Roundup: Pop Culture & the Arts ... Movies, Documentaries and Museum Exhibits

Branded a Pariah, the National Academy Is Struggling to Survive

Dwarfed by the Guggenheim Museum’s commanding Frank Lloyd Wright building and the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum’s stately Carnegie mansion, the National Academy Museum’s graceful but relatively diminutive town house on Fifth Avenue could be a metaphor for its squeezed condition. The 183-year-old academy, a museum and school that played a pathbreaking role in fostering a New York art scene in the 19th century, is in serious trouble. Having sold two important Hudson River Schoo

Looted ancient treasures recovered in Basra 'sting'

Ancient treasures stolen from museums in the anarchic aftermath of the United States-led invasion of Iraq five years ago have been found in Basra, in one of the biggest recoveries of the loot, The Independent can reveal. The priceless artefacts, about 230 of them, were saved as they were about to be smuggled abroad in a "sting" operation organised by investigators. Seven members of the gang, which is said to have specialised in trafficking the country's stolen antiquities

Tehran museum hosting Barlach, Kollwitz exhibit

An exhibition displaying the works of German Expressionists Käthe Schmidt Kollwitz and Ernst Barlach opened at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art (TMCA) on December 21. TMCA curator’s advisor Gholam-Ali Taheri, German secretary of the exhibit Heike Stockhaus, and German cultural attaché in Tehran Filiz Durak attended a press conference on Sunday. “Barlach and Kollwitz were selected for the show for their similarities to the Iranian artists that emerged after the (1

Iran, Syria to produce joint film on 33-Day War

Ministers of culture of Iran and Syria have agreed to collaborate on a joint cinematic production whose central theme will be Israel’s 2006 33-Day War against Lebanon. Iran’s Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad-Hossein Saffar Harandi traveled to Syria on Friday and met with his Syrian counterpart Riyad Nassan Agha to discuss bilateral cooperation on the film. The ministers also agreed to establish a joint committee to translate the two countries’ literar

Time to start saving Stonehenge

The signs are hopeful that enough funding will be found to save Titian's Diana and Actaeon for the nation. That is a triumph for art and for the National Galleries in London and Edinburgh. To fail to find the £50m to keep this great painting in Britain would be pathetic. But keeping the painting will also be a triumph for a certain idea of what "art" is. If a piece of our cultural heritage happens to be indoors, to be an oil painting, the money will be found to keep it in

The masterpiece that may never be seen again

'Do you realise how much strength is needed to strangle a man?" asked Francesco Marino Mannoia. The magistrate listened carefully. "It can take as long as 10 minutes," Marino Mannoia went on, "and sometimes the victim slips out, bites and kicks. Some even manage to break free for a while. But at least it's a professional way of doing the job." This witness was genuine, magistrate Giovanni Falcone decided after listening to such insights into life in the Sici

British art treasures to be shown in Britain for first time

Known as the "museum without walls" because it has no permanent home, the British Council's 8,000-strong collection of 20th century art usually travels the world to promote the UK. But a series of exhibitions at the Whitechapel Gallery in east London next year will make it available to a British audience for the first time. One of the country's most important arts venues, the gallery has been undergoing a £13.5 million refit for the past two years after acqu

The 39 Steps: Rupert Penry-Jones

The BBC has made a new adaptation of The 39 Steps, John Buchan's 1915 novella about Richard Hannay, a man who finds himself in the frame for a murder he didn't commit, goes on the run to Scotland, and gets involved with a nasty German spy ring. This much is still in scriptwriter Lizzie Mickery's new version, which boasts ex-Spooks charmer Rupert Penry-Jones as its hero, but Mickery's put in a great deal else besides, including a suffragette, a German U-boat and a plot with so many twists and tur

Revealed: the recipes that fuelled Charles Darwin

A cookbook containing recipes created by Charles Darwin's wife has been published, offering a fascinating insight into the food that fuelled the mind of the great naturalist. The book, which contains guides to making such Victorian favourites as broiled mushrooms and Penally Pudding, is being marketed as the perfect resource for those planning a "credit crunch Christmas". Traditionally festive recipes include baked apple pudding, cranberry sauce and compote of

Hollywood's Losing Battle: Creating a Nicer Nazi

Some viewers may find the trailer for "Valkyrie" -- in which an eyepatch-wearing Tom Cruise plays would-be-Fuhrer-assassin Claus von Stauffenberg -- to be the funniest thing since "Springtime for Hitler." That would be unfair. "Valkyrie," from what we can tell, looks far funnier than "Springtime for Hitler." This World War II thriller isn't meant to amuse, of course. But what can the viewer do? Confronted by the piratical-looking Cruise, waxin

