Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

Holocaust survivor opens art museum in hometown Vilnius

Painter and Holocaust survivor Samuel Bak on Monday opened a museum of his allegorical work inspired by Jewish history in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, more than half a century after he held his first exhibition as a nine-year-old inside its wartime ghetto. As a boy he was sent to live in the ghetto after the […]

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International, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

The world is mourning the loss of the legendary Mel Tillis

Mel Tillis The country music world is mourning the passing of another legend. Country music great and distinguished singer-songwriter Mel Tillis passed away on the morning of Nov. 19. According to a statement from his publicist, Mel died as a result of respiratory failure. He was 85 years old. RELATED: Mel Tillis’ family opens up

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Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, USA

Da Vinci painting sells for world record $450m

Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait of Christ, “Salvator Mundi”, sold for a record-smashing $450.3 million on Wednesday at Christie’s, more than double the old price for any work of art at auction. The painting, only recently rediscovered, was the last da Vinci left in private hands and fetched more than four times Christie’s’ pre-sale estimate of

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Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

After Tel Aviv concert, Boy George says Israel ‘in my heart’

By TOI staff and Jessica Steinberg After staging a sassy performance in Tel Aviv for his Israeli fans on Tuesday night, Boy George on Wednesday pushed back against online criticism by Israel boycott activists, rejecting comparisons between the Jewish state and South Africa in the apartheid era. “So George are you saying you would have

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Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

Insect aside: For 128 years, bug stuck in Van Gogh’s painting went unnoticed

Countless pairs of eyes have gazed at Vincent van Gogh’s “Olive Trees” and not seen it. Yet, it’s been right there in the foreground, embedded in the paint, for 128 years. A grasshopper. Well, part of one. It’s missing its thorax and abdomen, but it’s definitely a real grasshopper. “Van Gogh worked outside in the

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Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

One year on, artists show breadth of Leonard Cohen life

Leonard Cohen’s songs strived for the universal and his voice was often solemn, yet the courtly songwriter had plentiful moments of joy and deadpan humor. One year after Cohen died at age 82, an array of artists testified to his far-reaching impact with a concert Monday evening whose somber yet graceful tone befitted the celebrated

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Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials

Matisse meets George Washington at Louvre Abu Dhabi

Nested under a dome with geometric arabesque patterns and appearing to float on water, the Louvre Abu Dhabi is now home to Matisse, Mondrian — and George Washington. The abstract expressionism of Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko hangs a few steps away from Henri Matisse, Vincent van Gogh and a portrait of George Washington in

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Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

French court returns WWII looted Pissarro painting to owner’s family

A French court on Tuesday ordered the return of a painting by impressionist master Camille Pissarro to the family of a Jewish art collector dispossessed during World War II. The court ruled in favour of the relatives of Simon Bauer, a wealthy businessman whose assets were seized in 1943 by the anti-Semitic wartime French government

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International, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

Lakshmi Basile Popularizes Flamenco in San Diego

By Mimi Pollack SAN DIEGO — What is Flamenco? Most experts agree that the creation and history of flamenco was in southern Spain in the region of Andalusia where it still flourishes today. Flamenco was created through the fusion of Jewish, Arab, and Gypsy cultures in this area. All of these cultures share the fact

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Mimi Pollack, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Artisans re-purpose materials; also their lives

By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – At the annual artisans’ fair at Temple Emanu-El, one often meets people who re-purpose their materials, and in some cases, those who have re-purposed their lives. Harvey and Carol Korfin, for example, sell glass specialty items as well as clocks mounted interestingly on old computer boards. Before turning

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Donald H. Harrison, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego County, Travel and Food

Dual exhibitions lift veil on Nazi-era art hoard

Portions of the spectacular art collection hoarded by the son of a Nazi-era dealer will be shown for the first time since World War II in parallel exhibitions in Switzerland and Germany starting Thursday. “Gurlitt: Status Report”, which displays around 450 works by masters including Monet, Cezanne, Renoir and Picasso, aims to shed a light

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International, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

Jewish trivia quiz: Fats Domino, z”l

By Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York –New Orleans musician Fats Domino died last week at the age of 89. Domino was called “the real King of Rock ‘n’ Roll” by Elvis Presley, and John Lennon said that “There wouldn’t have been a Beatles without Fats Domino.” What was the Jewish connection in Fats Domino’s life? A.

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Mark D. Zimmerman, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA