ArtChix Magazine

Charlize Theron: Sexy but Single

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:21:00 -0500

Braving the rainy weather, Charlize Theron was spotted out and about in the Los Angeles, California on Tuesday afternoon.

Pulling out her handy umbrella to keep dry, the “Hancock” hottie strolled along as paparazzi followed her each and every move upon exiting E. Baldi restaurant.

As for her recent split from Stuart Townsend, sources tell that Miss Theron has no plans of getting back together after ending the 9-year romance.

“They are sorting out their finances at the moment, as they have been together for so long that many of their financial affairs are intertwined,” a source told Britain’s Daily Mail. “Charlize has never made a big deal of it, but the truth of the matter is that she has been the major breadwinner.

The insider adds, “She truly loved Stuart but the relationship ran its course. He is heartbroken but she is insisting it is all over.”

-Reported by Sebastian Garcia, Gossip Desk, ArtChix Magazine

Former Boeing Engineer Sentenced to Nearly 16 Years in Prison for Stealing Aerospace Secrets for China

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:36:37 -0500

SANTA ANA, CA—An aerospace engineer was sentenced today to 188 months in federal prison for his conviction on charges of economic espionage and acting as an agent of the People’s Republic of China for more than three decades while employed by Rockwell and Boeing, from which he stole restricted technology and trade secrets, including information related to the Space Shuttle program and Delta IV rocket.

Dongfan “Greg” Chung, 73, of Orange, California, who was employed by Rockwell International from 1973 until its defense and space unit was acquired by Boeing in 1996, was sentenced by United States District Judge Cormac J. Carney.

At today’s sentencing hearing, Judge Carney said that he could not “put a price tag” on national security, and that with the long sentence for Chung he wanted to send a signal to China to “stop sending your spies here.”

Following a three-week bench trial last year, Judge Carney found Chung guilty of conspiracy to commit economic espionage, six counts of economic espionage to benefit a foreign country, one count of acting as an agent of the People’s Republic of China and one count of making false statements to the FBI.

Chung, a native of China who is a naturalized United States citizen, held a “secret” security clearance when he worked at Rockwell and Boeing on the Space Shuttle program. He retired from the company in 2002, but the next year he returned to Boeing as a contractor, a position he held until September 2006. During the trial, the government proved that Chung stole Boeing trade secrets relating to the Space Shuttle and the Delta IV rocket, materials he acquired for the benefit of the PRC.

“Mr. Chung betrayed his adopted country and endangered our national security,” said Acting United States Attorney George S. Cardona. “This case demonstrates our resolve to protect the secrets that help protect the United States, as well as the important technological advancements developed by scientists working for companies that provide crucial support to our national security programs.”

Steven M. Martinez, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI in Los Angeles, stated: “The FBI and our partners in the intelligence community are committed to stopping those intent on stealing American technology, whether they are motivated by money or allegiance to their native country, as in the case of Mr. Chung. The lengthy sentence imposed on Mr. Chung should send a strong message to others contemplating theft of U.S. secrets, that such criminal activity is a serious affront to the nation’s stability and will be prosecuted accordingly.”

The case against Chung resulted from an investigation into another engineer who worked in the United States and obtained sensitive military information for the PRC. That engineer, Chi Mak, and several of his family members were convicted of providing defense articles to the PRC. In 2008, Judge Carney sentenced Chi Mak to more than 24 years in prison.

According to the evidence presented during Chung’s trial, individuals in the Chinese aviation industry began sending Chung “tasking” letters as early as 1979. Over the years, the letters directed Chung to collect specific technological information, including data related to the Space Shuttle and various military and civilian aircraft. Chung responded in one undated letter that “I would like to make an effort to contribute to the Four Modernizations of China.” In various letters to his handlers in the PRC, Chung referenced engineering manuals he had collected and sent to the PRC, including 24 manuals relating to the B-1 Bomber.

Between 1985 and 2003, Chung made multiple trips to the PRC to deliver lectures on technology involving the Space Shuttle and other programs During those trips he met with PRC government officials, including agents affiliated with the People’s Liberation Army. Chung and PRC officials exchanged letters that discussed Chung’s travel to China and recommended methods for passing information, including suggestions that Chung use Chi Mak and his wife Rebecca to transmit information. A May 2, 1987 letter from Gu Weihao, an official in the Ministry of Aviation and China Aviation Industry Corporation, discussed the possibility of inviting Chung’s wife, who is an artist, to visit an art institute so that Chung could use her trip as an excuse to travel to the PRC. This same letter suggested that passing information to the PRC through Chi Mak would be “faster and safer” and concluded with the statement: “It is your honor and China’s fortune that you are able to realize your wish of dedicating yourself to the service of your country.”

On September 11, 2006, FBI and NASA agents searched Chung’s house and found more than 250,000 pages of documents from Boeing, Rockwell and other defense contractors inside the house and in a crawl space underneath the house. Among the documents found in the crawl space were scores of binders containing decades’ worth of stress analysis reports, test results and design information for the Space Shuttle.

The investigation in this case was conducted jointly by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and NASA Counterintelligence.

-Reported by Hunter Pryce, Staff Desk, ArtChix Magazine from FBI Reports

Sotheby's Presents Its Second Sale of Turkish Contemporary Art

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:33:30 -0500

Works by Haluk Akakce also feature in the sale, Another Station, estimated to sell for £8,000-12,000. Photo: Sotheby´s.

LONDON.- After the success of Sotheby’s inaugural auction of Turkish Contemporary Art in March 2009, which realised a total of £1.3 million and attracted bidders and buyers from across the globe, Sotheby’s London announced that it will stage its second sale in this collecting category, on Thursday, 15 April, 2010. The forthcoming sale will present new and existing collectors with an opportunity to acquire important pieces from this exciting and expanding area of the art market by both modern masters and cutting-edge contemporary artists of Turkish origin.

