and proud that a new work of Not Vital, who is one of the most impressive and stimulating artistic figures deeply connected with the Engadin, has been created especially for Susch’, said Kulczyk. Crafted from a single block of marble in the course of two years by Gabriele and Umberto Togni of Pietrasanta, the work’s arrival transforms the local landscape, with Tuor per Susch becoming the fourth tower in the village, following the historical Tuor La Praschun, erected at the turn of the 12th and 13th century, Tuor Planta, whose foundations ... More
National Portrait Gallery commissions new portrait of Zadie Smith by Toyin Ojih Odutola LONDON.-The National Portrait Gallery, London has commissioned a new portrait of one of Britain’s best known writers, Zadie Smith by Nigerian-born artist, Toyin Ojih Odutola. The full-length portrait, which joins the Gallery’s Collection, is available to view online on the Gallery website alongside an exclusive interview with Smith and Ojih Odutola by Katy Hessel, art historian and founder of The Great Women Artists Instagram account. The portrait will go on public display in the Brent Museum and Archive, where Smith grew up in North West London, in December 2020 as part of Brent 2020, London Borough of Culture. Ojih Odutola is, in Smith’s words, the ‘central light in a thrilling new generation of black artists.’ In her portrait of Smith she has included a range of subtle details. Shapes and shadows evoke palm trees which reference Smith’s Jamaican ... More
Nick Cordero, nominated for Tony as tap-dancing tough guy, dies at 41 NEW YORK(NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Nick Cordero, a musical theater actor whose intimidating height and effortless charm brought him a series of tough-guy roles on Broadway, died Sunday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was 41. His death was announced on Instagram by his wife, Amanda Kloots. The couple, who moved from New York to Los Angeles last year, have a 1-year-old son, Elvis. “My darling husband passed away this morning,” she wrote. “He was surrounded in love by his family, singing and praying as he gently left this earth.” She did not cite a cause, but he had been hospitalized for three months after contracting the coronavirus. Cordero’s experience with the virus, which included weeks in a medically induced coma and the amputation of his right leg, was chronicled by Kloots on Instagram. Cordero’s big ... More
Russia warns Turkey over Hagia Sophia move MOSCOW(AFP).- Russian officials and the Orthodox church on Monday urged caution over calls in Turkey to alter the status of the Hagia Sophia, the historic former cathedral in Istanbul. Turkey's top court is debating whether one of the architectural wonders of the world can be redesignated as a mosque, a move that could inflame tensions with the West and the Christian community. A ruling expected in the coming days on the site, which is currently a museum. The head of Russia's Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill said he was "deeply concerned" by the moves, describing Hagia Sophia as "one of the greatest monuments of Christian culture". "A threat to Hagia Sophia is a threat to the whole of Christian civilisation, and therefore to our spirituality and history," the Orthodox church leader said in a statement. "To this day, for every Russian Orthodox person, ... More
Walker Art Center reopens to the public July 16 MINNEAPOLIS, MN.-The Walker Art Center will reopen to members on Friday, July 10 and to the general public on Thursday, July 16. In response to COVID-19 and to proactively protect the entire community, the museum made plans to temporarily close on March 13. Four months later, Mary Ceruti, Executive Director, released a statement announcing the mid-July reopening date. “We are excited that the Walker will be ready to welcome visitors back this July. We have made various changes for safety and comfort, and will continue to take every precaution for the care of all visitors, staff, and artists, but will finally be able to open our galleries to the public.” The Walker galleries will be open as well as the Walker Shop (by the Main Lobby) and Esker Grove with modified hours, guest and staff protocols. Moving Image and Performing Arts programs will ... More
Massey Klein Gallery exhibits works by Claire Lieberman, Louis Reith and Bethany Czarnecki NEW YORK, NY.-Massey Klein Gallery is presenting Elemental, a two-person exhibition featuring sculptures by Claire Lieberman and paintings and works on paper by Louis Reith. The gallery also announced, enouement, a solo exhibition of new work by Bethany Czarnecki. Hosted in Massey Klein’s intimate east gallery room, enouement runs concurrent to the two person exhibition, Elemental. Both exhibitions are on view by appointment from Friday, June 26th until Saturday, August 1st. Elemental pairs two artists, Claire Lieberman and Louis Reith, based on their engaging use of materials, geometric forms, and monochromatic color palette. In both Lieberman and Reith's work, careful attention is given to the natural properties of the materials where decisions made by each artist challenge perception and elevate these materials to a higher ... More
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