Category: The Atlasphere

Writing for Scotsman.com, Brian Monteith draws a comparison between Scottish artist Jack Vettriano and Howard Roark:

THANK goodness for Scottish artist Jack Vettriano. If he didn?t exist we would have to invent him.
There?s an excellent novel written in the 1940s by Ayn Rand called The Fountainhead, which was later made into a film with Gary Cooper in the lead role as the hero, Howard Roark.
The story is simple enough; Howard Roark is an architect who values his work for its own sake, famously saying: “I don?t build in order to have clients; I have clients in order to build.”
The buildings are his creation; he has designed them, toiled over them and brought them into the world. He cannot be corrupted or seduced by the collectivist establishment, which is made up by politicians and officials of the state and by art critics in the press. Ultimately, he demolishes one of his own buildings rather than let it be corrupted by his critics.
Jack Vettriano is a Howard Roark of our times. He paints because he enjoys it; it brings him clients. He is popular because it just so happens that he is in tune with our contemporary longing for nostalgia. He too has toiled over his work, having been self-taught and living from hand to mouth until he became financially successful. Now he enjoys the sweet taste of success.

See the original article for further information about this artist and the establishment that opposes him. You can also see some larger Vettriano prints at bertc.com.

According to Shanghai Daily News (via EastDay.com), the China National Theater will soon be producing Victor Hugo’s play Ninety-Three. Stop by if you’re in town ? and speak Chinese.
From the announcement:

France, 1793 ? It’s the year of guillotine. The architects of the French Revolution have set up the Convention, designed to stem social chaos, and their troops engage in bloody battle with counter-revolutionaries. Ideals topple in the face of political necessity and intrigue becomes a way of life. This is the setting for “Ninety-Three,” French romantic writer Victor Hugo’s last work of fiction. […]
“The theme ? which is played in brilliantly unexpected variations in all the key incidents of the story, and which motivates all the characters and events, integrating them into an inevitable progression toward a magnificent climax ? is man’s loyalty to values,” said Ayn Rand, the well known 20th century American writer. As a literary work, “Ninety-Three” has long been regarded as the grand finale of Romantic literary school, since during the years when Hugo was writing the novel, from 1872 to 1873, the Naturalist school of fiction had already become France’s dominant literary influence
“I read Hugo’s novel to the letter when I started to write this play,” says [Chinese translator and] playwright Cao Lusheng. “It took me more than a year to complete the play, during which time I revisited Hugo’s memorial hall in France.” Cao says that he has been a fan of Hugo since his student days, and holds a particular fascination for the writer’s expressive language. “His language is full of passion,” says Cao admiringly. “The romantic language surges from this novel vigorously. It warms my heart and inspires my writing.”

See the full announcement for additional details.