Celebrity Life

Adapting is the name of the game.

With theatres and concert halls closed again in many global locations to stop the spread of Covid-19, artists are instead turning to livestreamed concerts to allow fans to enjoy their music in a new way.

These live performances, which may once have been free, are now vying to become a new revenue stream for the struggling industry. From Dua Lipa, Gorillaz and Jessie J to Liam Gallagher, Major Lazer and Metallica, all kinds of acts are getting in on the game, organising exclusive performances that music fans can watch live from the comfort of their homes. Many artists already tested the water during spring's lockdowns, although without investing too much in the production of these makeshift livestream performances.

Music fans may still remember a laid-back John Legend tinkling the ivories in a bathrobe, or Alessia Cara embarking on an acoustic set in her bathroom for the MTV "Unplugged at Home" series.

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After a few weeks of random and impromptu performances, these virtual gigs upped their game and started being streamed from more prestigious locations, such as London's Alexandra Palace, The Roxy club in Los Angeles and even the V&A Museum. Add high-quality lighting, multiple and varied camera angles, sometimes even special effects, and these once free concerts suddenly morphed into exclusive pay-per-view events.

The cost of technology

Ticket prices vary, although they're often around the US$15 (HK$116) mark. While Dua Lipa promised to take fans on a "kaleidoscope, rocket-filled, journey through time" to discover her latest album for US$15 to 20 on November 27, Billie Eilish charged up to US$30 for livestream tickets to her global virtual concert, "Where Do We Go? The Livestream," broadcast October 24 from Los Angeles. For their money, fans of the iconoclastic singer were given access to the livestream, and could rewatch for up to 24 hours, as well as enjoy reductions on merchandise.

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But that's nothing compared to the US$100 (HK$775) tickets that fans of Jason Isbell snapped up in July to watch a live performance by the folk singer, followed by a Q&A session. The start-up Topeka even cashed in on the interactive experience by proposing a recorded version of Isbell's event for US$25.

At a time when livestreamed concerts are increasingly ubiquitous, music industry pros hope that the enthusiasm for virtual gigs will give a boost to the struggling sector, for which live shows and world tours are a key source of revenue. In fact, revenue from live music stood at some US$26 billion in 2017, according to data from Goldman Sachs, or 42% of turnover in the sector.

[caption id="attachment_212630" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Fans of folk singer Jason Isbell snapped up US100 tickets in July to watch his livestreamed performance. (Image: Jason Isbell/ Alysse Gakfyen/ Instagram)[/caption]

An increasingly diverse offer

But, as the music industry learned to its expense with the onset of streaming, it can be hard to convince consumers to pay for something they once got for free. Especially so in a highly competitive ecosystem where independent artists, concert production companies and tech giants are all vying for music fans' attention — and ideally their money.

On December 5, virtual gig-goers will have the choice between an online show by the band Evanescence, ahead of the release of their new album "The Bitter Truth," a virtual Darlene Love Christmas show, and a livestream performance by Liam Gallagher "Down by the River Thames" in London. It's a tough choice from a musical point of view.

[caption id="attachment_212627" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Rock band Evanescence will hold a livestreamed concert on December 5. (Image: Evanescence/ Facebook)[/caption]

As well as being spoiled for choice as the offer diversifies, certain music fans face the fear of not being tech savvy enough to enjoy livestream gigs. "A rock band with a slightly older audience, those audiences are less rabid from an online engagement perspective," Steve Bursky, the founder of Foundations Music told The New York Times. The management company's clients include Foy Vance, Young the Giant and Lauv.

Conscious of this concern, platforms and artists are reaching out with various tutorials and other explanations to get fans onboard. The aim is to invest in high-quality online gigs in order to bring livestreamed concerts and events into the mainstream. And it seems like these efforts are starting to bear fruit, since 28 percent of Americans said they would pay to watch an online concert, according to a report from Nielsen Music/MCR Data.

"Livestreaming is a new genre, a new form of entertainment. It is not ephemeral. People will doubt it -- but I believe that it will stay and be a complementary form of entertainment that will compete with playlists and videos and live shows," Fabrice Sergent, cofounder of Bandsintown, told Rolling Stone.