Discussing the forthcoming auction and the Contemporary Turkish Art market, Ali Can Ertug, Senior Vice President, said: “Over the course of the past year the Turkish art market has continued to expand and develop, and following the strong results of our inaugural Turkish Contemporary Art Sale in March 2009, we are delighted to present our second dedicated sale in this category in April. With last year’s Biennial, which was enthusiastically attended by artists, curators, critics and collectors from across the globe, Istanbul’s vibrant art scene continues to flourish and we very much look forward to returning to this culturally energetic city in March when we will showcase a select group of works from the upcoming sale.”

Dalya Islam, Deputy Director, commented: “With our second sale, we are pleased to have been able to expand the number of artists represented and offer an even wider range of material by both the modern masters and the up-and-coming generation. Featuring works by artists that performed well in the last sale, the auction will also include new artwork that is set to excite the collecting community. As this market is still relatively young, it continues to present alluring opportunities for collectors to acquire high quality works of contemporary art at an affordable price.”

Sale Highlights:
One of the most important highlights in the sale is Untitled by Fahrelnissa Zeid, an image of which is not featured. The doyenne of Turkish art, darling of the Paris social circuit, London’s favourite hostess and one of the first female artists to exhibit at the ICA in the 1950s; Fahrelnissa is not only one of the most important Turkish artists, but is arguably one of the most important female artists of the 20th Century. Her work Untitled will be offered at £300,000-500,000.

Illustrated on the front page is Untitled by Mubin Orhon, one of the leading abstract expressionist artists on the Turkish market, which carries an estimate of £60,000-80,000.

Hale Tenger’s We Are So Lightly Here, is to be offered with an estimate of £25,000-35,000. Sotheby’s inaugural Turkish Contemporary Art Sale saw bidders from around the world compete to acquire two works by Tenger, both of which sold to international buyers.

Abidin Elderoglu lived and studied in Belgium and his Un Altro Siren, which comes from a Belgian collector, carries an estimate of £12,000-18,000.

Canan Tolon lives and works in San Francisco and her painting, Glitch VI, comes to sale from a British consignor/collection and is estimated at £12,000-18,000.

Two works by Haluk Akakce also feature in the sale, Another Station, estimated to sell for £8,000-12,000, and Breakfast, £8,000-12,000.

-Reported by Samireh Samadi, Art Desk, ArtChix Magazine

Nicolas Sarkozy's Father Exhibits Painting of Carla Bruni in Budapest

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:40:45 -0500

The exhibition includes a portrait of French First Lady Carla Bruni. EFE / Endre Friedmann.

BUDAPEST.- Artist and father of French Prime Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, Pal Sarkozy, and publicist Werner Hornung, who have united their artistic creations under the name “Digital Fine Art” – based on a mixture of traditional drawings and digital techniques- inaugurated their exhibition titled ‘Out of Mind, 4 hands for 1 creation’ at Abigail Gallery. The exhibition includes a portrait of French First Lady Carla Bruni. Pal Sarkozy said that the painting was a gift he gave her when she wed his son and the rose in the painting alludes to the openness his son’s government has towards Socialists.

Sarkozy elaborates his drawings and then Hornung finishes them in digital form. With this working techinique, both creators contribute a novelty in contemporary art.

Sarkozy and Hornung complement each other to show in this exhibition their personal perceptions of human existence through pictoric speech, critical and investigative as well as transgressive.

The feminine world and daily life are the main themes undertaken in these works of art, even though and without a doubt the star of this show is Carla Bruni. Next stop for this exhibitiom is the select Espace Pierre Cardin in a one-man show.

-Reported by Samireh Samadi, Art Desk, ArtChix Magazine

Google making dive into social media?

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:37:00 -0500

(CNN) — Google is expected to plunge into the world of Facebook and Twitter, using its popular Gmail service to allow users to post status updates and items.

The search-engine giant, which recently tweaked its search function to allow easier access to social media results, has planned an event for Tuesday at 1 p.m. ET at its California headquarters.

That comes a day after the Wall Street Journal quoted “people familiar with the matter” saying the feature would allow Facebook-style status updates, as well as pinging when users post something to affiliated sites like YouTube or Picasa.

If it appears as described, it would be a sort of anti-Twitter, making a user’s updates private by default, as opposed to open, as they are on the micro-blogging site.

The hands-down leader in the search engine world, Google has been branching out on projects that include its Nexus One smartphone — the company’s first foray into hardware marketing.

Late last month,Google announced that people could tweak their accounts to make results related to friends, co-workers and other members of their social networks appear above all other results.

The Social Search feature was introduced to a limited number of Google users last year and was made available to everyone in beta status on January 28.

The change came with a hint of more things to come.

“This is just a first step in our ongoing effort to ensure that Google Web search is always as social as the Web itself,” the company said in an instructional video posted to its official blog.

By Doug Gross, CNN

-Compiled for ArtChix Magazine by Hunter Pryce, Staff Desk, from CNN/WIRE Reports

Governor denies drug, sex rumors

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:34:50 -0500

(CNN) - New York Gov. David Paterson defended himself Monday from rumors of womanizing and drug use, describing these unfounded reports as “outrageous,” during an interview with the Associated Press.

“For the last couple of weeks I have been the subject of what, even by Albany standards, has been a spate of outrageous rumors about me,” Paterson told the AP.

