For their December 4–5 performances at the Kimmel Center’s Perelman Theatre, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia opened with a pair of jovial works by Gioachino Rossini (d. 1868) and Charles Gounod (d. 1893) (two composers renowned particularly for their contribution to opera), and then dedicated the rest of the program to works by living composers–including world and US premieres.
Read MoreIn mid-November, the medieval cathedral of Burgos in northern Spain was lit from within–not by any divine power, but by the miracle of technology. For her temporary light installation “Chromotopia Santa María,” (November 3-13, 2016) Vienna-based artist Victoria Coeln used projected rays of light in brilliant colors to fill the ample space of the cathedral, the white limestone walls intensifying the vivid colors. It’s as if the cathedral’s stained glass windows had turned themselves inside out, dissolving the solid stone structure into layers of light.
Read MoreI lost track of time as Cassils (who prefers the pronoun “they”) attacked the clay in a frenzy of finely choreographed violence. A single photographer circled the performer, the brilliant strobe lights of camera flashes sporadically illuminating Cassils, a small but impressively muscular figure.
Read More“Night Room” is an immersive experience in which you keep discovering new things, not because of its complexity, but as a result of the purity and simplicity of its components. Its changing perspectives on light and color, together with subtle, unexpected details–some of string, some of light–that you might overlook, are intriguing and satisfying.
Read MoreI give this exhibit 3 out of 3 wishes, which means it made me wish for three things. It is a nice view of designs. The designs with bright, bold colors are like dresses I have never seen before. They are a fierce combination of a lot of different colors and shapes like chicken heads on straight fabric with a stained glass design on the ruffled fabric all on one dress! I wish there were kids’ fashions in the exhibit, too. I also wish that I could see how they are sold in Africa. What do the shops look like? Who gets to wear these clothes? I wish I could! They are interesting fashions and would make the person wearing them look bold and fierce. Three wishes means it made me imagine 3 things and that is why I love to go to museums!
Read MoreWalking the aisles I was soon drawn to the Fluxus-like work, Dé, Joue ou Perdes (2015) by French conceptualist Claude Closky. A limited edition box work by the art publisher We Do Not Work Alone, is simple and wonderfully insane. It is also a metaphor in so many ways for what was echoing in my mind: A single die, with five of its six sides commanding: JOUEZ (play) and one, signaling: PERDU (lost). A restless game without end.
Read MoreArtist-run spaces are quite creative when it comes to naming their spaces. Recall a small handful (in alphabetical order) in Philadelphia: Fjord, Grizzly Grizzly, Little Berlin, Lord Ludd, Napoleon, New Boone, Pterodactyl, Tiger Strikes Asteroid and Vox Populi. In light of these names, I think a naïve question needs to be posed: why do so many artist-run spaces organize their activities under the rubric of names that, on a formal level, have very little to do with artistic production?
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