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Spanish Masters in Town for "Slow Disintegration 2007" World Tour

A mega-successful rock band reaches a point in their career when they cease being a rock band entirely and become a cultural force (and a brand name) unto themselves. The Rolling Stones, for exampl...
Last updated: 2015-11-09


A mega-successful rock band reaches a point in their career when they cease being a rock band entirely and become a cultural force (and a brand name) unto themselves. The Rolling Stones, for example, (or KISS) are not rock bands per say, but rather Fixed Cultural Icons, and who they are supersedes anything they actually play. The Rolling Stones are not a rock band, they're The Rolling Stones. KISS is not a glam metal band, KISS is KISS. When these bands do world tours in the august stages of their career, they attract two kinds of concert goers: die-hard fans and cultural tourists who want to see the act once before they die. Cultural tourists want to check them off their list to be able to tell people, "Yeah, I've seen them live."

An analogous sort of thing can be applied to Fine Art exhibitions comprised of canonical European artists: their international status as creators of icons, and icons themselves, inspires a sort of cultural tourism whereby, generally, people go to see them to check it off the list rather than to have their perceptions challenged. But that's not a bad thing. And the "Titian to Goya: Great Masters of the Museo del Prado," running from September 12 to November 12 at the Shanghai Museum as part of the "Year of Spain in China," is definitely a great opportunity to check some big big big names off your list. Along with the headlining acts Titian and Goya are supporting acts El Greco, Guercino, Poussin, Anton Van Dyck, Belvedere, Rubens and Velasquez.

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