Germany tracing artwork and its Nazi past

STUTTGART: This industrial southwestern city is often considered the heart of German engineering and entrepreneurial elan. Rebuilt after the Allied bombing raids in 1945, it reflects the Swabian region, known to this day as a home of hard work, thrift and industriousness. But there is another aspect to this almost ascetic region. Stuttgart has a spectacular art museum, with a wonderful 20th-century collection. Paintings by the German modernists are here, including Franz Marc's "

Ancient 'Treasure' Found in Farmer's Bookshelf (Italy)

Italian police have found the long-sought"treasure of Satricum" in a farmer's bookshelf, they announced at a news conference in Rome this week. Consisting of more than 500 delicate miniature pots crafted about 2,600 years ago, the"treasure" was discovered during a police investigation in the countryside near the village of Campoverde di Aprilia, some 25 miles south of Rome. The archaeological squad of the Carabinieri police noticed suspicious mounds, which are typical of a dig

Germany tracing artwork and its Nazi past

This industrial southwestern city is often considered the heart of German engineering and entrepreneurial spirit. Rebuilt after the Allied bombing raids in 1945, it reflects the Swabian spirit, known to this day as one of hard work, thrift and industriousness. But there is another aspect to this almost ascetic region of Germany. Stuttgart has a spectacular art museum, with a wonderful 20th-century collection. Paintings by the German modernists are here, including Franz Marc's "

Fitting that black history exhibit starts here (Philly)

When I heard that an acclaimed exhibition of African American history would open at the National Constitution Center on the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, I thought: What better place than Philadelphia, the undisputed steward of our nation's story? The birthplace of the Declaration of Independence. The Constitution. And the Free African Society. It's where our Founding Fathers worked with whites of conscience and character and with free blacks of courage an

Reality Can Be Escapist, Too

One of the best things about old movies is that they’re, well, old. Among other pleasures, they offer a unique form of time travel, immersing us in bygone styles of dress and speech, quaint habits and notions. Hollywood classics in particular provide glimpses of a very different America by showing us the culture and physical environments our grandparents and parents lived in, and by acquainting us with some of their fantasies and dreams. But lately, when I’ve sought escape from the

East German church recovers stained-glass windows from Russia

This drab Eastern German city, which was almost completely destroyed during the last days of World War II, boasts the most spectacular medieval stained glass windows that any mayor could dream of showing, especially during Christmas festivities. The windows have finally been returned to their home in the Marienkirche, or Church of Our Lady, after a more than 60-year exile in Russia. At 20 meters tall, or 65 feet, they depict scenes from the Old Testament in fantastically powerful im

NY exhibit unveils women's lives in ancient Greece

A woman's place has never been just in the home — not even in ancient Greece. The proof is in an exhibit titled "Worshiping Women: Ritual and Reality in Classical Athens" — a collection of artifacts that correct the cliched idea of Athenian women as passive, homebound nurturers of men and children. In the display covering Greek life, art and religion, women play important, vibrant roles, as do their goddesses — from lover to priestess to political peacemaker t

Go for your bows: rivals race to film 1066

Almost 1,000 years after King Harold took an arrow in the eye, one of the most dramatic turning points in English history is finally to receive the cinema treatment. Three feature films, with big-name backers and creative teams, are preparing to refight the battle of Hastings. They all plan to show the clash between Harold and William as the falling out of two comrades, using the trusted cinema combination of violence and contrasting love lives. Other ke

Court saves Les Mis sequel novels

In 2001, novelist Francois Ceresa published the follow-ups to the acclaimed 19th-Century classic. But Hugo's family objected to the books - Cosette and the Time of Illusions and Marius or The Fugitive - arguing they were an insult to the original work. The Paris High Court ruled they did not constitute a threat to the integrity of the original novel. Hugo's heirs - including his great, great grandson Pierre Hugo - filed a suit in 2001 demanding 685,000 e

Stonehenge visitor centre in balance

Plans to build a £20 million pound visitor centre at Stonehenge in time for the 2012 Olympics are under threat because of a major row between Britain's two leading heritage organisations. The National Trust and English Heritage, who are part of a committee set up to ensure the centre is built in time for the games, have clashed over the proposed location for the new building. English Heritage, the government body, which is responsible for the day to day running of the World He