Despite rumors of drug use and gallivanting, Paterson told the AP he hasn’t used an illegal substance since his early 20’s and rarely eats dinner outside of his home. He also said he hasn’t had sexual relations with another woman in more than 10 years. Both Paterson and his wife have previously admitted to extramarital affairs in their past.

The embattled Democratic governor, who is serving the remainder of former Gov. Elliot Spitzer’s term, also criticized some reports in the media about his life as “callous and sleazy.”

Paterson specifically pointed his finger at the New York Post, which reported late last month that a state police officer caught the governor involved with a woman who wasn’t his wife. Paterson said the room he was supposedly caught in doesn’t even exist. The Post stood by its reporting in a statement to CNN.

Paterson also blamed the spate of rumors on an investigation that The New York Times is reportedly working on about Paterson’s private life. The governor said that investigation has “spawned a bunch of speculations that are so way out that it’s shocking.”

From CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney

-Compiled for ArtChix Magazine by Ann Myers, Staff Desk, from CNN/WIRE Reports

Jessica Biel Premieres Valentine’s Day

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:29:19 -0500

Kicking off her week with a promotional appearance, Jessica Biel was spotted hamming it up at the premiere of “Valentine’s Day” in Hollywood last night.

The “7th Heaven” hottie looked to be having a marvelous time as she chatted with costar Jennifer Garner, sporting a lovely pink and red one-shoulder dress.

Regarding romance, Jessica is lucky in love with Justin Timberlake, though she says it took her awhile to realize it.

“I don’t know if I believe in love at first sight. I think often you can meet somebody and you don’t realize it, until later and then you go ‘Oh my God, I think that love happened, I just wasn’t sure that it happened.’ ”

-Reported by Sebastian Garcia, Gossip Desk, ArtChix Magazine

Alysyn Ayrica: Chief Executive Hottie

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:25:00 -0500

Imagine walking into a local Los Angeles store to buy a bottle of wine. You go to the counter and glance up at the wall where the Bud Light Girls are sexin-up the place. You take another look and realize that one of the hotties on the wall is your boss.

That’s what happed when an ArtChix Magazine staffer noticed a poster of our own sexy Alysyn Ayrica Bourque, Chairman & CEO of Griffith Corp, ArtChix’s parent company. The model-poet-entrepreneur was looking hot in a pose from her 2007 calendar, with Alysyn leaning against a candy apple red chair, clad only in black lace and leather. The store’s owner said he had received an autographed poster of the leggy Alysyn a couple of years ago during her promotional campaign for Netcityradio.com, now Griffith Media Center.

“I’ve actually had offers from customers to buy the poster”, said Latty, the owner of the store, “I keep her here”.

-Reported by Samireh Samadi, Art Desk, ArtChix Magazine

Anne Hathaway says no to the church & 'Yes' to Gay Brother

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:07:44 -0500

Checking out her latest flick, Anne Hathaway was spotted at the premiere of “Valentine’s Day’ at Grauman’s Chinese Theater last night.

The “Rachel Getting Married” babe sported a strapless shiny blue minidress teamed with a pair of black heels as she meandered around the red carpet.

As for her Catholic upbringing, Anne told press she’s ditched the church in favor of embracing her brother’s homosexual lifestyle.

“Why should I support an organization that has a limited view of my beloved brother? So I’m… nothing [now]. “F**k it, I’m forming. I’m a work in progress.”

-Reported by Sebastian Garcia, Gossip Desk, ArtChix Magazine

High Museum of Art Names Artist Renee Stout as David C. Driskell Prize Winner

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:01:15 -0500

Renee Stout’s mixed-media works examine the impact of the African Diaspora and the traditions of her African heritage. Photo: Mary Noble Ours.

ATLANTA, GA.- The High Museum of Art has named artist Renee Stout as the 2010 recipient of the David C. Driskell Prize. Named after the renowned African American artist and art scholar, the Driskell Prize is an annual award that recognizes a scholar or artist in the beginning or middle of his or her career whose work makes an original and important contribution to the field of African American art or art history. Based in Washington , D.C. , Stout works in a variety of media including photography, sculpture, painting, drawing and printmaking. As the sixth Driskell award recipient, Stout will be honored at the Driskell Prize Dinner in Atlanta on Monday, April 19, 2010.

“Renee Stout is a visual artist fully incorporating every available resource to create works relevant to both past and present,” said Michael E. Shapiro, Nancy and Holcombe T. Green, Jr. Director of the High. “Her ability to draw upon the implications of the African Diaspora and highlight African culture through her imaginative and distinctive art exemplifies the qualities of a David C. Driskell Prize recipient. We are pleased to support her vision and development through this award.”

Stout’s mixed-media works examine the impact of the African Diaspora and the traditions of her African heritage as well as the themes of self-exploration, empowerment and healing. Using a variety of media and visual languages—including African aesthetics and secondhand materials—Stout pieces together narratives that tie history to contemporary society.

Imaginary characters recur in Stout’s work, adding whimsy and humor to the challenging and often depressing subject matter. The character Madame Ching appears in many works, including the 1993 piece “Traveling Root Store #2: Madame Ching Goes High Tech,” in which Stout pits a vintage doctor’s bag, vials and herbs against Madame Ching’s new-age custom computer. The keyboard on the computer is altered to Madame Ching’s needs, with various buttons being replaced to assist her in reaching deities. Also present in many works is Stout’s alter-ego Fatima Mayfield. “Fatima Mayfield, a fictitious herbalist/fortuneteller, is the vehicle that allows me to role-play in order to confront the issues, whether it’s romantic relationships, social ills or financial woes, in a way that’s open, creative and humorous,” said Stout.

