Week
of April 22-28, 2002
1.
Special Interest
2. Dance
3. Media
4. Music
5. People
6. Publishing
7. Theatre
8. Visual Arts
9. Arts Issues
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1. SPECIAL INTEREST
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#specialinterest
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DEFINING
EVENT: Los Angeles erupted in riots in April 1992 after the
Rodney King trial. And "a generation of paintings, murals,
songs, books and plays was born amid the anxiety and violence
of spring 1992, and many were weaned on the philanthropic programs
that followed. With the exception of Anna Deavere Smith's one-woman
show Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992, most of those works have
faded from public memory. But behind them stands a group of artists
whose creative lives were reshaped, in sometimes startling ways,
by the riots." Los
Angeles Times 04/27/02
PUTTING
A NUMBER TO ART: There is nothing some artists hate more than
being quantified. Art is art, say the high-minded, and statistical
analysis simply doesn't apply. Don't tell that to David Galenson,
who recently "came up with a notion about modern art, a
notion born of the unlikely fusion of economic analysis and
creative epiphany." Chicago
Tribune 04/25/02
DECLINE
OF WESTERN CIV? You either see culture changing and growing,
or you don't. Harper's editor Lewis Lapham sees signs of the
decline of Western civilization everywhere. "The people that
have (wrecked the culture) - it's the (Rupert) Murdochs of the
world. Those are the people who say, 'Whatever the market will
bear.' The market doesn't think. The market isn't a cultivated
person. It's a ball bearing. It will go immediately to what sells.
That's what wrecks the culture'." As for literate magazines:
"Most of the magazines that Lapham categorized as similar in
nature - the New Yorker, the Atlantic Monthly, the New Republic,
the Nation, the Weekly Standard, and possibly the National Review
- all lose money, he said, and depend on foundations and patrons.
'It's like running an 18th century orchestra. Esterhazy bankrolled
Haydn, and the Harper's Foundation bankrolls us'."
San Francisco Chronicle
04/25/02
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2. DANCE
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#dance
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DANCE
- OR IDENTITY POLITICS? "Today the Alvin Ailey company is
usually thought of as 'black.' Yet this was not Ailey's intention.
When Ailey started his own company in New York in 1958, he did so
with a particular mission, which is often overlooked today. His
idea was to create an American repertory company that would
showcase the work of twentieth-century American modern dance
choreographers. Ailey seems to have been keenly aware that he was
living at an important juncture in the history of dance, and he
wanted to bring these works and styles to 'the people.' But which
people?" The
New Republic 04/22/02
SEEKING
A BALLET IN MINNESOTA: "Why have the Twin Cities never
added a ballet company to their roster of major arts institutions?
Minnesotans are known to go weak in the knees at the very mention
of phrases like 'flagship institution' (the Guthrie Theater) and
'internationally renowned' (the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra). Yet
civic pride has never produced a major ballet troupe. Is dance
just the poor relation of theater, music, and the visual
arts--shortchanged by the Cities' male boosters? Or have the Twin
Cities, with their reputation for creativity and innovation in
dance, bypassed a monolithic ballet company in favor of smaller,
more experimental troupes?" City
Pages (Minneapolis/Saint Paul) 04/24/02
STAR
CRITICIZES HER COMPANY: Evelyn Hart has been one of Canada's
top dancers since she broke into the Royal Winnipeg Ballet in
1975. But she's hinting she might retire, citing not age, but what
she considers the deterioration of the RWB. "When you're
young, you can still progress just by doing the role. When you are
older, you really need people with a lot of experience to help
take you forward, people who understand what it's like to be in
that position. And we don't have that at the Winnipeg Ballet at
the moment." CBC
04/26/02
BELIEF
IN STUDENTS: What makes a good dance teacher? Four of New
York's best, "all long-time producers of gifted and
interesting performers, suggested that toughness and a belief in
students' individuality and potential may be among the most
important qualities, along with a solid sense of craft and
artistry and how to communicate that." The
New York Times 04/28/02
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3. MEDIA
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#media
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MEMORABLE
TV:
Almost half of all British television viewers cannot remember
anything interesting from the previous night's programmes, a
survey suggests. "But 59% single out TV as their best source
in the media for trustworthy information and 'curiosity
satisfaction'." BBC
04/26/02
CANNES
LINEUP: Twenty-two movies have been chosen for this year's
Cannes Film Festival. "Organisers of 2002's event on
Wednesday revealed that they had chosen three US films, three UK
movies and one from Canada to vie for the coveted top prize of the
Palme d'Or." BBC 04/24/02
CANAL
PLUS CHILL: France is mourning the sudden sacking of the head
of TV channel Canal Plus. The channel, "which has been
broadcasting since 1984, was a generous gift of the late President
Mitterrand to his supporters in the cultural world. While
exploiting a monopoly of the burgeoning market of pay television,
the new channel was also given the role of subsidising French
cinema. By last year it was spending $140 million, around 12 per
cent of its revenues, on French film projects, and it had become
the most important patron of the French film industry."
