The Turner Prize 2011

 And the winner is ..... wait for it ..... gasp ....



 Martin Boyce's installation Do Words Have Voices is displayed at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead.




Well yes folks, this is it, the winner of the Turner prize for 2011 and, as usual I find myself gasping with horror that an award for artistic endeavour, with the association to the great artist Turner (find that in itself somewhat obscene), brings us such a heap load of ...... sss ...... ssshhh ...... shambolic rubbish!!!! Yes it was tempting to say something else there!!!

Also up for contention was this little number, stunning isn't it


Shut Up by George Shaw



I am at a loss, I'm obviously missing something, but I really cannot appreciate this as art any more than I could Tracy Emin's unmade bed or Damien Hurst's pickled cows .... words fail me ..... 

Metropolitan Opera - Peter Gelb

 

Just had to post this artcle in order to go back and review it. Am trying to get my head around it (suffering with horrid cold at mo so I hope to come back to it when head feeling a bit clearer). As I'm quite new to the world of opera, and also am not an American lover of opera I am not really qualified to judge whether Mr Gelb has been good or bad for The Met.

I find myself somewhat mystified at this article though. It appears to be having a massive dig at Peter Gelb but also quite fairly points out some of the massive coups that have taken place at The Met under his tenure, the current Ring Cycle to name just one, another being the introduction of Live in HD, the next best thing to being in the opera house, and, dare I say it, in some instances for those blinding close-ups, an even better experience. For me, having now enjoyed several stunning Live in HD screening, I would have to give Mr Gelb the big thumbs up for those alone!

At the Met, One Role Too Many for Its Boss

by Anthony Tomasini

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/27/arts/music/peter-gelbs-tenure-at-metropolitan-opera.html?_r=2

 (short extract here, please see link for comlete article)

"For some time now, most of the talk within and without the Metropolitan Opera has centered on how long the company can continue without a music director in place. James Levine, still grappling with multiple health problems, has not conducted since May. The recent announcement that he would withdraw from the new production of Wagner’s “Götterdämmerung,” which opens on Jan. 27, was sad news but not surprising."