Renee Stout received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Carnegie Mellon University in 1980 before moving to Washington , D.C. , where she began to study her African American heritage, the wellspring of her subsequent work and career. As an arts advocate, Stout served on the panel of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities as well as George Washington University’s panel “Art School, Confidential: Rethinking Art Education.” In 1999 she won the Anonymous Was a Woman award and her second Pollock-Krasner Foundation award. Recent awards and recognition include the Joan Mitchell Painters and Sculptors Grant and a fellowship as the first artist-in-residence at Johns Hopkins University (2009). Throughout her career, Stout’s participation in numerous solo and group exhibitions has been met with international success. She currently lives and works in Washington , D.C.

The selection process for the 2010 recipient of the Driskell Prize began with a call for nominations from a national pool of artists, curators, teachers, collectors and art historians. The final winner was chosen from these nominations by review-committee members Richard Powell, John Spencer Bassett Professor of Art History, Duke University ; Jacquelyn D. Serwer, Chief Curator, National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution; and Michael Rooks, Wieland Family Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, High Museum of Art, Atlanta.

-Reported by Samireh Samadi, Art Desk, ArtChix Magazine

Conrad Murray Turns Himself In

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:26:40 -0500

ARTCHIX, Los Angeles — Arriving in Los Angeles to turn himself in, Dr. Conrad Murray was spotted approaching the Los Angeles Airport Courthouse on Monday.

The doctor showed up to surrender and face involuntary manslaughter charges in the death of Michael Jackson.

In related news, online gossip blog TMZ obtained a copy of Jackson’s full L.A. County Coroner’s report which says the manner of death is homicide and this conclusion is based on the following 4 items:

1. Circumstances indicate the Propofol and the benzodiazepines were administered by another.

2. Propofol was administered in a non-hospital setting without any appropriate medical indication.

3. The standard of care for administering Propofol was not met. Recommended equipment for patient monitoring, precision dosing and resuscitation was not present.

4. The circumstances do not support self-administration of Propofol.

-Reported by Sebastian Garcia, Gossip Desk, ArtChix Magazine

Rep. John Murtha Dead at 77

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:23:25 -0500

(CNN) — Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, a longtime fixture on the House subcommittee that oversees Pentagon spending, died after complications from gallbladder surgery, according to his office. He was 77.

The Democratic congressman recently underwent scheduled laparoscopic surgery at National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, to remove his gallbladder. The procedure was “routine minimally invasive surgery,” but doctors “hit his intestines,” a source close to the late congressman told CNN.

Murtha was initially hospitalized in December and had to postpone a hearing with Defense Secretary Robert Gates on the administration’s strategy in Afghanistan. The congressman returned to work after a few days in the hospital and helped oversee final passage of the 2010 defense appropriations bill.

Murtha had a “tough-as-nails reputation” and a “passion for service,” President Obama said in a written statement. He was “a steadfast advocate for the people of Pennsylvania” and “a respected voice on issues of national security,” Obama said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a longtime ally of Murtha’s, said in a statement that he always put “the troops and their families first.”

Murtha was “incredibly effective in his service in the House,” said Wisconsin Rep. David Obey, chairman of the Appropriations Committee. “Every person who serves in the military has lost an advocate and a good friend.”

John Murtha
• Represented Pennsylvania’s 12th district since 1974.

• Became a vocal critic of the war in Iraq, called for a “change in direction.”

• Was the first Vietnam War combat veteran elected to Congress.

• Chairman of the Defense Subcommittee of the House Committee on Appropriations.

• Known as one of the “kings of pork” on Capitol Hill.

Murtha “will be missed,” said House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio. “The House of Representatives has lost one of its own.”

Murtha had represented Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District since 1974, making him the chamber’s eighth most senior member. According to his biography on the House of Representatives Web site, Murtha was the first Vietnam War combat veteran elected to Congress.

He was considered one of “the kings of pork” on Capitol Hill by taxpayer watchdog groups for requesting tens of millions of dollars in earmarks.

On his House Web site, Murtha strongly defended earmarks, saying, “I believe that elected representatives of the people understand their constituents and districts best.”

Supporters said his efforts helped bring thousands of jobs to western Pennsylvania.

Other controversies dogged Murtha’s career. Critics alleged that he steered Pentagon contracts to businesses that hired his brother as a lobbyist, but Murtha insisted that his brother was treated like everyone else.

Murtha also turned up in the FBI’s Abscam investigation in 1980 when undercover agents offered bribes to several members of Congress. Murtha was videotaped turning down a bribe, saying he wasn’t interested “at this point.” He was not charged.

Murtha came under fire during the 2008 election campaign for saying that part of his state was a “racist area” where constituents would not vote for Obama because he was black.

He later apologized and said, “While we cannot deny that race is a factor in this election, I believe we’ve been able to look beyond race these past few months.”

Murtha won 58 percent of the vote in 2008, his last re-election; Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain won the district by less than 1,000 votes.

Murtha, a former Marine, also earned a reputation as one of Congress’s loudest anti-war voices. He initially supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq, but he stunned much of Washington when he called for a swift U.S. pullout in November 2005, saying, “U.S. and coalition troops have done all they can. … It’s time for a change in direction.”

In 2006, Murtha seemed on track to become the House Majority leader, but he lost to Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland. Murtha said he was subject to “swift boat-style attacks” on his ethics record, blasting critics who raised concerns about “unfounded allegations that occurred 26 years ago.”

Born June 17, 1932, in West Virginia, Murtha moved with his family to Pennsylvania as a child.

Before joining the House, he was in the Pennsylvania state Legislature. He also served 37 years in the Marines and Marine Corps Reserves. He retired from the Reserves in 1990 and received the Navy Distinguished Service Medal.