(Main image: Live Nation; Featured image: Dua Lipa/ Facebook)

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Have you ever dreamed of possessing part of the ultra-famous monument that symbolises Paris throughout the world? A segment of an original staircase from the Eiffel Tower will go under the hammer at an Artcurial auction on December 1, as part of its Parisian Art Deco and Design sale.

This 2.6-metre segment comes from the historic spiral staircase built by Gustave Eiffel and his collaborators for the Universal Exhibition of 1889. A few years later, an elevator replaced the original staircase between the second and third floor of the iconic monument, which is why the staircase was dismantled. It was separated into 24 segments, two of which measure nine metres.

One of these long segments remains on the Tower's first floor, while three others were redistributed to Paris's Musée d'Orsay and Cité des sciences de la Villette and the Musée de l'Histoire du fer (Iron history museum) in Nancy (in the east of France).

The 20 elements left were auctioned off in December 1983, scattering this heritage between cultural institutions and private collections worldwide. Every now and then some resurface on the auction market.

The segment of the staircase being auctioned off in December by Artcurial comes from a private Canadian collection. It is estimated to fetch between 30,000 and 40,000 euros — a rather modest sum compared to segments previously auctioned off.

In 2016, a piece of the same staircase sold for 523,800 euros, far above its original estimate. In 2013, another 3.5-metre high segment went for 220,000 euros during a previous Artcurial sale.

Find out more about the auction here.

(Main and featured image: Anthony Delanoix/ Unsplash)

The post You Can Now Own Part of an Eiffel Tower Staircase appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

Have you ever dreamed of possessing part of the ultra-famous monument that symbolises Paris throughout the world? A segment of an original staircase from the Eiffel Tower will go under the hammer at an Artcurial auction on December 1, as part of its Parisian Art Deco and Design sale.

This 2.6-metre segment comes from the historic spiral staircase built by Gustave Eiffel and his collaborators for the Universal Exhibition of 1889. A few years later, an elevator replaced the original staircase between the second and third floor of the iconic monument, which is why the staircase was dismantled. It was separated into 24 segments, two of which measure nine metres.

One of these long segments remains on the Tower's first floor, while three others were redistributed to Paris's Musée d'Orsay and Cité des sciences de la Villette and the Musée de l'Histoire du fer (Iron history museum) in Nancy (in the east of France).

The 20 elements left were auctioned off in December 1983, scattering this heritage between cultural institutions and private collections worldwide. Every now and then some resurface on the auction market.

The segment of the staircase being auctioned off in December by Artcurial comes from a private Canadian collection. It is estimated to fetch between 30,000 and 40,000 euros — a rather modest sum compared to segments previously auctioned off.

In 2016, a piece of the same staircase sold for 523,800 euros, far above its original estimate. In 2013, another 3.5-metre high segment went for 220,000 euros during a previous Artcurial sale.

Find out more about the auction here.

(Main and featured image: Anthony Delanoix/ Unsplash)

The post You Can Now Own Part of an Eiffel Tower Staircase appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

If you thought you'd read everything there is to read by J.R.R. Tolkien — the legendary wordsmith behind The Lord of the Rings series — think again.

A collection of previously unseen writings by the British author are due to be published for the first time in 2021. The collection will take readers straight to the heart of Middle-earth, exploring the land through its geography, its history and its people.

The collection, titled The Nature of Middle-earth, covers themes including Elvish immortality and reincarnation, and the geography of places where some of Tolkien's most famous epic fantasies were set. The collection may even settle the long-running debate among readers of the British writer about whether dwarf women had beards — a debate that's been raging on Reddit for years.

[caption id="attachment_212456" align="aligncenter" width="425"] 'The Nature of Middle-earth' is a collection of previously unseen writings by Tolkien. It's due to be published June 24, 2021. (Image: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books & Media)[/caption]

Considered one of the founding fathers of modern fantasy, Tolkien is best known for his novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, published in 1937 and from 1954 to 1955 respectively. The works became international best-sellers translated into more than 70 languages, as well as Hollywood trilogies directed by Peter Jackson. However, the British author continued to write about Middle-earth in the following decades, right up until the years preceding his death in 1973.

