2002 Nov
19-24 Nov
11-18 Nov
4-10 Oct
28-Nov 3 Oct
21-27 Oct
15-20 Oct
7-14 Sept
30-Oct 6 Sept
23-29 Sept
16-22 Sept
9-15 Sept
3-8 Aug
26-Sept 2 Aug
19-25 Aug
12-18 Aug
5-11 July
29-Aug 4
July 22-28 July
15-21 July
8-14 July
1-7 June
24-30
June 17-23
June 10-16
June 3-9 May
27-June 2
May 20-26
May 13-19
May 6-12 April
29-May 5 April
22-28 April
15-21 April
8-14 April
1-7 March
25-31 March
18-24 March
11-17
March
4-10 Feb
25-Mar 3 Feb
18-24 Feb
11-17
Feb
4-10 Jan
28-Feb 3 Jan
21-27
Jan 14-20
Jan 7-13 2001
archives
2000 archives
|
|
TOP
ARTS NEWS
- FUNDING
BOOST FOR NEA: US Senate approves $7 million increase in
budget for the National Endowment for the Arts. It's the first
funding increase in eight years. Washington
Post (Reuters) 10/06/00
- DETAILS
of Congressional funding for America's cultural institutions
(including money to build an exhibit at the National zoo
for farm animals? "This will raise the lowly mule,
chicken and pig to the same status as the zoo's celebrated
cheetahs and mountain lions.") Washington
Post 10/06/00
- CONFESSING TO THE CRIME:
After a three-year antitrust investigation, Sotheby's former
president and CEO Diana D. Brooks has agreed to plead guilty
to felony counts of conspiring with Christie's to violate antitrust
laws. Sotheby's has also agreed to plead guilty to antitrust
violations and pay a fine of $45 million - on top of the multimillion-dollar
settlement two weeks ago in the investigation's civil case.
New
York Times 10/05/00
(one-time registration required for entry)
- BOOKER
PRIZE FINALISTS ANNOUNCED: Finalists for the literary prize
are: Margaret Atwood - "The Blind Assassin," Trezza
Azzopardi - "The Hiding Place," Michael Collins -
"The Keepers of Truth," Kazuo Ishiguro - "When
We Were Orphans," Matthew Kneale - "English Passengers,"
and Brian O'Doherty - "The Deposition of Father McGreevy"
BBC 10/05/00
- GILLER
PRIZE FINALISTS ANNOUNCED: Great excitement in Canada about
the announcement of finalists for the Giller Prize (one of Canada's
top literary prizes). A few reactions? "All the books have brown
covers except one." "Bleak, bleak and bleaker." The list showed
"big themes, big ideas and a few surprises."
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) 10/05/00
- LARGEST
DONATION EVER TO LIBRARY OF CONGRESS: Billionaire John Kluge
is donating $60 million to the Library of Congress. "Kluge's
money is the largest single gift in the institution's 200-year
history. The donation, according to a source close to the project,
will be used to establish the John W. Kluge Center for scholars
and a $1 million annual prize for lifetime achievement in scholarly
endeavors. The center will be located in the library's Jefferson
Building and, like a university, will have endowed chairs in
a number of fields." Washington
Post 10/05/00
- OPEN SECRETS: The
U.S. and Russia reached a breakthrough agreement Wednesday at
an international conference on the restitution of Holocaust-era
art to open their archives to help recover Nazi-looted treasures.
Access to Russian archives has been ofcrucial concern to Jewish
groups pressing for restitution. Yahoo! News (Reuters) 10/04/00
- BOARD
MEMBERS TURN BACK SALARIES: In August, supporters of Dallas's
Kimbell Museum were surprised to find out that two of the museum's
directors were receiving salaries of $500,000 a year for services
that were traditionally considered voluntary. Now the salaries
will be discontinued. "After careful consideration, we have
decided that it is no longer in the best interest of the Kimbell
Art Foundation and the Kimbell Art Museum for Ben and me to
receive compensation for the work we perform for the foundation
and the museum." Dallas Morning
News 10/03/00
- HOLLYWOOD
NORTH? The betting now is that Hollywood will be paralyzed
by strikes next year as writers, actors and directors all negotiate
new contracts. Will that stop the insatiable worldwide demand
for entertainment? Not hardly. Much of the production figures
to head north. "In Toronto and Vancouver, the main English-language
production centres, directors, actors, technicians, casting
agents and craft industries are already experiencing an unprecedented
boom in demand - and reaping the dividends of Hollywood's woes."
The Globe and Mail 10/05/00
- WARSAW
PIANO COMPETITION OPENS: The Chopin Competition, one of
the world's major international piano competitions, is set to
begin. The competition has launched the careers of pianists
such as Maurizio Pollini and Krystian Zimerman and standards
are so rigorous that no winners were declared in the last two
competitions (in 1990 and 1995). "This year's competition
has already proved tough. Only 98 pianists qualified, based
on videotapes of their performances, compared with 140 in 1995."
Ottawa Citizen (AP) 10/04/00
- ANCIENT
CITY SAVED: In the past three months in Turkey, the ancient
city of Zeugma, "a key transit point across the Euphrates
River believed to have been more than three times the size of
the Roman city of Pompeii", was threatened by flooding.
A team of 250 international archeologists and other specialists
fought to rescue elaborate mosaics and other ancient Greek and
Roman remains. The Globe and Mail
(AP) (Toronto) 10/03/00
- MASTER
FORGER SENTENCED: Last week, after a remarkable trial a
French judge sentenced a man called by French police "the most
sophisticated and prolific master-forger in the history of European
art" to one year in prison. "The extraordinary progress
of the 57-year-old Geert Jan Jansen from the School of Fine
Art in Amsterdam to a small-town courtroom 50 miles from Paris,
is a story of two false names, seven fake bank accounts and
up to 1,500 fake works of art."
The Age (Telegraph) (Melbourne) 10/02/00
PLUS:
Canada
unveiled plans yesterday to host a World Summit on the Arts and
Culture with 2000 representatives of arts councils and funding
bodies from more than 50 countries ~ British
arts minister who advocated Richard Branson taking over the
running of the national arts lottery was formerly on Branson's
payroll ~ Denver's
arts economy is the city's seventh largest employer and has
grown 31 percent since 1997 ~ New
Bolshoi leadership feuds with leading ballerina ~ Canadian
government to invest $50 million in the Canadian film industry
~ How
Canada developed its own regional theatres ~ Canada's
National Arts Centre Orchestra forced to cancel concerts in
Middle East because of fighting ~ Cleveland
Orchestra conductor Christophe von Dohnanyi slips on a stair
and dislocated his right shoulder but conducts the orchestra's
Carnegie Hall opening ~ Canadian
government to spend $150 million subsidizing homegrown magazines
compete against American publications ~ Harold
Pinter will make his acting debut in one of his own plays
as part of a ten-play Pinter-fest coming to Broadway ~ Leading
New Jersey black theatre closes because of debt ~ Actors
picket the New York Times to protest newspaper's coverage of the
actors strike against the TV commercial industry ~ San
Jose Museum of Art names new director ~ Venice's
art is under attack by woodworms devouring the art ~ Creation
of micro-radio stations, approved by the FCC last year,
are still being held up by large broadcasters ~ Artists
in San Francisco march on city hall to protest high rents
and evictions due to the Dot-com boom.
TOP ARTS FEATURES
-
WHAT THEATER IS NOT: "Entertaining," "instructional,"
"celebratory," or "cathartic," at least
in the opinion of one riled performing arts professor. The
solution? "We should refuse to sit and watch the same
old masquerade, the same old plays, the same old actors. We
need to kill the theatre off so that new performance can have
room to grow." The Guardian (London) 10/04/00
-
BUILDING
A BETTER CONGRESS: Think of all the lawyers and business-people
who populate Congress. But in the 20th Century there was only
one architect served in Congress. Why not more? Hard to say
- "The creative process of architects is a constructive,
inclusive process - therefore more diplomatic than the aggressive
and adversarial methods of engagement in politics ... Yet
they have always seemed to be supporting actors at best or
bit players at worst, in the various dramas unfolding on society's
main stage..." Boston Globe
10/05/00
-
A
PLAN FOR BUILDINGS THAT MATTER: British Prime Minister
Tony Blair called a meeting last week to talk turkey about
English architecture. By moving design center stage, he was
making the "implicit promise of a new generation of social
security offices, barracks, embassies and primary schools
that would make Britain a byword for great architecture. It
would, so Blair and his advisers blithely promised, have the
effect not just of producing good buildings, but also of saving
money and producing a healthier, happier society."
The Observer
10/08/00
-
MUSIC
CONSERVATORY ONLINE: A Canadian man has come up with software
that allows teachers to teach music in real time over the
internet. Keyboards plugged into computers allow immediate
interaction between teacher and student, even if they're thousands
of miles away. CBC 10/04/00
-
THE
MUSIC WORLD'S EXCLUSIVE CLUB: The Los Angeles Philharmonic
just chose 12 new players to fill orchestra vacancies. More
than 1000 musicians auditioned, chosen from the thousands
more who applied. The decision process of finding players
for the modern elite orchestra is an arduous murky road.
Los Angeles Times 10/08/00
-
PLAYING
TO THE CROWDS AT THE EXPENSE OF SCHOLARSHIP: The US's
National Endowment for the Humanities has been supporting
popular traveling exhibitions in an attempt to reach out to
audiences. "To many scholars, the idea that the endowment
supports barn photography with enthusiasm while it considers
cutting scholarly projects represents a terrible shift in
priorities. And to these scholars, the shift couldn't come
at a worse time, since the agency is already short on cash,
with a budget of only $115-million."
Chronicle of Higher Education 10/02/00
-
THE
V&A's PROBLEMS: London's Victoria and Albert Museum
is in disarray. Attendance is down, raising money is tough,
and the museum's leadership is feuding amongst themselves.
"There is a feeling among some of the trustees that the
V&A doesn’t know where it is going. Having a director and
chairman at odds only adds to the problems, and decisions
on many key issues are now being postponed." The
Art Newspaper 10/03/00
-
HIT
A POET WHILE HE'S DOWN? "It seems churlish to complain
that poetry is receiving publicity, however dishonestly generated.
Sales and readerships are very low; I read recently that 3%
of all book sales are of poetry, and even that figure seems
surprisingly high. But might we not be in danger of an inflationary
rhetoric with regard to contemporary poetry, where so many
superlative epithets - 'best poet of their generation', 'best
American poet currently writing', and so on - are scattered
like confetti over the whole crowd? The
Guardian 10/05/00
-
PRECIOUS
SALES: Just what can explain the popularity of Jeff Koons?
"Koons has had an impressive run at auction. Starting
in November 1999, records for Koons weren't just set, they
were obliterated. Several of his exquisitely crafted porcelain
sculptures came up and easily cruised through the million-dollar
barrier. Suddenly, Jeff Koons prices were in Andy Warhol territory."
Who's buying this stuff? Artnet.com
10/05/00
-
BALANCHINE
BEYOND NEW YORK: "Can Balanchine's ballets have a
viable life elsewhere? The recent Balanchine Celebration at
the Kennedy Center answered that question with a yes of Joycean
force." New York Magazine
10/02/00
-
THEMATICALLY
SPEAKING... Earlier this year the Tate (Modern and Britain)
arranged the artwork in their galleries thematically rather
than in the more traditional chronological order. Curators
and critics have been debating the trend of showing art this
way, even as more museums adopt the idea. Does it increase
understanding or muddy the conversation?
The
Telegraph (London)
-
THE
NY PHIL SWEEPSTAKES: The name-the-next-New-York-Philharmonic-music-director
game continues. Peter
G. Davis takes a look at the contenders. "I wouldn't
count out anything in this latest crazy round of musical chairs.
When I left Barenboim's hotel suite, who should be ushered
in, with a hungry look in his eye, but Zarin Mehta?"
New York Magazine 10/02/00
-
DISNEY'S
THEATRE PLAY: Critics commonly trash Disney for its commercialism
and bland focus. So many were surprised when "Lion King"
showed up on Broadway a few seasons ago and turned out to
be an artistic success. Now Disney's into theatre in a big
way, and there are reasons beyond just money. "Disney's
interest in theater may also be due in large part to the fact
that people who know and love theater are running the show."
Los
Angeles Times 10/08/00
PLUS:
Children's
Museums are hot these days, with 100 new museums in the planning
in the US this year ~ Escalation
in the US Congressional hearings into violence and media are politically
self-serving for those in charge ~ What
does it say that politicians seem to agree on violence and
media? ~ Choosing
music directors for America's major orchestras is a "mysterious
game" ~ Bernard
Haitink, one of Covent Garden's most successful music directors,
prepares to leave ~ New
Yehudi Menuhin bio paints picture of a tortured childhood.
