Sunday, February 21, 2010

“Canadians lead Americans after OD - Fresno Bee” plus 3 more

“Canadians lead Americans after OD - Fresno Bee” plus 3 more

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Canadians lead Americans after OD - Fresno Bee

Posted: 21 Feb 2010 08:25 PM PST

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Virtue and Moir's flamenco was so hot the ice could have melted beneath their blades. It had all the crisp, staccato movements of classic flamenco, including stomps of his feet, sharp snaps of her fingers and come-hither stares that could leave one weak in the knees. They had great speed throughout, and their lifts showed balance and strength.

As for their costumes - classic. Her dress, with its ruby-red skirt and lacy black bodice, was gorgeous. Made for a good prop, too, as she flipped it around to the beat of the music.

When they finished, they both screamed "Yes!" and the audience erupted.

Davis and White's Bollywood-style dance is a feast for the senses, packed with so many interesting body movements and complicated steps that one almost doesn't know where to look. Make no mistake, though, they did more than just look pretty.

They were so fast they practically sprinted across the ice, yet they stayed in character throughout and never once lost the playful facial expressions that transported the audience to a wedding in Mumbai. And for anyone who questions whether ice dance is a sport, just watch their twizzles - spinning turns - that they paired with arm and hand movements. Know how hard it is to pat your stomach and rub your head at the same time? It's like that. Only on skates. And about 10 times harder.

The Americans were clearly superior to the Russians, but this is ice dance and results haven't always reflected what was done on the ice.

In fact, the big winner at these Vancouver Games could be skating's much-maligned judging system. Russia is normally a powerhouse in skating yet Evan Lysacek beat the heavily favored Evgeni Plushenko, a result that still has the Russians upset. And now two North American teams - yes, North American - lead a discipline the Russians have owned.

Since dance became an Olympic sport in 1976, Russian or Soviet couples have won all but two of the gold medals. But international skating officials have insisted changes to the judging system have made it more transparent and less political.

Though Domnina and Shabalin's dance was energetic and entertaining, it wasn't nearly as difficult as those by the Canadians or Americans. The biggest flaw was that it had no recognizable melody, making it hard to find the dance beneath the slapstick routine. The music was heavy on drums, didgeridoo riffs and vocal sound effects - think screams and grunts. Not the kind of sound fans can immediately identify.

Domnina and Shabalin did tone down their costumes. The color of their bodysuits is now more beigey than brown. Some of the white markings they had on their legs and arms were removed or toned down. But he was still dressed in a loin cloth, and both were covered with leaves.

"We changed it a little bit, made it more authentic and less theatrical," Shabalin said, crediting coach Natalia Linichuk. "Natalia had a lot of discussions with people who know a lot about the culture. We did big research when we chose this music, and after all this, we did deeper research."

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Canadians lead in ice dance - Everett Herald

Posted: 21 Feb 2010 08:25 PM PST

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Canada's Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir won the original dance Sunday with a sultry, sizzling flamenco that reduced the uproar over the Russians' Aboriginal routine to background noise. Virtue and Moir, medalists at the last two world championships, scored 68.41 points for their OD and lead Americans Meryl Davis and Charlie White by 2.60 points going into Monday night's free dance.

Reigning world champions Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin, the focus of all the attention before the OD and leaders after the compulsory dance, dropped to third. Olympic silver medalists Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto are fourth.

Half the intrigue of ice dance is all the off-ice drama, and Domnina and Shabalin were the clear winners coming into these games. The theme for this year's original dance is country/folk, and the Russians angered folks from Australia to Canada with their Aboriginal-themed routine and costumes. Some Australian Aboriginal leaders called it offensive cultural theft, with inauthentic steps and gaudy costumes. Canada's Four Host First Nations expressed concern, too, and actually met with Domnina and Shabalin after they arrived last week.

But as the standings showed, this is an athletic competition, not a wardrobe war.

Virtue and Moir's flamenco was so hot the ice could have melted beneath their blades. It had all the crisp, staccato movements of classic flamenco, including stomps of his feet, sharp snaps of her fingers and come-hither stares that could leave one weak in the knees. They had great speed throughout, and their lifts showed balance and strength.

As for their costumes, classic. She used the ruby-red skirt of her dress like a prop, flipping it around for affect.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

High to Host Exhibition Examining 20 Years of Innovation in European ... - Art Daily

Posted: 21 Feb 2010 07:42 PM PST

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 ATLANTA, GA.- The High Museum of Art will host "European Design Since 1985: Shaping the New Century," the first comprehensive assessment of Western European design from 1985 to 2005. The exhibition traces the evolution of design with nearly 200 works by some of the most influential artists of this era, encompassing furniture, glass, ceramics, metalwork and a broad range of product design created by 117 designers from 14 Western European countries. Additional works from this period will be incorporated from the High's growing collection of contemporary design. "European Design Since 1985," organized by the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) and the Denver Art Museum, in conjunction with Kingston University, London, will be on view at the High from June 5 through August 29, 2010.