Murtha attended Washington and Jefferson College, but dropped out in 1952 to enlist in the Marines. He later graduated from the University of Pittsburgh.

He is survived by his wife, Joyce, and three children.

-Compiled for ArtChix Magazine by Ann Myers, Staff Desk, from CNN/WIRE Reports

Gagosian Presents Major Group Exhibition Celebrating JG Ballard's "Crash"

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:19:42 -0500

Douglas Gordon, Self-Portrait of You + Me (Jayne Mansfield), 2007. © Douglas Gordon. Courtesy of Gagosian Gallery. Photo: Rob McKeever.

LONDON.- Gagosian Gallery London will present “Crash,” a major group exhibition opening on 11 February 2010, which takes its title from the famous novel by JG Ballard.

Ballard’s novels stand among the most visionary, provocative literature of the twentieth century, with his ominous predictions regarding the fate of Western culture and his insights into the dark psychopathology of the human race. This exhibition is a response to the enormous impact and enduring cultural significance of his work, following his death in spring 2009. Highlighting Ballard’s great passion for the surreal and his engagement with the artists of his own generation, “Crash” includes examples of his specific inspirations as well as works by contemporary artists who have, in turn, been inspired by his vision.

Ballard’s first published short story “Prima Belladonna” appeared in 1956, the same year as the celebrated Independent Group’s exhibition “This is Tomorrow” at the Whitechapel Gallery, which marked the birth of Pop Art in Britain. It was here, and in the work of Surrealists such as Salvador Dali and Paul Delvaux, that Ballard found the seeds of what he called a “fiction for the present day”. With its dystopian depictions of the present and future, its bleak, man-made landscapes and the recounting of the psychological effects of technological, social and environmental developments on humans, his work has resonated strongly among other writers, filmmakers and visual artists. The exhibition “Crash” brings together works by artists tuned to the Ballardian universe, from his contemporaries such as Ed Ruscha, Richard Hamilton, Andy Warhol and Helmut Newton, to younger artists such as Tacita Dean, Jenny Saville, Glenn Brown and Mike Nelson.

List of artists: Richard Artschwager, Francis Bacon, JG Ballard, Hans Bellmer, Glenn Brown, Chris Burden, Jake & Dinos Chapman, John Currin, Salvador Dalí, Giorgio de Chirico, Tacita Dean, Jeremy Deller, Paul Delvaux, Cyprien Gaillard, Douglas Gordon, Loris Gréaud, Richard Hamilton, John Hilliard and Jemima Stehli, Roger Hiorns, Damien Hirst, Dan Holdsworth, Carsten Höller, Edward Hopper, Allen Jones, Mike Kelley, Jeff Koons, Roy Lichtenstein, Vera Lutter, Florian Maier-Aichen, Paul McCarthy, Adam McEwen, Dan Mitchell, Malcolm Morley, Mike Nelson, Helmut Newton, Cady Noland, Claes Oldenburg, Eduardo Paolozzi, Steven Parrino, Richard Prince, Robert Rauschenberg, Gerhard Richter, Ed Ruscha, Jenny Saville, George Shaw, Cindy Sherman, Piotr Uklański, Andy Warhol, Rachel Whiteread, Christopher Williams, Jane and Louise Wilson, Christopher Wool and Cerith Wyn Evans.

-Reported by Samireh Samadi, Art Desk, ArtChix Magazine

Bob Dylan on Canvas: Exclusive Show of His Very First Works on Canvas

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:17:12 -0500

Bob Dylan, Two Sisters. Acrylic on Canvas, 122.5 x 91.5 cm. Halcyon Gallery. Copyright © 2009 Bob Dylan.

LONDON.- Halcyon Gallery presents an exclusive exhibition of Bob Dylan’s first paintings on canvas, based on drawings and sketches made while on the road during the period of 1989 - 1992. These paintings are the grand finale of The Drawn Blank Series and testament to his artistic progression: from drawings to works on paper and now finally to canvas. This exhibition provides a unique opportunity to see the first original masterpieces of a creative legend.

“I just draw what’s interesting to me, and then I paint it. Rows of houses, orchard acres, lines of tree trunks, could be anything. I can take a bowl of fruit and turn it into a life and death drama. Women are power figures, so I depict them that way. I can find people to paint in mobile home communities. I could paint bourgeois people too.

I’m not trying to make social comment or fulfil somebody’s vision and I can find subject matter anywhere. I guess in some way that comes out of the folk world that I came up in.” Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan on Canvas will be the last UK exhibition of this series, foreshadowing his upcoming exhibition at the prestigious Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen in which he will unveil new works alongside selected pieces from The Drawn Blank Series, curated by Dr. Kasper Monrad.

Paul Green, President of the Halcyon Gallery, commented: “These paintings are the culmination of everything Dylan has done with The Drawn Blank Series so far, signalling a new phase in the artist’s career. The evolution of medium, from paper to canvas, has been an important development resulting in a creative explosion which has given greater meaning to the paintings. Bob Dylan on Canvas is the grand finale of the Drawn Blank years and the precursor of the new ‘Brazil’ series in which Dylan explores the canvas further.”

-Reported by Samireh Samadi, Art Desk, ArtChix Magazine

Painting by Salvador Dalí, Made in the U.S., on Temporary Loan to the Dalí Foundation

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:14:59 -0500

Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening (1944) by Salvador Dalí was presented at the Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí. EFE/Robin Townsend.

GIRONA.- The Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí presented the loan of the work Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pommegranate One Minute Before Awakening (1944), from the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum (Madrid). The oil painting will be exhibited at the Drawings Room (number 6) of the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres from 9 February until 2 May 2010.