The Telegraph (UK) 04/27/02
WHAT'S
A DEFINITION OF CANADIAN? The Canadian government tries to
encourage Canadian TV and movie projects with tax breaks and
exposure in Canada. But trying to determine what is Canadian and
why is a much stickier process than mere labeling.
Toronto Star 04/27/02
MOVIES
GO BIG: Superscreen IMAX movies aren't just for the local
science center anymore. "Mainstream Hollywood films meant to
entertain, not educate, are being altered to fit the IMAX format.
And super-sized screens – some as much as eight stories high –
are popping up in some unlikely places. New venues such as theme
parks, malls, and even a Natick, Mass., furniture store are
changing the image of big- screen viewing."
Christian Science Monitor
04/26/02
NPR
CHANGES EXPLAINED: National Public Radio programmer Jay Kernis
has been taking a beating in the media for his plans to
restructure cultural programming at NPR. Why is he making changes
to NPR's successful formula? "The public radio listener -
yeah! - likes foreign films, a lot. Likes independent films. But
the public radio listener goes to big blockbuster movies and rents
big blockbuster DVDs. And all I've ever said is that when we cover
popular culture, we should cover it with the same journalism
filters that we use when we cover a news event, which is to say do
the reporting - ask tough questions - tell a real story. I have
never said more popular culture, more popular culture. But I have
said: Don't be afraid to cover popular culture."
On the Media (NPR) 04/21/02
SPECIAL
TREATMENT FOR DISNEY? An ex-reporter for the New York Post
sues the Post and Disney for $10 million after the Post fired her
after stories critical of Disney. The case gives an inside look at
how big-time entertainment coverage is conducted. Village
Voice 04/23/02
FOOD
FIGHT: "Now get ready for a gunfight between the Blame
Canada crowd in L.A. and the producers happily taking advantage of
lower costs and friendlier working conditions on this side of the
longest undefended. It's shaping up as the most bizarre scuffle
you've ever heard of between people who make movies and the unions
representing the actors who appear in them."
Toronto Star 04/21/02
DIVERSITY
- NOT JUST ABOUT NUMBERS: "It seems like you can't pick
up a newspaper these days without reading about how TV, and
Hollywood in general, needs to become more 'diverse.' As an
African American actor, I suppose I should applaud these efforts
to increase the presence of minorities on TV. But I've been in
this business long enough to know that an issue like TV diversity
is far more complex than it is often portrayed." Los
Angeles Times 04/22/02
WE
WANT CREDIT: Studies show that TV viewers switch channels when
credits roll at the end of a program. So some Disney owned
channels are dropping the credits. But the Academy of Television
Arts & Sciences objects. "People want to stand up for the
right to be credited for the work that they do. That's been a
historic right in Hollywood and the entertainment industry."
Philadelphia Inquirer (AP)
04/22/02
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4.
MUSIC
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#music
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BRITS
DROP OUT OF U.S.: For the first time in 38 years there are no
British songs on the US Top 100 charts. By comparison "in
April 1964 the Beatles held all of the top five positions and
exactly 20 years later there were 40 UK singles in the top
100." BBC 04/23/02
MUSICIANS
TO JUDGE - RECORDING COMPANIES DON"T REPRESENT OUR INTERESTS:
Some musicians charge that recording companies don't pay royalties
owed them. "The record companies' representation that they
are legitimate agents for their artists is false. The only
payments they make are to those who have the means to force them
to be accountable; to the rest, a vast majority, they pay nothing.