"For him, Middle-earth was part of an entire world to be explored, and the writings in The Nature of Middle-earth reveal the journeys that he took as he sought to better understand his unique creation," explains in a statement Deb Brody, vice-president of the American publishing company, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

The Nature of Middle-earth is a collection of writings edited by Carl F. Hostetter, one of the world's leading Tolkien experts and respected head of the Elvish Linguistic Fellowship. This international organisation, founded in 1988, studies the fictitious languages imagined by J.R.R. Tolkien.

The book is due out June 24, 2021, and is published by HarperCollins in the UK and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in North America.

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Anyone who thinks chess is boring clearly hasn't seen The Queen's Gambit.

This mini-series, based on the novel of the same name by Walter Tevis, has proved a hit since it landed on Netflix on October 23. So much so that growing numbers of people are trying out the game on their cell phones, maybe in the hope of reaching the same level of expertise as the show's chess prodigy, Beth Harmon.

[caption id="attachment_212381" align="alignnone" width="1024"] The Queen's Gambit follows the life of orphan Beth Harmon, who becomes a chess prodigy. (Image: The Queen's Gambit)[/caption]

The Queen's Gambit follows the life of Beth Harmon (played by Anya Taylor-Joy), who is placed in a Kentucky orphanage as a child following her mother's death in a car accident. There, she discovers an unexpected talent for chess thanks to the janitor, Mr Shaibel (Bill Camp), who teaches her about the game, while also developing a tranquilliser addiction. Beth battles constantly with her addiction over the years, while trying to make her name in the ultra-competitive world of chess grandmasters.

Although entirely fictional, Beth Harmon's rise in the world of chess seems to be inciting viewers to learn about this game, which has been around for over 15 centuries. Since the show's seven episodes landed on Netflix, mobile chess games have been topping search results in various application stores. Daily downloads have also grown by 63 percent in the US and 11% worldwide, according to app specialists AppAnnie. For example, the "Chess" app from AI Factory Limited currently stands at number 14 in the most downloaded paid-for games on Google Play in the US.

[caption id="attachment_212380" align="alignnone" width="1024"] The rise of Beth Harmon (played by Anya Taylor-Joy) in the world of chess is particularly compelling to watch. (Image: Netflix)[/caption]

And this newfound interest in the game goes beyond mobile apps — it's also being seen in publishing. The best-seller The Queen's Gambit rose to 16th place in the most-downloaded fictional e-books in Apple's iBookstore, according to data from Pop Vortex. And that's a respectable place, considering that Walter Tevis's coming-of-age novel was first published in 1983.

Intrigued? Watch it here on Netflix.

(All images: Netflix)

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Here's your chance to live out all your James Bond and super spy fantasies.

A gun designed to look like a tube of lipstick, a purse with a hidden camera, and a hotel room listening device are among items used by the KGB Soviet intelligence during the Cold War going up for auction for the first time.

American auction house Julien's will sell the roughly 400 lots online and then in-person from mid-January to February 13, 2021. The items were recently on display at the KGB Espionage Museum in Manhattan, New York — a private museum opened in January 2019 by Lithuanian historian Julius Urbaitis that has closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"We are not aware of any similar auction for this genre. There is going to be a massive follow up on this because people are so fascinated by all this," said Julien's CFO Martin Nolan.

[caption id="attachment_212361" align="alignnone" width="1024"] A sample of some of the items on display at The KGB Spy Museum in New York in 2019. (Image: Timothy A Clary/ AFP)[/caption]

Estimates for the items range from a few hundred dollars to US$12,000 (HK$93,030), which is the top estimate for a rare Soviet version of the Enigma code cipher machine known as the Fialka. A stone bust of Vladimir Lenin is expected to reach between US$5,000 and US$7,000 (HK$38,800 and HK$54,300), while a steel door from a former KGB prison hospital is estimated at $500 to $700 (HK$3,900 and HK$5,400).

"This is not massively expensive stuff, this is fun stuff that...can trigger a fascinating conversation at a dinner party," said Nolan.

Julien's is also putting under the hammer other memorabilia from the Cold War, including a high school report card for Che Guevara, a signed 1958 letter from Fidel Castro discussing plans to take Havana, and items related to the US-Soviet space race. More details here.