The painting depicts a woman (Dalí’s wife, Gala) sleeping while sunbathing naked during a calm day on rocks floating over the sea, possibly at Port Lligat. An elephant with incredibly long, extremely thin legs walks across the sea’s horizon while carrying an obelisk. Near the woman float two drops of water and a small pomegranate. From a larger pomegranate comes a fish that spews a tiger from which comes another tiger, while in front of that second tiger a rifle’s bayonet touches (or nearly touches) the woman’s right arm. It was painted while Dalí and his wife Gala were living in America.

The bayonet, as a symbol of the stinging bee, may thus represent the woman’s abrupt awakening from her otherwise peaceful dream. This is an example of Sigmund Freud’s influence on surrealist art and Dali’s attempts to explore the world of dreams in a dreamscape.

The bee around the smaller pomegranate is repeated symbolically. The two tigers represent the body of the bee (yellow with black stripes) and the bayonet its stinger. The fish may represent the bee’s eyes, because of similarity of the fish’s scaly skin with the scaly complex eyes of bees.

The elephant is a distorted version of a well-known sculpture by Bernini that is located in Rome. The smaller pomegranate floating between two droplets of water may symbolize Venus, especially because of the heart-shaped shadow it casts. It may also be used as a Christian symbol of fertility and resurrection. This female symbolism may contrast with the phallic symbolism of the threatening creatures.

It has also been suggested that the painting is “a surrealist interpretation of the Theory of Evolution.”

In 1962, Dalí said his painting was intended “to express for the first time in images Freud’s discovery of the typical dream with a lengthy narrative, the consequence of the instantaneousness of a chance event which causes the sleeper to wake up. Thus, as a bar might fall on the neck of a sleeping person, causing them to wake up and for a long dream to end with the guillotine blade falling on them, the noise of the bee here provokes the sensation of the sting which will awaken Gala.”

-Reported by Samireh Samadi, Art Desk, ArtChix Magazine

JUDE LAW IN DRAG!

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:46:34 -0500

No, this is not a contestant from the next season of America’s Next Top Model… though she should be cuz she is stunning. Can you guess who is under that kohl liner and $4 wig? Hint: Most women and men would want him to put his thing in their thing. Hint 2: His name is in the title.

Yes: IT’S JUDE LAW! Dressed in drag for a part in a film called Rage. And you know? Law is hot as hale, and he’s pretty fine as a lady, too.

He’s trying out some dramatic looks in blonde and black wigs and even a wedding dress veil as a transsexual supermodel in his new movie “Rage”.

-Reported by Sebastian Garcia, Gossip Desk, ArtChix Magazine

Exhibition of Work by The Singh Twins Announced at the National Portrait Gallery

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:49:08 -0500

The Killing Game, 2002. ©The Singh Twins.

LONDON.- Work by The Singh Twins will be on display at the National Portrait Gallery for the first time in March. The twin sisters are contemporary British artists whose award-winning paintings explore issues of social, political, religious and multicultural debate. The display will offer a contemporary response to the concurrent exhibition, The Indian Portrait 1560-1860, and The Singh Twins have created a new Gallery trail to draw links between their work, The Indian Portrait 1560-1860, and the Gallery’s permanent Collection.

Using a narrative, decorative, symbolic and witty ‘Past Modern’ (as opposed to Post Modern) style, The Singh Twins have revived the Indian miniature tradition within modern art practice. They say: ‘Our work bridges many worlds, the ancient and the modern; fusing both Western and Eastern aesthetic elements … using an ancient art form to deal with contemporary issues. Our aim is to introduce wider audiences to the beauty, richness and continuing value of our heritage within contemporary art and society.’

Twenty-seven works will be on display including Arts Matters: The Pool of Life (2008) which was commissioned by Liverpool City Council and celebrates the city’s status as European Capital of Culture in 2008; Partners in Crime: Deception and Lies (2004), featuring George W. Bush and Tony Blair following the invasion of Iraq in the aftermath of 9/11; and The Greatest (2002) depicting Muhammad Ali in the conventional style used for depicting royalty within the Mughal School of the Indian miniature tradition. Also on display will be the award winning The Making of Liverpool, The Singh Twins’ first animated film, which combines the Indian miniature tradition with the latest digital technology to show the history and changing identity of the city.

The new Gallery trail by The Singh Twins will link their work with The Indian Portrait 1560-1860, and the Gallery’s permanent Collection. The trail will highlight how The Singh Twins are influenced by both Indian and Western portraiture in terms of themes, art practice, technique, pose and gesture, iconography and symbolism. The Singh Twins say: ‘one of our main aims as artists to challenge generally accepted notions of heritage and identity. In particular, what we believe to be the generally held but false perceptions of division between east and west, modernity and tradition in art and society’.

London born twin sisters Amrit and Rabindra studied Art at University College of Chester (now called University of Chester) and Manchester University. Their work has been the subject of nearly forty solo exhibitions, including those at the Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art, Birmingham City Art Gallery, Leeds City Art Gallery, The Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool and the National Gallery of Modern Art in both Delhi and Mumbai. The Singh Twins were artists in residence for the Commonwealth Games 2002 and their work has been published in nine books including Twin Perspectives, Worlds A-Part and the Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History.

Contemporary Connections: The Singh Twins will offer a contemporary response to the major exhibition The Indian Portrait: 1560-1860 (11 March - 20 June 2010), the first ever exhibition devoted to Indian portraiture which will include 60 outstanding portraits drawn from collections in the UK, USA and Europe. The exhibition sets out to show that Indian portraiture, an area of artistic achievement overlooked in Britain, should be seen alongside other outstanding portraits from around the world.

