CULTURAL AGENDA _ March 2010
MORE ARTICLES.... in French!
A really big show - River Oak Examiner article about Bernard Venet exhibition
French artist Bernar Venet’s pieces explore order and chaos. Examples are being installed in Hermann Park for an upcoming exhibition.
Updated: 12.16.09
They’re big sculptures of steel. Really big. As in up to 30 feet tall and weighing as much as 12 tons.
That said, it shouldn’t be too hard to find the 15 super-sized sculptures being installed this month at eight locations within scenic Hermann Park. The public art display, enabled by the Texan-French Alliance for the Arts, will open to the public Jan. 23 for a nine-month exhibition.
Behind the artwork is French artist Bernar Venet, who sited the sculptures with elected the sites with McClain Gallery.
“Such a monumental grouping of artistic creativity in Houston will be exciting to see,” said Houston Mayor Bill White. “And the international cultural partnerships that are making it happen is a testament to the beauty of the Houston spirit.”
Not only is a public art exhibition of this scope and scale simply unprecedented in Houston, the exhibition is an unparalleled opportunity to involve the City of Houston in viewing and experiencing art, supporting public art programs, art education, and bolstering civic pride.
“The TFAA fosters exciting and innovative cultural exchanges between Texas and France with the objective that these great communities will be enriched by the process,” said Mickey Henry, TFAA’s president. “We are thrilled to spearhead the Bernar Venet exhibition which will draw more attention to Houston as a world class venue for creative and distinctive artwork.”
The TFAA will be hosting a number of educational outreach programs throughout the year that will generate continued interest in the Venet exhibition, from working with French, History, Math and Art classes in Houston’s public school program to on-going university lectures, public art tours and speakers.
At Hermann Park Conservancy, Executive Director Doreen Stoller said the organization is “thrilled and gratified” to host the sculptures.
“ Since its inception in 1914, Hermann Park has been a green sanctuary for Houstonians,” she said. “These monumental sculptures will make our spaces even more beautiful and will make our visitors’ trips to the park even more fun.”
About the artist
French artist Bernar Venet’s distinguished career dates back to the ‘60s. He first began producing monumental linear improvisations in steel in the early 1980s. His sculptures, soon to be on view in Houston (titled “Arcs”, “Straight Lines” and “Indeterminate Lines,” to name a few) are considered by many to be his trademark work.
Venet’s sculptures study variations of lines — specifically of arcs and curves. However, it is the scope of the work in its mass, concept and execution that makes Venet one of the most prominent living sculptors today.
Each series expresses different notions of Venet’s interest in the mathematics of order versus chaos. The technique balances Venet’s vision for the material with the steel’s natural responses to the warping effects of pressure and heat.
His sculptures have been exhibited in major cities in the United States, Asia, Europe and South America.
For more information, please see www.bernarvenet.com or www.mcclaingallery.com.
Form: http://www.hcnonline.com/articles/2009/12/20/river_oaks_examiner/lifestyles/ro_arts_hermann_park.txt
Movie - USA Today - There's perfect harmony among the all-star cast of 'Nine'
Marion Cotillard: The bereft bride
Cotillard, 34, won an Academy Award for playing French chanteuse Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose but lip-synced in the film. This time, she belted out two tunes herself — and earned another Golden Globe nomination.
Singing, she says, "is an amazing experience. I've always loved to sing. When I was a kid, my favorite musicals were American."
She had to fight for her role in Nine, having three separate auditions — eight months before she took home the Oscar. With endearing honesty, Cotillard gets emotional when asked how the golden guy changed the course of her career.
Without the Oscar, she muses, "I wouldn't have worked in this country like that. I've always wanted to be an actress, I've always wanted to tell stories with amazing people. It makes me so happy, how I am welcomed in this world of cinema here."
Cotillard can relate to her Nine character, a woman coming to terms with the end of her once-passionate relationship. "She's suffering. She wants to be happy with the man she loves, but mostly, she wants him to find his way. She tries to help him, but the problem is the love that made the connection is lost," says Cotillard.
In real life, Cotillard is in a long-term romance with French actor/director Guillaume Canet. Had she been in Luisa's shoes, says Cotillard, "Can I say, if my lover, if my husband cheated on me, I would — I don't know. I just hope it would not happen."
It has been a busy year for the actress, who starred in the Johnny Depp crime drama Public Enemies this summer and just wrapped the Christopher Nolan thriller Inception. To her, selling out "would mean that I would put dirt on my dream. That's really what I feel," says Cotillard. "I'm so fortunate, so lucky to have these beautiful opportunities. I will never do a movie for a bad reason."
Read the entire article here.
Cotillard, 34, won an Academy Award for playing French chanteuse Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose but lip-synced in the film. This time, she belted out two tunes herself — and earned another Golden Globe nomination.
Singing, she says, "is an amazing experience. I've always loved to sing. When I was a kid, my favorite musicals were American."
She had to fight for her role in Nine, having three separate auditions — eight months before she took home the Oscar. With endearing honesty, Cotillard gets emotional when asked how the golden guy changed the course of her career.
Without the Oscar, she muses, "I wouldn't have worked in this country like that. I've always wanted to be an actress, I've always wanted to tell stories with amazing people. It makes me so happy, how I am welcomed in this world of cinema here."
Cotillard can relate to her Nine character, a woman coming to terms with the end of her once-passionate relationship. "She's suffering. She wants to be happy with the man she loves, but mostly, she wants him to find his way. She tries to help him, but the problem is the love that made the connection is lost," says Cotillard.
In real life, Cotillard is in a long-term romance with French actor/director Guillaume Canet. Had she been in Luisa's shoes, says Cotillard, "Can I say, if my lover, if my husband cheated on me, I would — I don't know. I just hope it would not happen."
It has been a busy year for the actress, who starred in the Johnny Depp crime drama Public Enemies this summer and just wrapped the Christopher Nolan thriller Inception. To her, selling out "would mean that I would put dirt on my dream. That's really what I feel," says Cotillard. "I'm so fortunate, so lucky to have these beautiful opportunities. I will never do a movie for a bad reason."
Read the entire article here.
MORE ARTICLES.... in French!
- Marion Cotillard sélectionnée aux Golden Globes (CULTURE)
- Les films de 2009 que vous qvez préférés (CINEMA)
- L'été magique de David Guetta, roi des nightclubbers (MUSIQUE)