(Main image: Timothy A Clary/ AFP; Featured image: Julien's Auctions)

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Becoming one of the art world's cognoscenti is no easy task, especially when museums and art galleries across the world are closing under new coronavirus lockdown measures.

But you can still broaden your knowledge and appreciation of art through a growing number of podcasts. Here is a selection of four arty programs worth subscribing to, with one hoping to return "art history to the masses," while another dissects the oddities of the art world.

[caption id="attachment_212279" align="alignnone" width="1024"] If you won't be able to visit a museum or gallery anytime soon, consider tuning in to our picks of the best art podcasts. (Image: Juja Han)[/caption]

The Modern Art Notes Podcast

This podcast series cannot be listened to with half an ear, it requires all your attention. But these hour-long conversations, hosted by award-winning art critic and historian Tyler Green, are definitely worth the effort. Each week, Green invites multiple artists, curators, authors and conservators to discuss their work, whether it is a new exhibition or the latest biography of Andy Warhol. A recent episode featured an interview with Naima J. Keith on the postponement of the fifth edition of Prospect triennial due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Art History Babes

If you believe art history is just something you learn at college, this podcast will prove you wrong. The four hostesses of "The Art History Babes" talk about visual culture with a conversational and sometimes meandering approach, like you would do with your artsy friends around a glass of wine. A recent episode is dedicated to post-mortem photographs, a mourning tradition popular during the Victorian era that Corrie, Jennifer, Natalie and Ginny describe as "infamously creepy." As the podcast has built up a substantial following since its first episode in 2016, the four friends have published their own book, The Honest Art Dictionary, for all the art history babes out there.

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The Lonely Palette

Imagine you are absentmindedly staring at an artwork in a museum, when an art-historian-turned-radio-producer asks you to describe it in your own words for her podcast. If you were staring at Jan van Eyck's "Arnolfini Portrait," you might be tempted to say that the man on the left looks "a bit like Willy Wonka's shady brother," or even Vladimir Putin. These off-the-cuff descriptions open each episode of "The Lonely Palette," in which host Tamar Avishai fills in listeners about the history and making of an artwork. The result is refreshing, surprising and, still, deeply informative.

ArtCurious Podcast

In this podcast series, curator Jennifer Dasal discusses unexpected, slightly odd and yet fascinating anecdotes about art. While pieces by Claude Monet fetch six-figure prices at auction, did you know that the French Impressionist and his cohort were trailblazing rebels whose works were originally deemed unbelievably ugly and vulgar? Or how about the fact that American crime novelist Patricia Cornwell believes that British painter Walter Sickert was Jack the Ripper? The result is extremely erudite but always accessible, whether you are an art connoisseur or a neophyte.

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(Main and featured image: ArtCurious Podcast)

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Collins Dictionary said on Tuesday that 'lockdown' is its Word of The Year in 2020 following a dramatic increase in usage during the spread of Covid-19.

Lexicographers said they picked the word because it had become synonymous with the experience of populations across the world as governments look to curb the coronavirus pandemic.

"It is a unifying experience for billions of people across the world, who have had collectively to play their part in combating the spread of COVID-19," publishers Harper Collins said.

Collins registered more than a quarter of a million usages of "lockdown" during 2020, against only 4,000 the previous year. Because of the way the pandemic has affected the daily use of language, six of Collins' 10 words of the year in 2020 are related to the global health crisis.

[caption id="attachment_212208" align="alignnone" width="768"] A man plays with a football in a near-deserted Chester city centre during the lockdown in England in April. (Image: Oli Scarff/ AFP)[/caption]

"Coronavirus", "social distancing", "self-isolate" and "furlough" as well as "lockdown" and "key worker" were included in the longer list of 10 words of the year. "Key worker" alone has seen a 60-fold increase in usage reflecting the importance attributed this year to professions considered to be essential to society.

"2020 has been dominated by the global pandemic," Helen Newstead, a language consultant at Collins, said. "Lockdown has affected the way we work, study, shop, and socialise.

"With many countries entering a second lockdown, it is not a word of the year to celebrate but it is, perhaps, one that sums up the year for most of the world."

Collins defines "lockdown" as "the imposition of stringent restrictions on travel, social interaction, and access to public spaces". According to the dictionary, coronavirus is: "Any one of a group of RNA-containing viruses that can cause infectious illnesses of the respiratory tract, including COVID-19."