-Reported by Samireh Samadi, Art Desk, ArtChix Magazine

Google analyst: U.S. Internet needs to get faster By John D. Sutter, CNN

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:47:18 -0500

Mountain View, California (CNN) — Google long has been an advocate of a single Web, one that’s free of government censorship and barriers to information access.

That’s not the reality in today’s world however.

Governments from China to France put various roadblocks in the information superhighway to serve their interests, filter speech or protect copyrights.

And high-speed Internet connections haven’t reached all corners of the globe — not even all parts of the United States.

To learn more about this split between Google’s idea of an all-access Web and the reality today, CNN sat down recently with Derek Slater, one of Google’s policy analysts.

Slater declined to comment on Google’s negotiations with China. The search engine has threatened to pull out of the country after the Gmail accounts of some human rights activists were hacked. Since this interview, it has been reported that Google is working with the National Security Agency to prevent similar cyberattacks.

But Slater did offer insights about increasing today’s sluggish Internet speeds and why a unified Web can change peoples’ lives.

The following is an edited transcript:

CNN: What are you expecting from the broadband talks in the United States?

Slater: Earlier in the year the FCC [Federal Communications Commission] started its proceedings to create a national broadband plan, and in our view that’s a great step in the right direction, to make the U.S. once again a leader in broadband.

The Internet was essentially invented here, but over the years we’ve fallen further and further behind in speed, deployment, penetration.

And we think it is essential that there be a national goal to have fast, affordable and open access to the Internet.

CNN: What aren’t we doing that we should be?

Slater: It’s a combination of classical and jazz. So there are certain things that we need to do in order to bring faster connections to all Americans, to make sure there’s really, truly universal service, and updating the ways in which we do that.
Broadband is the dial tone of the 21st century.

But there’s also a range of experimentation that’s going to have to go into this.

It’s a really difficult challenge to think about how are we going to move not just a step further in terms of the speeds that we’re getting today, but a leap further. How are we going to get to 100 megabits per second, a gigabit per second, to homes?

There is no silver bullet there. Instead, it’s going to take encouraging creative solutions. Some of them will come from the public sector, that is, some of them will involve municipalities or governments. Some of them are going to come from the private sector. And some of them are going to be a mix.

CNN: What are the ideas that Google has submitted to the FCC?

Slater: One is that community institutions can serve as hubs to improve adoption within communities. Schools, libraries, health care facilities can be local and centralized points where people from the community who aren’t familiar with Internet access or don’t have access to it can get access, and we can help achieve universal adoption. …

One other one that we had talked about was encouraging deployment of multiple strands of fiber to peoples’ homes. That’s because the biggest cost of broadband is digging up the streets, running cables into peoples’ homes and so-on.

CNN: Zooming back a bit, why is broadband [high-speed Internet] important for the average person?

Slater: Broadband is the dial tone of the 21st century. It is essential for participation in civil society and political processes. It’s also essential infrastructure when it comes to economic growth and innovation, and job creation.

It’s also to this century what the beginning of national highways and the electricity grid was for the 20th century. It’s going to be an input into a broad range of economic activities.

So, as we fall behind, that’s also falling behind in our global competitiveness and our global ability to grow our economy and compete as an innovative country.

That’s why this is a national issue, and that’s why broadband is different from average consumer goods.

CNN: Why is an “open Internet” important to the globe, or to developing countries?

Slater: At this point the benefits of the open Internet are really indisputable.

We’ve seen unprecedented innovation come from that. Not just companies like Google, but all sorts, both commercial and not. The net is also essential to free expression and creativity. It’s democratizing the ability for everyone to speak and create. It puts a printing press and a megaphone in everyone’s hands. That can reach billions of people potentially all over the world.

That sort of democratization of creativity, of innovation, of free expression, is essential to us all, essential to our economy and our society.

You can look specifically at the way the Internet today is transforming the way small businesses operate. Through both Google and other platforms they can advertise their businesses, make people aware of what they’re doing online, which they couldn’t do through traditional media as easily.

CNN: Are there limits to how much the Internet can improve peoples’ lives?

Slater: Faster broadband is not a cure-all to everything, but we see every day how it is improving our economy and benefiting our society. …

I think improving broadband infrastructure can improve peoples’ lives in a number of core areas that are important to our society.

Health care. Improving medical treatment. Imagine if someone in rural Montana could do a medical consultation over the Internet with an expert in New York City. Imagine the same thing if we were talking about a student in Iowa [who] could do a distance learning course with somebody miles away, and in that way could improve education.

CNN: In watching the first weeks after the earthquake in Haiti, have you thought of any ways tech infrastructure or the Web might be used to help build that country back up?

Slater: That’s a really interesting question, and I don’t have a great answer off the top of my head. I’ve only seen parts of [the news coverage], but it’s been amazing to watch all of the sites that have sprung up to get funding to Haiti. … Google set up a site to help drive funding there. It’s amazing how quickly that stuff can just take root and spread quickly throughout our society.

It reminds me in certain ways of the protests in Iran. It was so quick and easy for people there to start snapping photos and tweeting. And that information diffused and spread throughout the world in a very quick way and a way we’ve never seen before.

-Compiled by Ann Myers, ArtChix Magazine from CNN Reports

Jackson's doctor charged with manslaughter

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:44:00 -0500

Los Angeles, California (CNN) — Dr. Conrad Murray, personal physician to Michael Jackson, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the pop star’s death last summer.

A criminal complaint filed earlier Monday alleged that Murray “did unlawfully, and without malice, kill Michael Joseph Jackson.”

Murray turned himself in shortly before 4 p.m. at a branch courthouse near Los Angeles International Airport. He pleaded not guilty during a hearing before Judge Keith L. Schwartz.