SPECIAL
INTEREST
-
HOW
THE FEDS GOT CHRISTIE'S/SOTHEBY'S: Last December Christie's
London was forcing out Christopher M. Davidge, its chief executive.
"When Christie's demanded all of his business records,
Mr. Davidge turned the tables and produced a bonanza. He dug
out private files of his handwritten notes to Christie's one-time
chairman, Sir Anthony Tennant, and gave them to his lawyer,
who, by late December, had dumped them in the laps of the
company's criminal lawyers in New York. The impact still reverberates
through the $4 billion-a-year auction world, which will never
be the same. New
York Times 10/08/00
(one-time
registration required for entry)
-
I
WRITE THE CHECKS... Alberto Vilar has become the Daddy
Warbucks of the music world. In the past few seasons he has
given some $150 million for projects he likes. "Mr. Vilar
has not been shy about demanding displays of gratitude commensurate
with such gifts. At the Met, for example, an operagoer may
now sit in the Vilar Grand Tier or dine at the pricey Vilar
Grand Tier Restaurant. As a result, he has become an easy
target for critical barbs, particularly in Europe."
New
York Times 10/08/00
(one-time
registration required for entry)
-
THE
POST-MODERNIST WEB: "In the postmodern realm of cyberspace
no 'grand' narratives, all-encompassing stories, or over-pervasive
myths either impose their guidance or legitimate specific
approaches. We do not encounter in cyberspace such good old
stories as the dialectic of the Spirit, the hermeneutics of
meaning, the emancipation of the rational/working subject,
or the creation of wealth."
*spark-online 10/00
-
WRITING
BEHIND THE CURTAIN: Dissident writers in the old USSR
had to be wary. Since their work could not be printed at home
they memorized it "The two most important phenomena in
dissident writing in the Eastern bloc surrounding Samizdat
and Tamizdat were the underground press in the authors' own
country and the opportunities for publication abroad."
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 10/01/00
-
THE
WORLD'S LONGEST-RUNNING PRODUCTION: Every 10 years since
the 1600's the residents of Oberammergau have performed a
passion play. "This year, more than 2,000 locals, almost
half the village, will give 100-plus performances to half
a million visitors. Qualifications for participants are severe.
If you weren't born here, you must have lived here for 20
years, or ten if you marry a lifelong resident. Until 1990,
rules for women were even more rigid. Actresses had to be
unmarried and under 35." New
Statesman 10/06/00
JUST FOR FUN
-
SENTENCED
TO PERFORM TOGETHER: The Audubon String Quartet has played
together for 26 years. But a dispute among the members that
started last February got out of hand and when three of the
players tried to fire the fourth, he went to court and got
a restraining order. Now the quartet plays under court order
to remain together. "The judge can't make them like one
another, or speak to each other. For now, though, he can sentence
them to make creative harmony, until further notice."
The Guardian (London) 10/06/00
-
WHO
WANTS TO BE A MOVIE STAR: Director Roman Polanski ran
a classified ad to cast the lead for his next movie. Some
1,500 "sensitive, vulnerable and charismatic men who
want to star in a $35m movie about a Polish pianist who escapes
the Nazi gas chambers" showed up to audition. A "hard-nosed
blonde woman, the casting director looked as if she had seen
about 700 nobodies that day and had another 700 to see."
The Guardian (London) 10/03/00
-
HOW
WELSH IS WELSH?
A Los Angeles judge has thrown out a lawsuit brought against
a Welsh choir. The plaintiff contended that the choir wasn't
Welsh enough and that by calling itself Welsh it was "engaging
in deceptive practices.
BBC 10/08/00
-
PROGRAMMATIC
ERROR:
The Boston Symphony has hurriedly withdrawn this season's
covers of its program books after discovering that part of
the cover image "presents an indistinct image that creates
a visual double-entendre of a distinctly anatomical nature."
Boston Globe 10/05/00
-
NEWS
ON COMMISSION: "The worst-paid journalists on earth
live in Nigeria. Because of this, Nigerian journalists do
on a daily basis what would constitute a firing offence in
Canada - they accept money from the people they write about.
These payments, called 'commissions', are paid by companies,
individuals, organizations and governments when journalists
come to call." The Globe
and Mail (Toronto) 10/03/00
-
SHAKESPEARE'S
DAY...er...NIGHT JOB: A new biography claims that Shakespeare
was a highly regarded actor and that he thought of himself
as "doing a little writing on the side."
The Independent (London) 10/08/0
HOME
|