[caption id="attachment_212209" align="alignnone" width="768"] A deserted 42nd Street is seen in midtown New York in April. (Image: Timothy A Clary/ AFP)[/caption]

Significant social and political developments beyond the virus have also been reflected in the list, which has already made its way into online editions of the English dictionary.

A wave of Black Lives Matter protests, sparked by the death in US police custody of unarmed black man George Floyd, spread around the world and brought a new awareness of the movement.

The abbreviation "BLM", often used as a hashtag on social media, was widely used in conversations and reporting following the protests, registering an increase in usage of 581 percent by Collins.

[caption id="attachment_212210" align="aligncenter" width="710"] A Black Lives Matter protest in Philadelphia. (Image: Chris Henry/ Unsplash)[/caption]

Social media regularly throws up new words for the dictionary. This year, Collins has included "TikToker", which describes someone who shares content on the TikTok social media platform. "Mukbang", which refers to a South Korean trend of video bloggers eating large quantities of food in videos broadcast to their followers, has also made the list.

The UK royal family influenced the shortlist in 2020. "Megxit", which refers to the withdrawal of Prince Harry and his wife Meghan from royal duties, passed into regular usage.

The word, modelled on "Brexit", which was Collins' word of the year in 2016, illustrates just how firmly established that word now is in the British lexicon.

(Main and featured image: Timothy A Clary/ AFP)

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A Walther PP pistol used in the first-ever James Bond movie will go up for auction next month in Los Angeles.

Scottish acting great Sean Connery, who passed away last month at the age of 90 at his home in the Bahamas, wielded the gun in 1962's Dr. No. It is estimated to fetch US$150,000 to 200,000 (HK$1.16 million to 1.55 million).

"The silhouette of 007 holding this gun would go on to become the James Bond franchise's most iconic image and one of the most recognisable pop culture references of all time," said Martin Nolan, executive director of Julien's Auctions.

In Dr. No, James Bond is ordered by his British Secret Service bosses to reluctantly trade in his old, misfiring Beretta gun for the Walther, which has "a delivery like a brick through a plate glass window."

"The American CIA swear by them," Bond is informed.

Versions of the Walther remain 007's signature firearm, some 25 films later. The deactivated handgun prop, one of two used in Connery's debut film, was owned by the original movie's armorer until it was sold off in a 2006 auction.

It will be one of more than 500 items in the "Icons & Idols Trilogy: Hollywood" auction held in Beverly Hills and online on December 3. Other notable memorabilia will include a pilot's helmet worn by Tom Cruise in Top Gun and Arnold Schwarzenegger's leather motorcycle jacket from Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

[caption id="attachment_212194" align="alignnone" width="1024"] The late Sean Connery's Walther PP pistol used in the first-ever James Bond movie will go up for auction next month in Los Angeles. (Image: AFP)[/caption]

Bond's next cinematic outing — believed to be the final movie for current 007 Daniel Craig — has been postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. No Time To Die is currently scheduled for an April release.

Connery earned lasting worldwide fame and adoration for his smooth, Scottish-accented portrayal of the suave licensed-to-kill spy over several films.

The first actor to utter the unforgettable "Bond, James Bond," Connery is seen by many fans as giving the definitive portrayal of novelist Ian Fleming's creation. He suffered from dementia in his final years, according to his widow Micheline Roquebrune.

(Main and featured image: Julien's Auctions)

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Anthropologist and photographer Margot Errante talks to us about finding stillness in art, two wild decades in China, and her return to Italy.

Under the dramatic light, you make out bodily shapes, buildings, spaces and the blurring of lines between them.

A visual conjuring of emptiness and occupation – all in black and white. Lake Como-born photographer Margot Errante takes a well- trained anthropological eye to her work – this year it’s been the creation of meditative diptychs titled The Corporeal City, shot during a pandemic lockdown around her hometown.

“While it’s not a project about the pandemic,” Errante says, there’s a sense of emptiness that’s reflective of the times. But as someone who worked as an early-rising travel photographer and lived through SARS in China, “neither empty cities nor this kind of situation was completely new for me”.

