Week
of October 8-14, 2001
1.
Special Interest
2. Dance
3. Media
4. Music
5. People
6. Publishing
7. Theatre
8. Visual Arts
9. Arts Issues
10 For Fun
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. SPECIAL INTEREST
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#specialinterest
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HIGH
ART OFTEN SPEECHLESS IN A CRISIS: "Although the artistic
fruits of the recent national crisis and the current war have
only begun to appear, the fine arts have not been particularly
responsive to the major crises of American history." The
enduring images of such times tend to be produced by non-artists
whose work takes on artistic meaning after the fact. The
New York Times 10/14/01 (one-time
registration required for access)
SILENCING
MUSIC'S POTENTIAL: Afghanistan's Taliban rulers have banned
many things since coming to power five years ago. Some of the
bans, like education for women and shaving for men, had an immediately
visible impact. But when the hard-liners banned music, they may
have taken away one of the most powerful forces for national unity.
Music unites, as patriotic anthems the world over show. But can
lack of music actually divide a people? The
Guardian 10/13/01
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2. DANCE
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#dance
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MEN
IN THE WORKPLACE: "American modern dance, a genre spawned
and nurtured by women over the last century, has also produced
a proliferation of extraordinary male dancers in the last decade.
Wider public acceptance of men entering the dance field, the fostering
of versatility among dancers and the accessibility to better training
across America have produced discernible results. More men in
contemporary dance have stronger techniques, dance with refined
musicality and possess a more mature artistry than ever before."
The New York Times 10/14/01 (one-time
registration required for access)
NEW
WRAPPER, SAME PRODUCT: "Across Britain, huge sums are
being spent upgrading old dance centres and building smart new
ones. [But] though these centres are undoubtedly good for modern
architecture's health, whether they have any value in improving
the quality of modern dance performance itself is a moot point."
The Telegraph (UK) 10/09/01
BALLET
+ OPERA = CHALLENGE: Members of the Scottish Parliament "are
set to challenge the controversial merger between Scottish Ballet
and Scottish Opera, after conducting an inquiry into the dance
company's proposed change in artistic direction. The news will
be welcomed by the ballet's 36 dancers who have threatened strike
action over the proposed change." The
Scotsman 10/09/01
WINNIPEG
BALLET BACK IN THE RED: "The Royal Winnipeg Ballet is in the
red after three years of financial surpluses. In the mid 1990's,
it managed to clear a debt of $900,000. But at a meeting Wednesday
evening, the company announced it lost almost $170,000 last season,
leaving a new deficit of $158,000." CBC
10/12/01
A
NEW DEFINITION OF 'SUCCESS': "Despite incurring a disastrous
$459,626 deficit in their 2000-01 season, Alberta Ballet officials
asserted that the past season was a success Friday at their annual
general meeting." Calgary Herald
10/13/01
THE
ODD COUPLE: Choreographer Twyla Tharp and rock-star-turned-classical-composer
Billy Joel are collaborating on a show which likely will open
on Broadway next year. One thing they might want to change is
the name. "The Thoel Project" just doesn't trip lightly on the
tongue. New York Post 10/10/01
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3. MEDIA
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#media
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IT'S
NOT UNDERWRITING, IT'S ADVERTISING: "Federal regulators are
leaning toward approving today a controversial proposal to allow
public TV stations to sell advertising... Under the plan, the
Federal Communications Commission would let PBS affiliates and
other public TV stations show ads on data or subscription services
they offer as they roll out digital TV." USAToday
10/10/01
ON-BASE
EMMYS? "Television officials, looking for a new place to stage
the twice-postponed Emmy awards, are considering moving the ceremony
to a California military base. CBS and the Academy of Television
Arts & Sciences are working on a plan for the ceremony to
air before the end of the year, although details remain unsettled."
New York Post 10/11/01
TIMES
CHANGE. PEOPLE DON'T: The conventional wisdom suggested that
"in this time of war, audiences would shy away from violent movies
and seek out an uplifting story, sentimental nostalgia, or silly
fluff." So what happened? The Michael Douglas "kidnap thriller
Don't Say a Word... has now grossed $32 million. Denzel
Washington had his best opening ever, to the tune of $22 million,
as a corrupt, killer LAPD detective in Training Day." So
Hollywood is adapting,
and quickly. "What the audience wants, for better or worse, is
what the audience gets." Boston Herald
& MSNBC (Newsweek) 10/11/01
HOLLYWOOD'S
DISASTER SCENARIO: The US government is consulting with real
experts in terrorist scenarios - Hollywood action movie makers.
"An ad hoc working group convened at the University of Southern
California just last week at the behest of the U.S. Army. The
goal was to brainstorm about possible terrorist targets and schemes
in America and to offer solutions to those threats, in light of
the aerial assaults on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center."
Washington Post (Variety) 10/08/01
FOR
NOW, BIG BROTHER IS A HERO:
"For more than 30 years, a staple of popular culture in movies,
books and television has been the depiction of the government
as a hostile, corrupt, even evil force spinning elaborate conspiracies
to manipulate and suppress Americans." Even before September 11,
however, that was changing. And now it's definitely taboo as a
premise. The
New York Times 10/10/01 (one-time
registration required for access)
THE
TROUBLE WITH TODAY'S FILM CRITICS: "In an age of critical
bet-hedging, when an urge to spot the next trend, defend mediocre
Hollywood product, go along with the critical consensus or appeal
to one's audience/employer is the order of the day, few critics
have the bite, the ferocity, the assurance of opinion and a willingness
to offend." creativeloafing 10/11/01
CLASSICfM
FACES LISTENER INPUT: "Classic fM – Britain’s most popular
classical music broadcaster – is to set up an independent consumer
panel to assess the radio station’s performance. The move is in
response to the UK government’s proposed changes to broadcasting
regulations, outlined in a communications ‘white paper’."
Gramophone 10/12/01
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4.
MUSIC
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#music
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TWO
VIEWS OF TORONTO: The Toronto Symphony Orchestra is on the
verge of bankruptcy, and is asking its musicians to bear the brunt
of the massive cuts to come. Some observers predict artistic doom
for the TSO if such cuts come to pass, since lower salaries and
fewer perks would drive yet more of Canada's top musicians south
of the border to high-paying American bands. But others
blame the unionized musicians for pushing the financial limits
of Canadian orchestras far past what was reasonably possible with
their contract demands. Toronto Star
& National Post (Canada) 10/13/01
- IT'S
NOT JUST ABOUT THE MONEY: "The TSO is also divided
from the city in which it lives, and becoming more so all the
time... [It] has scarcely begun to react to changing demographic
patterns in the city, where in the past decade 80 per cent of
new immigrants came from countries with little or no tradition
of European-style orchestral music. Capturing their interest
is a long-term task, more likely to be served by education and
outreach programs than by clever advertising." The
Globe & Mail (Toronto) 10/13/01
CALGARY
LOCKOUT COULD BE A LONG ONE: No talks are scheduled in the
lockout of the Calgary Philharmonic's 65 musicians, and both sides
are digging in for a long and bitter fight. Management is worried
about a potential cashflow crisis, while the picketing musicians
are concerned that public support, currently on their side, could
wane in the face of a long stoppage. Calgary
Herald 10/13/01
KIROV
SCRAMBLES TO GET DOWN UNDER: "Only the intervention of
the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has ensured that the highlight
of the Melbourne Festival's $16 million program, St Petersburg's
Kirov Opera, will arrive in time for the opening. The company
was delayed by the first US bombings of Afghanistan early on Monday
morning, Australian time, which forced the cancellation of the
company's original flight only hours before it was due to leave."
The Age (Melbourne) 10/11/01
MUSIC
AND THE TALIBAN: "[W]hen Can You Stop the Birds Singing?,
a report into the censorship of music in Afghanistan was published
in June, there was little interest. The report's publishers, Freemuse,
are a Danish-based human rights organisation dedicated to campaigning
against music censorship. Now that Afghanistan and its brutal
Taliban regime dominate the headlines, this report resonates even
more loudly." The Daily Telegraph
(UK) 10/11/01
NAPSTER
JUDGE DECLINES TO END CASE: From the We're-All-Having-So-Much-Fun-Why-Stop-Now
file: a California judge has refused to issue a summary judgment
holding Napster liable for untold millions of dollars in copyright
infringement. The record industry had sought the judgment, which
would have effectively ended the case, but the judge ruled that
"there was not yet enough evidence to justify the summary
judgement." BBC 10/11/01
BOOSEY
& HAWKES FACES TAKEOVER: Music publishers tend to be companies
steeped in history and rich in tradition. England's Boosey &
Hawkes is one of the most venerable, with 200 years of publishing
under its belt. But B&H has been in financial trouble lately,
and now faces a takeover bid from an unnamed company. BBC
10/08/01
AGE
OF THE DIRECTOR: If singers were the stars of yesteryear opera,
today "for better or worse, we have come to the age of the
director. In many ways, the play has become the thing. Apart from
three senior-citizen tenors, bigger-than-life singers aren't as
big as they used to be. Divas have lost their cults. Hardly any
larynges inspire box-office stampedes. Bona-fide individuality
of timbre and interpretive approach are becoming rarities. The
stars just don't shine all that brightly."
Andante 10/06/01
THE
EVOLVING ORCHESTRA: "The sound of a symphony orchestra
is less traditional than most of us think. Even in the romantic
period, conductor Phillipe Herreweghe says, instruments were evolving.
Gut strings, as different from modern metal strings as a harpsichord
is from a piano, were not superseded until about 1920. The antique
woodwinds are softer. A modern orchestra is, he says, at least
twice as loud as its turn-of-the-century counterpart. Styles of
playing have changed even more. A Wagner opera lasted an hour
less in his time than now. But the whole spirit, even of Debussy,
has changed." The Age (Melbourne)
10/08/01
BRINGING
DEMOCRACY TO NEW MUSIC: John McLaren's 'Masterprize' competition
is a unique beast in the normally predictable world of classical
music. Composers from all over the world are invited to compete
for a large cash prize, with finalists' works to be performed
by one of the world's finest orchestras. But unlike most such
competitions, the winner will be determined by a unique mix of
votes from celebrities, orchestra members, and members of the
global listening public. The Times
(UK) 10/09/01
JAZZ
IN THE HOLY LAND: There are few, if any, hot spots in the
world facing more daily tension than Israel. Ethnic violence,
religious fervor, and constant political infighting make casual
entertainment a tough sell. But the efforts of one man have made
jazz an indispensible part of life for many local enthusiasts,
and the music has even begun to help bridge the considerable gap
between Arab and Israeli musicians. CultureKiosque
10/09/01
LEBRECHT
HAMMERS FEARFUL MUSICIANS: In the wake of the September 11
attacks, countless performers have had to decide whether to carry
on with scheduled international tours. In general, orchestras
that were already close to their departure dates have pressed
on, while those with tours farther on in an uncertain future have
begun to cancel in the face of government travel warnings. Few
have faulted them for their caution, but critic Norman Lebrecht
finds such cancellations cowardly. The
Daily Telegraph (UK) 10/10/01
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5. PEOPLE
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#people
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MADRID
OPERA HERO DIES: "Conductor Luis Antonio Garcia Navarro,
credited with reviving Madrid's opera house after its 1997 reinauguration
and bringing it international fame, has died. He was 60."
Nando Times (AP) 10/11/01
COMING
TO TERMS WITH AN OLD FRIEND/ENEMY: Think of Ödön von Horváth
as Germany's answer to Garrison Keillor - a much-beloved writer
and teller of tales about his hometown that make locals distinctly
uncomfortable. But unlike Keillor's fictional town of Lake Wobegon,
Horváth's Murnau really does exist, and his airing of the burg's
dirty laundry for his own literary gain has not sat well with
the natives. Frankfurter Allgemeine
Zeitung 10/11/01
IMMODEST,
MAYBE, BUT STILL NOBEL: This year's winner of the Nobel Prize
for Literature, V.S. Naipaul, is nothing if not aware of his own
accomplishments. He claims, among other things, to have helped
bring India into modern times through his writing, and to have
helped "educate" the country's population. Not everyone
appreciated the help: "The trouble with people like me writing
about societies where there is no intellectual life is that if
you write about it, people are angry." BBC
10/12/01
DSO
VIOLINIST HAS REUNION ON TOUR: "When the Detroit Symphony
Orchestra arrived in Nuremberg, Germany, on Tuesday, violinist
Marian Tanau added another link to the chain of his remarkable
destiny. Waiting for him was Joseph Muller, a Romanian-born German
national, who in 1989 risked his career to help Tanau, then 22,
defect from Romania." Detroit
Free Press 10/11/01
NEW
CHIEF FOR SF OPERA CENTER: "American soprano Sheri Greenawald
has been appointed as the new director of the San Francisco Opera
Center in California... Greenawald’s appointment is the latest
in a series of management changes wrought by Pamela Rosenberg,
who recently took over as general director of San Francisco Opera
from Lofti Mansouri." Gramophone
10/09/01
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
6.
PUBLISHING
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#publishing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NAIPAUL
WINS NOBEL IN LITERATURE: "The Nobel Prize in Literature for
2001 is awarded to the British writer, born in Trinidad, V.S.
Naipaul 'for having united perceptive narrative and incorruptible
scrutiny in works that compel us to see the presence of suppressed
histories'. V.S. Naipaul is a literary circumnavigator, only ever
really at home in himself, in his inimitable voice." Nobel
Institute (Sweden) 10/11/01
NATIONAL
BOOK AWARD NOMINEES: The two most widely (some might say flagrantly)
publicized books of the past year were Jonathan Franzen's novel
The Corrections, and David McCullough's literary biography
John Adams. Nominees for the National Book Awards have
been announced; Franzen made the list, McCullough didn't. The
National
Book Foundation has its own website, listing all nominees
in all categories. Nando Times 10/11/01
MAYBE
IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE EASY: James Joyce's Ulysses
may be the best and surely is one of the most complex novels of
the twentieth century. Four years ago Macmillan published a new
edition, inserting material from the author's unused manuscript
material to produce an easier-to-read version. Now the trustees
of the Joyce estate are suing for copyright infringement because
the Macmillan edition "altered some of the author's original punctuation,
spelling and name places." The Guardian
(UK) 10/10/01
A
NEW GOLDEN AGE OF PHILOSOPHY? If the Frankfurt Book Fair is
any indication, Europe is about to be hit with a wave of high-minded
philosophy tomes and arts books that address the more abstract,
existential elements of art. Such books had fallen out of fashion
for a time, but publishers apparently think the public is ready
to embrace them again. Frankfurter
Allgemeine Zeitung 10/10/01
LANGUAGE
BARRIER: One of the greatest challenges confronting European
publishers is successfully translating foreign books into the
local language without losing any of the style, meaning, or minutiae
of the original. A mediocre translation can mean the difference
between a success and a failure on the market, and many publishers
are loath to take the risk. Frankfurter
Allgemeine Zeitung 10/12/01
CHASING
THE GREAT AUSTRALIAN NOVEL: Once upon a time, Australian writers
loved to tackle big, global ideas and wide-ranging philosophical
subtexts in their work. But these days, it seems that every new
novel to hit the bestseller list is narrowly focused, specifically
targeted, and just so gosh-darned local. Whatever happened
to collective experience? Sydney Morning
Herald 10/13/01
SOME
E-BOOKS MAKE MONEY: Prize money, that is. Indian novelist
Amitav Ghosh won the $50,000 Grand Prize for Fiction, and American
journalist Steven Levy won the Grand Prize for non-fiction at
the Frankfurt Book Fair. To be eligible for the competition, "entrants
must include technical enhancements that distinguish the ebook
from its printed version." The Guardian
(UK) 11/12/01
TAKING
ON THE BIG BOYS: In Germany, small and medium-sized presses
struggle daily against the larger corporate publishing houses
to maintain their small share of the market. But "[u]nlike
the United States, where 80 percent of the publishing industry
is dominated by just five companies, more than 90 percent of the
roughly 2,000 German book publishers remain independent."
In fact, in the battle between the many Davids and the few Goliaths,
the little guys have been winning more than they're losing. Frankfurter
Allgemeine Zeitung 10/09/01
THE
POEM, THE TEMPLE, THE PEOPLE: The temple at Angkor Wat incorporates
a poem which has never been translated into English, and never
before been the subject of academic study. Now it is being studied,
and translated; it's expected to reveal much about the history
and culture of the Khmer people, going back to the twelfth century.
Humanities (NEH) October 01
WRITERLY
ATTACK: B.R. Myers provoked the biggest literary debate of
the year this summer when he wrote in The Atlantic that much of
contemporary fiction was not worthy of attention, then attacked
critics and the literary establishment for maintaining the status
quo. The counterattacks came predictably, but the most bizarre
might have been by Judith Shulevitz in The New York Times... Mobylives
10/07/01
TODAY'S
LIT GOING CRIT? Is contemporary literature doomed to be forgotten?
"Philip Roth . . . said this: Literature 'will probably more or
less disappear except in a cultic way over the next 25 years.
. . . The screen did it, didn't it? . . . The human mind prefers
the screen to the page. There's nothing we can do about it.' Then
Naipaul was quoted in the Guardian of London this month as saying
this: 'Nearly everything written in the last century will crumble
away to dust - all the novels. In every novel written now, there's
an element of mimicry.' " Washington
Post 10/08/01
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
7. THEATRE
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#theatre
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TRACING
THREE DECADES OF BRITISH THEATER: Michael Billington has been
the theater critic at London's Guardian newspaper for thirty
years now, and he has watched the business evolve in countless
ways. Where plays were once dominant, musicals are now the backbone
of the industry. Superstar composers and directors have come to
wield remarkable power. But "the first, and most striking,
fact is that the basic structure of British theatre has more or
less survived." The Guardian
(UK) 10/10/01
GUTHRIE
LIKELY TO BE RAZED: Minneapolis's historic Guthrie Theater,
America's first 'regional' theater company, is preparing to build
a gleaming new base of operations on the banks of the Mississippi
River. But a great battle has broken out over what to do with
the old building, which adjoins the famous Walker Art Center.
Preservationists and theatre fans want it to stay; the Walker
wants to tear it down in order to expand its sculpture garden.
So far, the Walker is winning. Minneapolis
Star Tribune 10/09/01
LO,
HOW A ROSE E'ER BLOOMING: "The discovery that the remains
of Shakespeare's Rose Theatre are in a reasonable condition has
led to calls for more to be spent on excavating the site... It
is the only Elizabethan theatre left in the world of which there
are substantial remains." BBC
10/14/01
SOME
OFF-BROADWAY LOOKING BETTER:
Three long-running off-Broadway successes were, like most other
shows, hit hard by the September 11 attacks. Still, three of them
are bouncing back: Blue Man Group, Stomp, and De
La Guarda. It may be no coincidence that all three and "high-energy,
textless performances that require no English — or any other
language for that matter — to enjoy." The
New York Times 10/12/01 (one-time
registration required for access)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8.
VISUAL ARTS
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#visualarts
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BRITISH
MUSEUM WOES: "Britain's most famous museum has fallen
victim to the ambiguous benefits of lottery capital grants, which
allow expansion, but do not fund the running costs. Donors like
to be associated with excellence, so perhaps it is not surprising
that the British Museum managed to raise the money for the Great
Court. But it is harder to raise money for running costs. Thus
the museum found itself with a building it can no longer afford
to run." The Independent (UK)
10/07/01
THE
GREAT DIRECTOR SEARCH: The National Museum of Scotland has
been looking for a new director for eight months. It's a prestigious
post but not much progress has been made in the search. "Insiders
say they are deeply concerned at the length of time the process
is taking and are worried about the future direction of the museums
without a permanent director at the helm." Scotland
on Sunday 10/07/01
MUSEUM
ATTENDANCE WORRIES: Museum attendance in the US is down after
September 11, in some cases dramatically down. "Some museums
are beginning to rebound, but many smaller ones in lower Manhattan
near the World Trade Center site had to close their doors for
several weeks and may need years to recover, administrators say.
Museums also expect that donors will divert contributions from
cultural institutions to relief efforts. And as they survey the
damage the museums are struggling to come up with ways to recoup."
The New York Times 10/08/01
(one-time registration required
for access)
PARIS
MUSEUMS CLOSED BY STRIKE: Several museums and tourist attractions
in Paris have been shut down by striking workers, who are protesting
a cut in their workweek. The Orsay Museum and the Arc de Triomphe
were closed all day, while "the Louvre opened its doors only in
mid-afternoon [Thursday], a day after workers let all visitors
in for free as part of the protest." New
Jersey Online(AP) 10/11/01
THE
NEW WINGED MUSEUM IN MILWAUKEE: Sunday is the official opening
of wing-like steel sunshade which crowns the new addition to the
Milwaukee Art Museum. The whole project came in at around $100
million, and was the first US job by Spanish architect Santiago
Calatrava. It may come to define the city. If nothing else, it's
quadrupled attendance at the museum this year. Milwaukee
Journal-Sentinel 10/12/01
V&A'S
NEW MAN SPEAKS: The Victoria & Albert Museum in London
got a new director a few months back. Not that you would have
noticed, since Mark Jones likes to keep a low profile. But his
tastes and preferences for the future of the V&A are gradually
becoming known. "Mr Jones emerges as a an enthusiast for
the proposed extension by Daniel Libeskind known as the Spiral,
which has been hanging fire since 1995 for lack of funding. He
is also embarking on yet another major internal reorganisation."
The Art Newspaper 10/09/01
LOOKING
FOR THE EXCITING YOUNG ARCHITECTS: What is it about America
that it refuses to entrust important building projects to promising
young architects? Many European countries provide subsidies and
professional courtesies to the younger set, and the architecture
in these countries is more adventurous and wide-ranging as a result.
In the U.S., however, architects are practically geriatric before
they even begin to get called for high-profile jobs. Boston
Globe 10/14/01
REMBRANDT'S
WOMEN: "Rembrandt's treatment of women - in paint, not
in the flesh, though that seems to have been dismal enough - sharply
divided his contemporaries. The debate proves that there is nothing
contemporary about the argument over body fascism and the cult
of the anorexic model." A new U.K. exhibition attempts to
make sense of the arguments on all sides. The
Guardian (UK) 10/09/01
NEW
HEADACHES FOR TRAVELING SHOWS: While dealers and collectors
consider the impact terrorism will have on art prices, exhibitors
face one clear-cut fact: It will be increasingly difficult and
expensive to organize traveling exhibitions. Owners will be reluctant
to loan their works, and handling, guarding, shipping, and insuring
art will all be more complex, time-consuming, and costly.
The Art Newspaper 10/09/01
SERRANO
COMES TO BRITAIN: The man whose art helped cause one of America's
most notorious political dogfights, Andres Serrano, is being exhibited
in London this month, and critics there are showing no mercy.
Free speech advocates in the U.S. championed Serrano's photography
when Congressional leaders used it as fodder for their crusade
against public arts funding, but in the opinions of several U.K.
writers, "he is a third-rate artist, a man who has nothing
interesting, important or original to say about the subjects he
treats." The Daily Telegraph
(UK) 10/10/01
BRING
ON THE NUDES: Conventional wisdom has long held that Victorian-era
Britons were, and there's no nice way to put this, fairly prudish.
Downright puritanical, in fact. Well, guess again: "As a
new exhibition at Tate Britain will demonstrate, the Victorian
era was one in which representations of the naked human form were
highly visible, endlessly reproduced, widely circulated and eagerly
consumed." The Daily Telegraph
(UK) 10/13/01
KLIMT
DRAWINGS UP FOR GRABS: "The art auction world's favourite
fairy tale is the stranger who walks in off the street with an
unknown masterpiece tucked under his arm. It has happened at Christie's:
the stranger was carrying a portfolio of 17 drawings by Gustav
Klimt, never seen by anyone except the artist and the stranger's
grandfather who had purchased them." The collection will
be auctioned this week. The Guardian
(UK) 10/10/01
TRYING
TO SAVE A CULTURAL HERITAGE: The position of Afghanistan's
Taliban rulers on the place of art in their society was made abundantly
clear earlier this year with the destruction by rocket launcher
of the giant Bamiyan Buddhas carved into an Afghan mountainside.
As most of the world watched helpless, one man actually tried
to buy the Buddhas from the Taliban in an effort to preserve them.
His bid failed, but Ikuo Hirayama remains one of the world's foremost
advocates for Asian culture and art. The
Art Newspaper 10/08/01
NEW
HEAD OF SCOTLAND MUSEUMS: Dr. Gordon Rintoul, who was chief
executive of Sheffield Galleries, has been appointed as the new
director of the National Museums of Scotland, effective February
2002. He succeeds Mark Jones, who left for the Victoria and Albert
in London. The Herald (Scotland) 10/11/01
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
9.
ISSUES
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#issues
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LINCOLN
CENTER SQUABBLE: A dangerous game of politics is being played
at New York's famous performing arts complex, and the future of
a massive $1 billion redevelopment project is at stake. Sorting
out exactly who among the center's many resident organizations
wants what is difficult, but it is safe to say that no one is
backing down without a fight. The
New York Times 10/11/01 (one-time
registration required for access)
SETTING
PRECEDENT, OR JUST MUDDYING THE WATERS? "Finding the
intersection between decades-old copyright law and where it applies
in the digital world remains far off the map in the wake of a
critical Supreme Court decision on Tuesday." Wired
10/10/01
ARTS
AS AN ECONOMIC PLUS: The conventional wisdom in the U.S. has
always been that the arts, while important, are fated to be a
fiscal drag on society. But in Massachusetts, a mayor is on a
crusade to show the world that public investment in the arts can
be "an economic engine" for the community, and he's
got the numbers to prove it. Boston
Globe 10/11/01
LEGACY
OF A DYING TONGUE: A culture has no more basic manifestation
than its language. More than simply a method of communication,
language tells us an astonishing amount about the priorities,
the relative prosperity, and the values of the people who speak
it. So what is lost when a language dies out? It's happening right
now to a native American tongue called Dakota. City
Pages (Minneapolis/St. Paul) 10/10/01
SUPREMES
SAY YOU GOTTA PAY: "In the second computer-age victory this
year for free-lance journalists who contend they were cheated
by big media companies, the Supreme Court turned down an appeal
Tuesday from National Geographic over reprinted photos. The court,
without comment, refused to take up a lower court ruling that
the magazine should have paid free-lance photographers for pictures
compiled on a compact disc." Wired
10/09/01
EXPORTING
CULTURE: Germany's Goethe Institute, founded half a century
ago to promote German art and culture around the world, is finding
that the parameters of its mission are changing. "[W]e now
live in the age of globalization, and those who continue to export
culture as the extended arm of foreign policy, as a kind of minesweeping
project for intercultural gaffes, make themselves redundant in
the long run." Frankfurter Allgemeine
Zeitung 10/09/01
CAPITAL
CULTURE SWEEPSTAKES: British cities are scrambling for a chance
to be named Europe's "Capital of Culture" in 2008. Why?
"The initiative helped transform Glasgow from a declining
manufacturing city to a centre for tourism and conferences. Glasgow
is now the third most visited city in Britain behind London and
Edinburgh." Still, since Glasgow held the honour in 1990,
"the scheme has descended into confusion." The
Guardian (UK) 10/05/01
UK
ARTS FUNDING CRUNCH: "With the economic tide turning,
the arguments for maintaining current levels of public spending
on the arts - £37.5m a year - will be harder to make. The Arts
Council has prepared for this eventuality, amassing vast quantities
of data intended to show how greater efficiencies are being achieved,
and how spending is being targeted more precisely. The problem
is that while the council's flow charts may confirm greater efficiencies,
the basic assumptions on which its spending is predicated are
flawed." Sunday Times (UK) 10/07/01
DIFFICULT
SPONSORSHIP: Corporate sponsorship of the arts may be tougher
to come by due to the war. "Leaner times ahead had been signalled
well before September 11 and sponsorship, especially from corporate
donors, was already harder to find. The terrorists attacks have
hastened that decline. So far the signs are mixed." Sunday
Times (UK) 10/07/01
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
9.
FOR FUN
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#forfun
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ONLY
IN NEW YORK: A strolling violinist in a gold loincloth and
very little else would cause the denizens of most cities to call
the police, or at least cross the street. But in New York, such
a man can become a minor celebrity, especially when he gains a
reputation as the most talented street musician in the city. "In
his soloperas, Thoth, a classically trained musician, is
the composer, orchestra, singers and dancers. His music has elements
of classical, overlayed with primal rhythms, but it defies categorization."
New York Post 10/14/01
HOME
|