"This exhibition includes some of the most iconic designs of the time, instantly recognizable but rarely seen in person outside of major American and European cities," stated Ronald T. Labaco, the High's curator of decorative arts and design. "The High's permanent collection includes some of the finest holdings of 19th- and early 20th-century American decorative arts in the country, and this exhibition gives us the opportunity to showcase the next chapter of design history."

"European Design Since 1985" examines the development of the larger aesthetic movements of decorative and industrial design that transcended national borders and defined new relationships between art, design, and craft during this period. The exhibition also focuses on the two generations of designers that shaped these movements. The first generation, born after World War II, includes Ron Arad, Philippe Starck and Marc Newson. Born after 1960, the second generation has only recently begun to attract international attention and includes Jurgen Bey, Maarten Baas and Marcel Wanders.

The exhibition is structured around two larger themes: "design as art" and "design as industry," or what are commonly known as postmodernism and modernism, respectively. Within these larger movements, there was a powerful dynamic of action and reaction that is reflected in the installation of the exhibition, which is divided into three sections: the initial postmodernist surge, the modernist reaction, and finally a postmodernist revival.

The designers of the postmodernist tradition primarily focused on producing objects that were more conceptual in nature and made in limited or studio production. The exhibition opens with two late manifestations of postmodernism that continued the influence of such design groups as Memphis and Studio Alchymia.

• Decorative Design was one of the first signs of globalization in design. Manufacturers hired designers from around the world, contributing to the advent of the designer as a superstar and brand name. As a stylistic movement, it is characterized by a revived interest in pattern, ornament and rich color on forms that were either high-style or vernacular in nature. This section includes Philippe Starck's "J. - Serie Lang" armchair (1987), manufactured by Driade S.p.A, which dramatically balances a sophisticated upholstered form on a single rear leg.

• Expressive Design sought to revive the concept of design as sculpture. In this movement, the primary emphasis is on the form of the object, often richly colored or textured to highlight the materials or method of construction. One example is Ron Arad's "Big Easy" (1989), made by One Off Ltd. It is a hand-hammered and welded steel chair that serves as an iconic example of this movement's work in metal—a design that revels in its raw, gutsy power.

The designers of the modernist movement were primarily concerned with producing functional objects that could be industrially mass-produced. The second section of the exhibition showcases the three primary traditions that document the modernist resurgence in design: Geometric Minimalism, Biomorphism and Neo-Pop.

• Designers of the Geometric Minimal movement sought to recapture the essence of the modernist tradition by creating spare, sophisticated forms drawn from a vocabulary of simple geometric shapes. Jasper Morrison's "Plywood" side chair (1988), manufactured by Vitra, is an iconic example in which a rectangular wooden side chair is reduced to the absolute minimum in terms of form and material—a reaffirmation that less is more.

• The soft, undulating forms of Biomorphic Design are derived from those found in the natural world. An iconic example is Marc Newson's "Orgone Chaise" (1993), manufactured by Pod. This handmade luxury object illustrates Newson's interest in using industrial technology to produce naturalistic shapes based on the inherent properties of the material—in this case, aluminum—with sensuous surface effects.

• Neo-Pop Design was a modernist interpretation of the influential Pop design movement of the 1960s and 1970s. The straightforward, light-hearted and playful aesthetic often blurred the line between "high" and "low" art, characterized by inflated or inflatable forms with bright colors or bold patterns as decoration. Jerszy Seymour's "Pipe Dreams Watering Can" (2000), manufactured by Magis, demonstrates how an everyday object can be mass-produced as a work of extraordinary beauty.

The exhibition concludes with a look at the three postmodernist reactions: Conceptual Design, Neo-Dada/Surreal Design—both of which served to blur the lines between design, art and craft—and Neo-Decorative design.

• The Conceptual Design movement favored a more intellectual, rational and highly conceptual approach to recast design as a cultural force rather than simply a means of commercial production. With an emphasis on concept, there was no uniform stylistic approach by its adherents. Jurgen Bey's "Kokon Double Chair" (1999), made by Droog, gives new identity and purpose to the found object—a pair of chairs—by covering them with a "skin" of PVC plastic.