Members of Jackson’s family, including his parents, Joe and Katherine and three of his brothers, had arrived at the courthouse before Murray. Asked for his reaction to the charge, brother Jermaine Jackson said, “Not enough.”

The involuntary manslaughter charge means that Murray caused Jackson’s death by acting “without due caution and circumspection.”

If convicted, Murray would face a maximum four-year prison sentence, according to prosecutors.

Deputy District Attorney David Walgren will lead the prosecution.

Murray traveled to Los Angeles at the end of January from his home in Houston, Texas, in expectation of possible charges, his lawyer said.

He used part of his time last week to visit the pop star’s resting place in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.

Murray, a cardiologist, was hired as Jackson’s personal physician last spring as the singer prepared for comeback concerts in London, England.

The doctor told Los Angeles police that he was with Jackson at his $100,000-a-month rented Holmby Hills mansion through the early morning hours of June 25, 2009, in an effort to help the pop star fall asleep, according to a police affidavit.

He administered sleep aids, and after Jackson finally began sleeping in the late morning hours, Murray said, he left the bedroom for “about two minutes maximum,” the affidavit says.

“Upon his return, Murray noticed that Jackson was no longer breathing,” it says.

The doctor stayed with Jackson as an ambulance rushed him to UCLA Medical Center.

Efforts at CPR proved fruitless, and Jackson was pronounced dead at 2:26 p.m.

The Los Angeles County coroner ruled Jackson’s death a homicide, resulting from a combination of drugs, primarily propofol and lorazepam.

The coroner’s statement said Jackson died from “acute propofol intoxication,” but there were “other conditions contributing to death: benzodiazepine effect.” Lorazepam and two other drugs Murray said he used are benzodiazepines.

The doctor told investigators he had given Jackson three anti-anxiety drugs to help him sleep in the hours before he stopped breathing, a police affidavit said.

Murray had been treating Jackson for insomnia for six weeks at the time of the singer’s death. The doctor told investigators he gave Jackson 50 milligrams of propofol, the generic name for Diprivan, diluted with the anesthetic lidocaine every night via an intravenous drip.

The doctor told police he was worried that Jackson was becoming addicted to the drug and tried to wean him off it.

During the two nights before Jackson’s death, Murray said, he put together combinations of other drugs that succeeded in helping Jackson sleep.

By Alan Duke, CNN

-Compiled for ArtChix Magazine by Ann Myers, Staff Desk, from CNN/WIRE Reports

First Major Retrospective of the Work of Der Blaue Reiter Ever Held in the Netherlands Opens

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:41:57 -0500

Wassily Kandinsky, Holland – Strandkörbe, Mai/Juni 1904, 1904, oil on canvas on board, 53,5 x 32.8 cm, collection Lenbachhaus München.

THE HAGUE.- In the early 20th century, a group of artists caused a huge furor in the Munich art world. Calling themselves Der Blaue Reiter, the artists produced expressive, brightly coloured, lyrical paintings which were to prompt the development of Expressionism in Germany. The core members of the group were Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky and kindred spirit Franz Marc. Although the group was so important for the later development of modern art, this exhibition at the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag in spring 2010 will be the first major retrospective of its work ever held in the Netherlands. Many of the works were seen earlier as part of the successful Kandinsky exhibitions at the Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Centre Pompidou in Paris.

Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) played an important pioneering role in the development of painting. His explosive compositions, inspired by experimental music and primitive folk art, roused strong emotions and incomprehension among art critics, public and fellow artists. When he met Franz Marc, Kandinsky immediately recognised a kindred spirit who shared his interest in and ideas about painting and music. Just two days after they first met, they were already attending an Arnold Schönberg concert together. It was the start of a close friendship and in 1911 they set up Der Blaue Reiter (‘The Blue Rider’), swiftly attracting the adhesion of artists like Gabriele Münter, Alexej von Jawlensky, August Macke, Marianne von Werefkin and Heinrich Campendonck.

The group was highly diverse, both in style and membership. Yet there are common features; the Expressionism of Der Blaue Reiter is poetic and shows influences of Russian fairytales and traditional folk narratives. The artists worked instinctively, generally using bright colours, and were fascinated by nature and animals. This interest is reflected, for example, in the imposing, lovingly depicted horses that often fill Franz Marc’s paintings, evoking warm emotions in the viewer.

Kandinsky went his own way within the group. He felt there was a clear intuitive relationship between sound and form. This belief became an important starting point in his work and would eventually lead to what is now generally regarded as the world’s first abstract painting. The series of Improvisations and Compositions, in which the viewer can almost hear the sounds of music, are fine examples of Kandinsky’s quest for the ultimate amalgam of painting and music.

With the outbreak of war in 1914, the group disintegrated. Kandinsky left his partner Gabriele Münter and returned to Russia. Macke and Marc were called up to fight at the front, where they perished in the trenches. The tension and uncertainty of the times can be clearly felt in the paintings made immediately before and during the First World War.

The exhibition also looks at the artists’ life stories and the relations between them. The rare historical documents on show include photographs taken of Kandinsky and Gabriele Münter during their visit to the Netherlands in 1904 and never previously exhibited.

This exhibition, full of masterpieces by Kandinsky and the artists of Der Blaue Reiter, is the result of close cooperation between the Gemeentemuseum and Munich’s Städtische Galerie im Lehnbachhaus. It will be accompanied by a lavishly illustrated catalogue containing essays by Doede Hardeman, Annegret Hoberg, Helmut Friedel and Franz Kaiser. The exhibition is part of the Holland Art Cities event.

-Reported by Samireh Samadi, Art Desk, ArtChix Magazine