It was a good time, though, “to observe the city and to reflect on the environment we’ve built for ourselves to live in… analogous of exterior and inner space”. There’s exploration between the body and space, each a container for our inner and outer worlds that are nevertheless “intimately interconnected”. Shadows and high contrast lend dramatic expression to each picture. The curve of spine and shoulders appears next to deserted streets, winding roads and sweeping archways.

[caption id="attachment_212150" align="aligncenter" width="683"] Metamorphosis, Transitions series.[/caption]

If Errante’s own explanations recall Eastern philosophy, this is no accident. She first practised Taoist meditation at Baiyun Temple in Beijing more than a decade ago. Upon her return to Italy, after 20 years in China and Hong Kong, the broad Taoist ethos of losing yourself and banishing your ego has been an important personal journey for the artist.

“As a photographer, your work is your story. My photography is my biography,” says Errante from her home, overlooking the famous north Italian lake. The Como mountains are misty during the winter, just like when I last visited her and snow had started to fall.

There’s no mistaking the romance of the region, which today features heavily in her work. For example, the Transitions series documents the summer of 2017 in Como and charts her feelings of return – partly driven by motherhood – after 20 years in Asia.

Errante expresses an inner world in colours, movement and light. A red dress, full of Asian symbolism, is brought into frames of travel and fragmentation in Myselves (2017) and Metamorphosis (2017). Then there’s symmetry, symbolism and subject.

“When I did Transitions, I realised there’s a you that transcends even your own narrative; no matter the time, space, country or movement … and it’s what makes you alive,” says the artist.

[caption id="attachment_212151" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Myselves, Transitions series.[/caption]

“After 20 years, of course it was a very complicated moment, I had very contrasting feelings about everything. For me, China was my home. At the same time, I wanted to do this transition but I was leaving my life, my career. I was born in Italy but never even worked here… but through the series I realised that we become so attached to everything external, we attribute too much responsibility of these external things to our own happiness.”

Perhaps this finds new meaning for many more than just the artist today. As the established world system is upended, frequent flyers are grounded, material things seem to matter less, art seems to matter more and social fragility is all too apparent.

For Errante, whose family name actually means “the wanderer” in Italian, it’s also finding stillness after so many years on the move. After graduating from the local liceo scientifico (scientific high school), the teenage Errante lived in Germany and Paris before training as an interpreter in Trieste, Italy, where she took up Chinese studies. A year later, at 19, she left alone for China. The multilingual photographer (she also speaks English, French, Chinese and Portuguese) would go on to obtain a degree in anthropology and oriental linguistics, and is currently studying Buddhism at the Lama Tzong Khapa Institute in Italy. Biography, as you’ll see, is key to understanding her work.

Even the aestheticism of shadows and drama “was not an intentional choice but very spontaneous”, she explains. “I like dense colours and, unlike many people, I’m not afraid of darkness. I quite like darkness and I think it’s because I spent a lot of time in the Chinese countryside in the late ’90s, when there was no light in the evenings, but we still used to go out and it was OK.”

[caption id="attachment_212152" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Wa Dance.[/caption]

The technique helps add depth to her images of nature and forests, while architectural works (often of vintage or ancient buildings) seem eerie and Edward Hopper-esque. The way it forces the viewers’ concentration can feel intense.

“In the darkness, you need concentrate more if you want to see. In the dark, there’s no immediate visual response or immediate visual satisfaction,” Errante reasons. “I wanted to have people get close to the photo, to search for details and spend time with the image – it was a way for me to say, ‘Look a bit more, concentrate a bit more, hang in there, you may find out there’s something there.’”

Moving on to her portraiture, today’s work is far more curated and singular than earlier work of Beijing city streets or villagers in southwestern Yunnan province, near Myanmar. Witnessing two decades (1997-2017) of China’s rise to an industrial and economic superpower has had enormous impact on her outlook.

One of Errante’s strongest human portraits – Wa Dance (2004), featuring bodies jumping in unison, faces upturned to the sky – came from eight months of living, observing and conducting ethnographic research about an indigenous Wa ethnic minority village more than 15 years ago. A dance of welcome for a foreign face – who had arrived dramatically by motorbike through the jungle in the rain – turns into a work of rhythmic vibrancy.

[caption id="attachment_212153" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Beijing Utopia.[/caption]

“They were all sweaty and full of energy,” she says. “These bodies were really tense, strong, with a lot of muscle – they looked like panthers; I felt hypnotised.”

Her work as a freelance photojournalist took Errante through Eastern Europe, Central Asia, China and North Korea. Themes of architecture and personal psychology (especially in post-Maoist developing China) emerged. She inhabited the underground art scene of the Chinese capital until, in 2009, her apartment was ransacked and her entire photographic archive of more than 10,000 negatives – the work of 15 years – was stolen. Heartbroken, Errante left the Chinese capital and never returned, choosing to settle in Hong Kong’s dense urban jungle.

This chapter would lead Errante to the transition to art portraiture and art photography, and exhibiting in several galleries, festivals and fairs such as Art Basel. Last year, her series Human Nature was awarded first prize at Paris Fotofever. The narrative is still biographical, Errante tells me, even though life no longer involves motorbike rides through the jungle or wild nights in the Beijing art scene. She’s rediscovering aspects of her own history and Italian heritage, too. Porta Torre (2019) is a vision of ancient architecture and nature in Como, Lombardy, for example.

[caption id="attachment_212154" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Mindscapes, Porta Torre series.[/caption]

And even if we are seeing the world through such personal, intimate experiences, there’s something to which we can all relate. Such is Human Heart (2017), a photograph of an old suitcase in her favourite woods in Como – it’s a reference to her grandfather Salvatore Errante, who emigrated from Sicily to Lake Como.

“The suitcase belonged to him. One day he told my grandmother that he was going out for cigarettes – but he jumped on the train and just left. Only when he found a job in Como did he call her to come to meet him,” Errante explains. Those wandering genes are seemingly well expressed throughout their lineage. Since then, that suitcase has become kind of a mystical object in her family. “It represents the struggle not just of my grandfather,” she says, “but of every human being who moves to look for a better future, of improvement, for something better.”

(All images: Margot Errante)

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The Baltimore Museum of Art's controversial proposal to auction three works by Clyfford Still, Brice Marden and Andy Warhol from its collections, to raise funds to diversify and maintain its collections, has been shelved.

The practice, commonly called "deaccessioning," has provoked strong reactions and much debate in the last few months.

"1957-G" by Clyfford Still was estimated to sell for US$12 million to US$18 million (between HK$93 million and HK$139.5 million) while Brice Marden's "3" was expected at US$15 million (HK$11.6 million) at a sale at Sotheby's. Andy Warhol's monumental "The Last Supper" was expected to fetch US$40 million (HK$310 million) at a private sale.

The sale of these pieces, which could potentially have generated US$65 million (HK$503.8 million), would have permitted the Baltimore Museum of Art to "rebalance" its collections, adding more works by women and artists of colour. The American museum's "Endowment for the Future" financial plan would also have allowed it to fund the research, conservation, documentation and exhibition costs for these new works, as well as increase the salaries of employees and offer longer opening hours.

[caption id="attachment_211812" align="aligncenter" width="800"] 1957-G by Clyfford Still was originally set to be auctioned as part of the "Endowment for the Future" plan by the Baltimore Museum of Art. (Image: Sotheby's)[/caption]

"We believe unequivocally that museums exist to serve their communities through experiences with art and artists. We firmly believe that museums and their collections have been built on structures that we must work, through bold and tangible action, to reckon with, modify, and reimagine as structures that will meet the demands of the future," said the museum in a statement.

The board of trustees and industry group the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD), however, were unconvinced. Two Baltimore Museum of Art board members rescinded US$50 million (HK$387.5 million) in pledged donations, while the AAMD appeared to reverse the temporary guidelines it had issued in April to help cultural institutions weather the pandemic. These directives had relaxed the rules about deaccessioning to permit US museums to sell certain works to finance the care of their permanent collections.

"I recognise that many of our institutions have long-term needs — or ambitious goals — that could be supported, in part, by taking advantage of these resolutions to sell art. But however serious those long-term needs or meritorious those goals, the current position of AAMD is that the funds for those must not come from the sale of deaccessioned art," said Brent Benjamin, president of the Association of Art Museum Directors and the director of the St. Louis Art Museum, in an October 27 letter.