Therefore, allowing them to collect fees in our behalf does not
serve the public interest. I personally would prefer to allow my
music to be freely shared, to the present situation, in which only
the corporations stand to gain. Until this is changed, the record
companies and publishers deserve nothing."
Salon 04/23/02
MONEY
WOES FORCE USE OF HOMEGROWN TALENT: Argentine opera companies
have long depended on international stars to populate their
well-regarded productions. But the country's financial crises has
forced the companies to use local talent they had formerly
rejected. And the reviews haven't been bad... Andante
04/23/02
ORCHESTRAS
OF VALUE: Over the past few months, the BBC and Classic FM
have been signing exclusive deals with orchestras. The substance
of these contracts does not always withstand daylight scrutiny,
but the gestural value alone is enough to put heart into ailing
orchestras - and the strategic shift at the heart of classical
broadcasting is almost enough to take one's breath away. For the
first time in a generation, orchestras are being pursued as
genuine objects of value." London
Evening Standard 04/24/02
CLASSICAL
BRIT NOMINEES: Singer Cecilia Bartoli leads the nominations
for this year's Classical Brit Awards. "Bartoli was nominated
in three categories at a ceremony in central London on Wednesday,
including best female artist, the critics award and best album for
Gluck, Italian Arias." BBC
04/24/02
A
CAPPELLA MADNESS: Okay, so it's not like being a starter on a
Division I football team, but being a member of a college a
cappella group is fast becoming a prestige position on American
campuses. Once the purview of barbershop quartet refugees and
general music dorks, a cappella groups are springing up all over,
and their work is of a caliber that might surprise the casual
observer. The New York Times 04/25/02
MUSICIAN
ABUSE: Tyrant conductors are notorious - both for their
tempers and (often) for their impressive results. But "over
the last 30 years, as unionized North American orchestral
musicians fought successfully for good pay, reasonable working
conditions and more say in artistic matters, the autocratic
conductor became increasingly outmoded. Or so it seemed until the
recent blowup at the Montreal Symphony Orchestra." Once
musicians in Montreal began talking, they sounded like battered
spouses... The New York Times 04/28/02
THE
BEST ARTS PRIZE IN THE WORLD? Michigan's Gilmore Award for
pianists just might be the best prize in all of the arts. Artists
don't even know they're being considered for it, when suddenly the
lucky winner is informed he or she has won $300,000. Polish
pianist Piotr Anderszewski (On-der-shev-ski) is this year's winner
and will receive "$50,000 in cash and $250,000 for any
career-related projects, such as purchasing a new piano,
commissioning new music or a recording project."
Detroit Free Press 04/25/02
PART
OF THE PERFORMANCE: Mikel Rouse's opera Dennis Cleveland
makes for a suspicious audience. "You're listening in the
audience, and suddenly Mr. Rouse, playing the talk-show host,
walks up and sticks the microphone in the face of the person next
to you, who stands up and sings. Pretty soon you're looking at all
your neighbors with suspicion: did they pay to see the show, or
are they in the cast? You might even start to fear that Mr.
Rouse/Dennis will stick the mike in your face, and you'll have to
come up with a story for the folks." The
New York Times 04/28/02
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5. PEOPLE
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#people
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ARREST
WARRANT FOR HUGHES: An arrest warrant has been issued in
Australia for art critic Robert Hughes after he missed a court
date to face charges of dangerous driving. "The charges stem
from a crash in which Hughes, the art critic for Time magazine,
was almost killed in May 1999 while in Australia filming a
documentary for the BBC." BBC
04/24/02
MARK
ERMLER'S LEGACY: Conductor Mark Ermler died last week at age
69 after collapsing on the podium in front of the Seoul
Philharmonic. "He will be remembered in Russia chiefly for a
host of distinguished opera and ballet performances at the Bolshoi
- with a prolific discography to match - and, in Britain, for
returning the music of the Tchaikovsky ballets to centre-stage at
Covent Garden." The Guardian (UK)
04/23/02
NOBLE'S
LEAVING, BUT WHY? Some are suggesting that Adrian Noble is
leaving the Royal Shakespeare Company because he is having success
with a new musical in London's West End. Noble says that's not
true. Others are betting that he simply got sick of all the
criticism that comes with the RSC's top job. Noble says that's not
it either. So why did he resign? Noble's not saying, apparently. BBC
04/25/02
SINGULAR
SENSATION: Suzan-Lori Parks has had a big month, winning a
Pulitzer and having her play open on Broadway. But it wasn't
overnight success. "At 38, Ms. Parks has been at the drama
thing for a long time, ever since, as a Mount Holyoke student, her
creative-writing teacher encouraged her to write plays. She wanted
to write novels. Still, when your teacher is James Baldwin and he
tells you you should be writing plays, well, you find yourself
writing plays." Dallas
Morning News 04/23/02
VONNEGUT
RETIRING FROM PUBLIC? Writer Kurt Vonnegut Jr. 79, told a
college crowd in Michigan this weekend that they had probably
witnessed his last public appearance. "He did not offer an
explanation, though he did ask that his evening speech be
videotaped so he 'could see how he looks'."
Nando Times (AP) 04/22/02
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6.
PUBLISHING
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#publishing
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RECREATING
ALEXANDRIA:
Big celebrations were planned for the opening of Egypt's historic
new Alexandria library. "But those celebratory plans were
scuttled because of the heightened Israeli-Palestinian tensions.
Instead, Bibliotheca Alexandrina - which ostensibly replaces the
original that was destroyed more than a thousand years ago -
opened quietly to the public this week."
Wired 04/25/02
UNIVERSITY
PRESSES ENDANGERED: University presses are under pressure all
over America. And the largest of them - the University of
California - is cutting back. "As part of a general
retrenchment, the UC Press will no longer produce books on
philosophy, architecture, archaeology, political science or
geography. It will publish dramatically less literature and far
fewer works of literary theory. Twelve jobs have been eliminated
through attrition, and further job cuts are planned."
San Jose Mercury News (LAT)
04/26/02
E-BOOK
AWARDS DISCONTINUED: The Frankfurt E-book Awards have been
discontinued, to almost no one's surprise. "While lack of
funding killed the awards, the show had a problem that money
couldn't resolve: It was an award show created for a new
technological form, yet judged on literary merit. That created
confusion, especially because, as critics pointed out, many of the
judges were unfamiliar with the new technology."
Wired 04/23/03
BOOKER
BOOST: The Booker Prize is already one of the world's most
prestigious. Now it's also becoming one of the most lucrative.
"This autumn's winner will take home £50,000, dwarfing the
£20,000 prize money given last year to Peter Carey's novel True
History of the Kelly Gang. All six shortlisted writers will also
get £2,500 compared with £1,000 in 2001."
The Guardian (UK) 04/26/02
BOOK
CLUBS AS DO-GOODYISM: "I'm deeply bored by the U.S.
citywide reading projects, and by the CBC's Canada Reads book
club, which was just another exercise in good-for-you-ism. If it
were really about literary values it wouldn't have involved actors
and singers (who admitted they hadn't read, you know, every single
word . . .). I don't think these things encourage a love of
literature; they encourage patriotism. They may even discourage
the disaffected -- and I'm thinking of myself at about 20 here --
who already see novels as some kind of community-service niceness
club, and will find that view confirmed by the kinds of
inoffensive books chosen by national committees, and who may never
read again." The
Globe & Mail (Canada) 04/27/02
ALL
THAT'S NEEDED IS COMPETITION: When Canadians order books from
Amazon - even if it's a book by a Canadian publisher - the company
would send out the American edition. Canadian publishers lose $40
million a year to this. But now there's a Canadian version of
Amazon, and some new competition in the Canadian book market. Did
I just feel the earth mover? National
Post 04/27/02
NORA
WHO? "Nora Roberts is one of the best-kept secrets in
American book publishing, the (petite, red-haired) elephant in the
middle of the room. She sold about 14 million mass-market
paperbacks last year, more than John Grisham, Tom Clancy or
Stephen King. In the past 20 years, she has produced 145 novels
and had 69 New York Times best sellers."
Chicago Tribune 04/23/02
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7. THEATRE
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#theatre
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FLOPS
SO GOOD THEY'RE BAD: There's a thriving market in recordings
of Broadway flop productions. "The train-wreck appeal of
seeing the mighty fall is enormous. Gloating aside, you can also
better appreciate artistic triumphs if you know failures. And then
there are the backstage stories. Flops have particularly rich
ones, and hearing their music in that context can give them a
dramatic new dimension." Philadelphia
Inquirer 04/21/02
TRENDS:
Louisville's Humana Festival is America's foremost showcase
for new plays. It's generally a bad idea to look for themes among
the assembled offerings. On the other hand... Boston
Phoenix 04/25/02
APPRECIATING
STEPHEN: Stephen Sondheim is "widely acknowledged to be
the greatest living theater lyricist-composer. But that
understanding continues to evolve with revivals of his dense,
richly textured and challenging productions, the majority of which
neither succeeded commercially on Broadway nor, for that matter,
received unqualified critical praise." On the eve of a
massive retrospective of his work in Washington DC, some of the
theatre artists most strongly identified with his work talk about
his influence." Los
Angeles Times 04/28/02
JUST
FOR OLD TIMES? "There are currently 11 revivals and 24
new shows on Broadway; off-Broadway, there are six revivals and 28
new shows." Is this too many revivals? "Why is there
this hunger for new plays or new musicals, so that revival
virtually becomes a dirty word? Unlike, say, classical music, the
theater is not a fuddy-duddy art devoted fundamentally to fresh
interpretation of a glorious past. And yet our own glorious past
is ingloriously neglected. If you have never seen Hamlet
before, then Hamlet is not a revival but a new experience -
in effect, a new play." New York
Post 04/28/02
SHOW
AS STAR: The recent casting flap over replacing Nathan Lane in
The Producers was a clue to the show's need to keep the show going
without bankable stars. "The goal at The Producers is
to make the show the star. It must have been problematic when Lane
and Broderick were perceived as essential to the big-ticket
experience. After all, The Phantom of the Opera, Les
Miserables and Cats have packed the seats for decades
without audiences caring who was playing what." Newsday
04/28/02
LOOKING
FOR THE UNION LABEL: The controversial national tour of last
year's Broadway revival of The Music Man is rolling into
Southern California, where it will continue to attract protests
over its use of non-union actors and musicians.For the unions,
this is an important battle, since the show is the first national
tour of a Broadway production, a designation that traditionally
comes with a union label. Los Angeles
Times 04/25/02
ANGLA
FRANCA: This year's Montreal and Quebec City international
theatre festivals offer something not often seen on Quebec stages
in recent years - English. "Partly that's just coincidence
and partly it's due to the growing use of English as a lingua
franca in Europe, but there are also signs here of blossoming
relationships between Quebeckers and artists in the rest of
Canada." The
Globe & Mail (Canada) 04/24/02
NOBLE
QUITTING RSC: Adrian Noble, who drew the wrath of theatre fans
across the UK with his plan to demolish the Royal Shakespeare
Company's home in Stratford-upon-Avon and replace it with a modern
theatre complex, is resigning from his position as the RSC's
artistic director. Noble was a controversial figure from the
moment he assumed the top position at the world's most famous
Shakespeare company in 1991, but few would deny that he is a
skilled director and shrewd businessman. BBC
04/24/02
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8.
VISUAL ARTS
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#visualarts
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TOO
BIG? "From Los Angeles' Getty to the Tate Modern in
London, many of the prominent museums to open in the last four of
five years are about as big, and as impersonal, as airports.
Making slow progress through their hangarlike halls, you brace
yourself for the news that the exhibit you came to see has been
moved to far-off Terminal D or delayed by bad weather in
Chicago." Where museums are concerned, bigger isn't always
better. Slate 04/23/02
ARE
GALLERIES THE NEW MUSEUMS? "There has always been a
relationship, even interdependence, between the commercial world
and the museum. If galleries test the water, museums are supposed
to develop the context for works of art. But what has changed is
that the commercial galleries in London are starting to resemble
the museums." London Evening
Standard 04/23/02
ACKNOWLEDGING
THE NEW: For 'traditional' art museums, the notion of
collecting and exhibiting the work of living artists has long been
anathema. But as the 20th century fades into the past, museums
nationwide have had to confront the reality that a continued
snubbing of contemporary art would degrade their status as
displayers of the world's great works. In Boston, the Museum of
Fine Arts has made a decision to reverse the long-standing
'nothing new' policy, and other museums may follow. Boston
Globe 04/24/02
PAYBACK:
Alfred Taubman, Sotheby's former chairman and principal owner has
been sentenced to one year in prison and fined $7.5 million by a
federal judge in New York. Taubman was convicted of colluding with
Christie's former chairman Anthony Tennant to fix prices.
"Prosecutors accused Mr. Taubman and Sir Anthony of running a
price-fixing scheme for six years that violated federal antitrust
law by eliminating competitive choice, which ultimately cost
customers millions of dollars." The
New York Times 04/23/02
NOW
EUROPE TAKES ON AUCTION HOUSES: Having already been prosecuted
for price fixing in the US, Sotheby's and Christie's are under
threat by the European Commission. "Although the commission
conceded that the cartel had now been dissolved, it said the case
was so serious that it was launching a full investigation which
could lead to either firm being fined tens of millions of
pounds." The
Guardian (UK) 04/21/02
STATE
OF CONTEMPORARY ART? "For several decades, wealthy
Missourians have been competing with one another to build
collections and then arrange for them to be viewed publicly. If
some people on the East and West coasts still think they have a
greater intrinsic interest in vanguard art than their brethren in
the Midwest, the flowering of these museums suggests they may be
mistaken. Their collecting has spurred the growth of art schools
and helped create a steadily expanding crop of museumgoers. This
mini-boom may be turning Missouri into a destination for art
lovers from around the Midwest. Museum administrators say they are
seeing an increasing number of patrons from states nearby, some of
which offer very little in the way of contemporary art."
The New York Times 04/24/02
SHORT
TERM MEMORY: Los Angeles is a transitory place, a place fixed
on the moment. "But even by the standards of a region
notorious for its short-term memory, the recent spate of landmark
demolitions is stunning. In the last year, half a dozen Modernist
works have been destroyed or severely disfigured."
Los Angeles Times 04/28/02
INTRIGUE
IN VENICE: Confused about the political antics of this year's
Venice Biennale (and who isn't)? Here's a good map of the
political comings and goings of leadership at the top and who's
winning and who's losing in the art world's biggest soap opera.
The Art Newspaper 04/26/02
LONG-TERM
HURT:
Though attendance at New York museums has rebounded since
September 11, long-distance tourists still haven't returned.
"After enjoying roughly five million annual visitors apiece
in recent years, the museums are now welcoming around one million
fewer visitors. That decrease, of course, has a direct impact on
admission receipts, as well as on income from sources like
restaurant and gift shop sales." The
New York Times 04/24/02
A
WORLD AWAY: Performance art of the 60s and 70s -
"happenings" - seems so far away now. "What a
world, it seems now – and what a world away, in its extremity,
its sincerity, its optimism. These acts, sometimes wildly
spontaneous, sometimes painfully methodical, generally involving
nudity, sticky messes (paint or blood), embarrassing intimacy,
actual suffering, degradation and violence, duration and
endurance, often trying to pull the audience in and put them
through it – they were staged as purgation rites, caustic,
ecstatic, mind-blowing. (Some of them were funny, too.) They
weren't shows to be spectated; they were experiences, and after
one or two outings they weren't repeated or revived. Performance
art wasn't meant to last." And yet, last week some of the
most famous stunts were reprised. The
Independent (UK) 04/24/02
CHINA'S
GREATEST ART FIND? In northeast China, a trove of 400 Buddhist
statues dating for the 5th and 6th centuries. "At the time
these statues were made, it could hardly have been further from
the hub of Empire. Yet there is nothing provincial about them,
nothing clumsy or crude. For these are among the greatest
sculptures ever discovered in China." The
Observer (UK) 04/21/02
VAGUE
TO GREATNESS: The Victoria & Albert Museum's new £150
million plan is vague as vague can be. "This must be one of
the least masterful masterplans ever produced, in that it
prescribes very little about what might go where. It's basically a
map of the museum with areas coloured in to show where exhibits
might go, but then again, if curators change their minds, might
not." London Evening Standard
04/19/02
PAINTING
OVER LEONARDO: A year ago the Uffizi found itself at the
center of controversy when it wanted to perform a restoration on
Leonardo's The Adoration of the Magi, a work many art
historians considered to fragile to be worked on. Now one of the
experts who consulted with the Uffizi say that "None of the
paint we see on the Adoration today was put there by
Leonardo. God knows who did, but it was not Leonardo.'' New
York Times Magazine 04/21/02
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9.
ISSUES
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#issues
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOMBS
AWAY: It's official - this year's Adelaide Festival was a
complete disaster. The controversy-laden festival attracted only
35,000 customers to its events, the lowest number in a decade. The
festival received $8 million in grant support, but took in only $1
million - some $625,000 short of projections.
The Age (Melbourne) 04/23/02
CULTURE,
NOT BOMBS: Think of Belfast and culture isn't the first thing
that springs to mind. But the city is campaigning to be named
Europe's Capital of Culture for 2008. "We're not trying to
say Belfast is an undiscovered joy or anything like that and we're
not going to try and disguise that there's been a conflict here
for 30 years because everybody knows about it. The drive behind
the project is aspirational - it's not a reward for good behavior
or what you've done. We want to use culture as a tool to change
the society we live in." Lycos
News (Reuters) 04/21/02
MASSACHUSETTS
TO CUT CULTURE: Massachusetts is facing a budget crisis so the
state is making budget cuts. The biggest cut will probably be in
culture. The state legislature recommends a 48 percent cut in the
Massachusetts Cultural Council budget, from just over $19 million
this year to about $10 million next. Boston
Globe 04/26/02
AUSTRALIA
COUNCIL - MISSING IN ACTION? What's the purpose/vision of the
Australia Council? Some see the body as largely irrelevant these
days. "In its recent Planning for the Future report,
the council suggested it ought to invest more on risky artistic
works. A year and two chair appointments later, debate has begun
on whether the body itself is too risk averse. Is it any wonder
outsiders aren't sure what the council is about any more? Where
does it stand, for instance, on copyright, one of the most
pressing issues for artists in this digital age? On the digital
agenda generally? Global open markets?" Sydney
Morning Herald 04/26/02
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10. FOR FUN
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#forfun
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TREE
RETURNS AS INSTRUMENT: Years ago lightning killed a pine tree at
the Interlochen Music School. "The wood of the old-growth tree
was saved, cured and shaped into a new work of art - and on Thursday
it returned to the place where it grew." It returned as a
double bass played on campus by a student. Traverse
City Record-Eagle 04/19/02
MOM
AND POP PUBLISHERS LAND MEGABOOK: The sequel to The Bridges
of Madison County is being released this week. The book is a hot
property, a followup to "the best-selling hardcover novel of
all time." But when Robert James Waller's editors at Warner
Books turned down the book, he went to his hometown bookstore in
search of a publisher. "This is the story of how the
proprietors of a mom-and-pop bookstore in rural Texas landed the
North American rights to the sequel of the best-selling hardcover
novel of all time." Baltimore Sun
04/23/02
BOOK
WINNER REVEALED IN ADVANCE BY WAREHOUSE JOE: Canada's CBC Radio
is choosing a book for the entire country to read together. It's to
be announced today, after a weeklong series "featuring five
prominent Canadians who had each picked works of Canadian literature
they thought the country should read. The panel then voted the books
off the list one by one during discussions." So which book
wins? Turns out the winner has been revealed in advance by a book
warehouse worker hired to slap CBC stickers on the book. National
Post (Canada) 04/23/02
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