Art Briefs
April 29, 2005
India Headlines Oakland Fete
Event: Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival: Celebration of Cultural Traditions of India
Background: A free cultural fair on April 30, and a performance by the Chitresh Das Dance Company on May 22.
Interesting: April 30: performances, dance demonstrations, food, music and gallery exhibit. May 21: Kathak: Classical Dance of North India.
Details: Free. Sat., April 30, 12-4 p.m.Cultural Festival. Sat., May 21, $15-18, Pacific Renaissance Plaza, 388 Ninth Street, Ste. 290, (510) 637-0455, www.oacc.cc.
India’s Megastar is Almost Unknown Here
Indian megastar Amitabh Bachchan was in New York City for a 12-film retrospective at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. He has appeared in more than 150 movies and was voted “actor of the millennium” in a 1999 BBC online poll.
Bachchan, now 62 and still a commanding 6-foot-3 presence, dominated Indian films in the 1970s and ‘80s. He is credited with spreading Bollywood outward, first into Africa, the Middle East and the rest of Asia.
He is a now in a comeback mode after hosting the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, and is playing the leading man in a crop of new films.
The Center’s film selection included Saudagar, Agneepath and the box-office hit Aankhen, where Bachchan plays a fired bank teller who takes revenge on his corrupt bosses with a troupe of blind thieves.
Romantic Realist Dies in China
SHANGHAI, China — Only two days after his death, 13 porcelain paintings by Chinese master oil painter, Chen Yifei, were stolen from his studio.
According to China Daily, the wooden gate of the art studio appeared to have been forced open. Yifei, one of China’s most successful contemporary master oil painters, died at the age of 59 from stomach pains and gastric hemorrhage at Shanghai’s Huashan Hospital.
Chen’s work is recognized for a style he called romantic realism. His painting, “Lingering Melodies from the Xunyang River,” sold for $176,282, setting a world record price for a Chinese oil painting at an auction. Before his death, Chen was directing Hairdresser, a film by the Huayi Brothers.
Information on a suspect or value has yet to be determined.
Key to Life
Event: Dances in the Key to Life
Background: Traditional dance performances from Hawai‘i, Tahiti, North India, Tunisia and West Africa.
Interesting: Featuring performances by Mahealani Uchiyama, Chhandam School of Kathak Dance, KaUaTuahine Polynesian Dance Company, Linda Johnson’s Spirit Ensemble and special guest Diamano Coura West African Dance Company.
Details: $15-25, Sat., May 14 at 8 p.m, Dean Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Dr., Walnut Creek, (925) 943-7469, www.mahea.com.
Multimedia Exploration of Piracy
EVENT: Pirated: A post-Asian perspective
INTERESTING: The Kearny Street Workshop presents a series of multimedia art exhibits all composed with some kind of pirated material. It features Bay Area artists Stephanie Syjuco, Kathy Aoki, Donna Keiko Ozawa, Curtis Choy and many others.
DETAILS: Free, May 5-28, Tue. - Sat., 12-4 p.m., SomArts Bay Gallery, 934 Brannan St., San Francisco.
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