• Neo-Dada/Surreal Design approaches design first and foremost as art. Drawing upon Dada/Surrealist traditions, the RADI Designers created a "Whippet Bench" (1998), which illustrates the interplay between image and volume, and between graphic design and three-dimensional shape. The design also alludes to the historical use of animal forms in furniture in a manner that is both tongue-in-cheek and Surreal by asking one to sit on the back of man's best friend.

• Neo-Decorative Design is a blossoming revival of the earlier Decorative movement of the late 1980s and early 1990s that is characterized by an emphasis on decoration and historical forms through the use of bold color, pattern and texture. Tord Boontje's "Red Veil" chair (2004), manufactured by Moroso, is as impractical as it is beautiful, with layers of gauzy red fabric erupting into a magical, fantasy-inspired piece.

Gay scores 29 as Memphis rallies to beat Nets - Philadelphia Inquirer

Posted: 21 Feb 2010 06:01 PM PST

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The way the New Jersey Nets have played this season no lead is safe.

Not even an 18-point lead was enough to stave off the Memphis Grizzlies.

Rudy Gay scored 29 points and the Grizzlies added another exclamation point to a frustrating season for New Jersey, rallying from the huge first-half deficit to defeat the Nets 104-94 on Sunday night.

O.J. Mayo scored 10 of his 24 points in a 17-point run that bridged the third and fourth quarters and put the Grizzlies ahead for good, adding to the woes of the Nets (5-51).

"We just had to relax a little bit and come out and play," said Mayo, who added six rebounds and seven assists. "Sometimes when you play a team with a record like the Nets, you fell a little bit of pressure. You don't want to be the next victim. I don't say that in a disrespectful manner, but that's the way it feels."

It felt even worse for the Nets, who continue on the road to the NBA record for fewest wins in a season, set by the Philadelphia 76ers (9-73) in 1972-73.

"This has been the story of our year," veteran guard Keyon Dooling said. "We have been good in stretches but not long enough to sustain 48 minutes, and if you don't play 48 minutes in this league, you will lose. We're not good enough to take possessions off, or have a few bad possessions. We can't make up for it in the talent department or the experience department that good teams do. We don't have that luxury. We have to be near flawless to win."

The Nets were good for about 13 minutes and that was enough to build a 38-20 lead behind a 17-point first quarter by center Brook Lopez. The rest of the night belonged to the Grizzlies, who won for only the third time in 11 games.

"Lopez was killing us down at their end and we needed to stop that," said Gay, who was 13 of 21 from the field. "But then Marc (Gasol) stepped up his defense and started rebounding. Then everybody started to step up."

The Grizzlies, who rallied from an 18-point deficit before losing to Miami in double overtime on Friday, surged behind Gay and Mayo in the second quarter to chip the deficit to 58-47 at the half.

Gay scored six straight points in an early third quarter run that got the lead down to seven, but the big run came late in the quarter and at the start of the fourth.

Memphis scored the final 12 points in the third quarter to take a 78-74 lead with Mayo scoring a three-point play early and a breakaway late. Randolph had tied the game at 74-all with a three-point play.

Mayo provided the Grizzlies' final push hitting a jumper and a 3-pointer in the opening minute to push the Memphis lead to 83-74.

"It's not like they don't know how to win," Gay said of the Nets. "It's just right now they don't have it. You can't take any team lightly. I've been on teams where opponents took us lightly and we went out there and kicked their butt."

Zach Randolph added 18 points and 10 rebounds and Gasol tallied 14 of his 16 points in the second half for Memphis.

Lopez had 26 points to lead the Nets, but only four came in the second half. Devin Harris added 16 points and 13 assists, but the point guard was only 1 of 6 in the final two quarters.

"It's frustrating, it's disappointing, but we continue to make the same mistakes," Harris said. "Until we learn from it, it's going to be tough to try to win these games. We have to be better."

Yi Jianlian had 15 points for New Jersey, which could not capitalize on its biggest quarter of the season, a 36-point outburst in the first 12 minutes.

After falling behind by nine points in the fourth quarter, the Nets got close twice. A follow by Terrence Williams cut the advantage to 85-82, but former Net Marcus Williams converted a three-point play to ignite a seven-point run.

New Jersey got within 94-90 on a fast break by Courtney Lee with 3:56 left but Randolph tipped in a shot, Gasol made two free throws and Gay iced the game with a monster jam.

NOTES: Grizzlies F Sam Young crashed into the media table in the second quarter, sending a cup of ice coffee flying. ... It was Chinese Cultural Night at the game and Yi addressed the crowd in Chinese before the game. The starting lineups also were announced in Chinese. ... Nets F Jarvis Hayes strained his left calf in the third quarter and did not return.

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