[caption id="attachment_211811" align="alignnone" width="1024"] The Baltimore Museum of Art had hoped to receive up to US$65 million from the sale of the three works at Sotheby's. (Image: Jon Bilous/ Shutterstock)[/caption]

While this official statement did not explicitly mention the BMA, opponents of the sale of the Still, Marden and Warhol works seized upon it as proof that the museum's plans were in violation of AAMD directives.

The Baltimore Museum of Art isn't the only US cultural institution contemplating letting go of some of its possessions in response to the pandemic. The Brooklyn Museum recently auctioned off a dozen pieces from its collection at Christie's, hoping to receive up to US$40 million (HK$310 million) to finance the upkeep of its collections. Among them was Lucas Cranach the Elder's "Lucretia" portrait, which surpassed its initial estimation of US$1.8 million to see the hammer fall at US$5 million (HK$37.8 million).

(Main and featured image: Jon Bilous/ Shutterstock)

The post Should Museums Sell Their Art? A Baltimore Institution Draws Backlash appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

Our compilation of the best self-improvement books will help you centre yourself and realign your goals.

The feeling of getting lost in a book is incomparable — not even a binge-worthy TV show comes close to the peace, quiet and grasping power of literature.

Self-improvement is a genre of reads on rise, more so in the recent years end especially right now when the circumstances of 2020 have forced us to take a long, hard look at ourselves and how we want to live our lives to truly be happy. It’s a journey, and a good next step forward is to escape (ironically inwards) with books that people have praised for helping them reshape their outlook on life. These are our favourites of the best self-improvement books today.

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck : A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson

With a title immediately gripping, the New York Times Bestseller is a modern day self-help guide with all the cuss words, good jokes, and cold hard truths. Mark Manson, who also blogs, believes the key to life is living without trying to be happy or positive all the time. The author believes in embracing the mediocracy of human nature and the world itself while defining what matters, and who matters, to drive your everyday choices. As he not-so-subtly puts it, there are only so many things we can chose to truly care about and this books help you define yours — and why some of those “cares” are the reason for any feelings of being stuck or unfulfilled.

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When Things Fall Apart : Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Chödrön

Pema Chödrön is a very well respected American Tibetan Buddhist, ordained nun, former acharya of Shambhala Buddhism and disciple of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. In this book, Pema collects all the lessons and insight gained from softening through hard times in life, touching on the hardest experiences we all have like death and other losses. Her advice draws from Buddhist wisdomswhile including personal stories of her hardships, and how she uses the teachings to transform. The book is now released with a cover for it’s 20th-anniversary edition.

Get it here

Oprah Winfrey The Wisdom Of Sundays – Life-Changing Insights From Super Soul Conversations With Oprah

Oprah Winfrey’s Super Soul Sunday is a spiritual-themed series you can thankfully also catch on YouTube. Each episode is — as Oprah puts it — an aha moment. This book is a collection of all the biggest aha moments of the three-time Emmy Award-winning show, organised into ten different topics or branches of spirituality. These insights come from guests includes Tony Robbins, Arianna Huffington, Eckhart Tolle, Thich Nhat Hahn, and Elizabeth Gilbert. There are also accompanying photographs and a personal essay by Oprah herself.

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Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

To know where we’re going, we have to know where we came from — and what a lot we can learn our own biological engineering. The no.1 international bestseller is the work of renowned historian, Yuval Noah Harari, who explores the way our history throughout existence has shaped how we function as a human race. All the data forces us to look ahead at the possibilities for evolution of human kind, and within ourselves.

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Untamed by Glennon Doyle

This is a book for women who’ve clung so tightly (without even realising) to the ideas of womanhood: what being a “good” mother, partner, sister, friend or colleague looks, and how we should feel in these roles. If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “Wasn’t it all supposed to be more beautiful than this?”…. are you in for a ride. Glennon Doyle was already a best-selling author of a book about her “happily ever after” with a husband and kids after overcoming her addiction to alcohol and bulimia. The more she learns what it is to be brave, the more she is inched towards her true self and her “knowing”, ultimately finding out what it means to be living courageously and authentically.

Get it here

This story first appeared on Prestige Malaysia

The post These Self-Improvement Books Will Change Your Life appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.