Week
of October 28-November 3, 2002
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
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE
UNIVERSAL SNOB: Snobism has been democratized, writes David Brooks.
"Everybody can be a snob, because everybody can look down from the heights
of his mountaintop at those millions of poor saps who are less accomplished in
the field of, say, skateboard jumping, or who are total poseurs when it comes to
financial instruments, or who are sadly backward when it comes to social
awareness or the salvation of their own souls. We now have thousands of
specialized magazines, newsletters, and Web sites catering to every social,
ethnic, religious, and professional clique." The
Atlantic 11/02
WHY
WE LEARN? What is the purpose of an education in America today? Is the
purpose to get a job, get into college? Is it to create reflective citizens who
are capable of self-government, both in the realm of politics and emotion? Is it
to instruct students in the rules of society and in the love of learning? Is it
all of the above? And if it is, what is preventing us from attaining those goals
on a broader, more universal scale?" A panel of thinkers on education gets
together to debate the future. Harper's 10/02
THE
DEATH OF THE AUDIO CASSETTE: The audio cassette is for all intents dead.
"The end, on some strange and intellectually picky level, of the crucial
dialectic between Side A and Side B, and the idea that songs talk to one another
and take you someplace. Is the death of the cassette as sweetly sad as the
death, years ago, of the vinyl record? No, the professor sighs. Well, maybe yes.
'It's a mixed romance'... Washington Post 10/29/02 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2. DANCE
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#dance
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DANCE
10, SONGS 10 (IF YOU LIKE BILLY): The Twyla Tharp/Billy Joel Broadway
collaboration continues to get respectful reviews. Joan Accocella: "At this
point, Tharp needs no arguing for as a choreographer. She is the most inventive
dance-maker of her generation, and her crossing of classical ballet with popular
forms, which in other hands might have been tendentious ('We'll show those
ballet snobs')—and, come to think of it, was a little tendentious, once, even
in her hands—has by now yielded her a full, eloquent, and unself-conscious
language." The New Yorker 10/28/02
ON
THE LINE: Three years of intense training for Australia's top young dancers
culminates with a single event - a pas de deux exhibition that could make their
careers. "Watching closely is David McAllister, the Australian Ballet's
artistic director. He has between three and five places available for next year.
On stage tonight are 14 talented young dancers, all desperately wanting one of
them. The dancers know that most of them will miss out." The
Age (Melbourne) 10/29/02
MACMILLAN
CHARGES ROYAL INCOMPETENCE: One of the reasons Ross Stretton was forced out
as director of the Royal Ballet was because Sir Kenneth MacMillan's widow was
ready to withdraw rights for his work. She says Stretton was just a small
problem compared to the general incompetence of the Royal's management. "We
are talking about a huge business at Covent Garden, about people's livelihoods.
Though I don't have any argument with the Royal Ballet's professional managers,
unfortunately, in dance terms, the Opera House has had at its helm a bunch of
amateurs." The Telegraph (UK) 10/29/02
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3. MEDIA
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#media
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WHAT'S
WRONG WITH ARTS COVERAGE ON THE RADIO: Why is radio afraid to discuss ideas
on air? Instead we get artist interviews, process stories and fluff...
everything except the ideas. "Free public education is not an elitist
concept. And the CBC could be the best public educator in the world, by using
experts to explain difficult concepts in everyday language. Most experts on art
or ideas are already trained to do this, since they have had to spend some time
teaching to make their living. Learning and teaching are inseparable to most
thinkers and writers." The Globe & Mail
(Canada) 10/30/02
NEWSFLASH
- SEX STILL SELLS: The National Organization for Women has released its
annual critique of American television, and the landscape has rarely looked
bleaker for women who are unfortunate enough not to look like Jennifer Aniston.
"The standard for beauty is 'young, thin and white.' Only four
Asian-American actresses had substantial roles in regularly scheduled series,
NOW notes. The networks employed 134 more men than women in recurring prime-time
roles." And the top TV role model for young women isn't even a human being:
she's crusading cartoon character Lisa Simpson. Denver
Post 10/31/02
WAIT
- THE GOV'T IS AGAINST MONOPOLIES NOW? The U.S. Justice Department
has filed suit to block the merger of the two largest satellite television
companies, saying that the merged company would eliminate competition in the
industry, particularly in rural areas not served by cable television. The suit
was not entirely unexpected, but it raises questions about what the government's
plans may be for the proposed merger of cable TV giants AT&T and Comcast. Wired
11/01/02
THE
END OF VIDEO STORES? Video-on-demand is just around the corner. "The
implications of such a trend: declining influence of the movie-distribution
chains that hold sway over when and where new films are released; few video
stores outside large urban areas; and dwindling attendances at cinemas
everywhere. Cable providers will get their cut in the form of payment for
opening their networks to third-party content. Meanwhile, the set-top box will
replace the VCR—the greatest single product the consumer-electronics industry
ever produced, and one which, at its peak, generated half the industry's sales
and three-quarters of its profits." The
Economist 11/01/02
FRIDA -
WHERE'S THE ART? There's plenty to like about the new Frida Kahlo biopic.
But also some serious wrongs. First, where's her art? Then, "the film
unintentionally demeans Kahlo by depicting her as a charming naif, rather than a
savvy professional. OK, so she often wore folkloric Tehuana clothes and mimicked
folk-art techniques, the better to express her solidarity with working-class
Mexicans. But she herself was born bourgeois and was a creature of the
international art world besides. Her paintings are far more sophisticated than
they initially seem and, even though she downplayed her ambition, she obviously
took her work extremely seriously." Slate
10/30/02
IT'S
ABOUT WHO GETS TO CENSOR: Hollywood directors are suing companies who sell
software that edits out what they consider offensive scenes. "It's hard to
sympathize with the Directors Guild of America's efforts to prevent parents from
cleaning up movies when it allows studios to do it every day. As long as there's
a buck in it down the line, filmmakers allow studios to reedit their films for
TV and airplane broadcast. If studio research numbers come in low, filmmakers
willingly change endings, reshoot scenes, tone down sex and violence, cut out
entire characters and subplots, and even change the whole tone of a film to make
it more commercially salable." Los Angeles
Times 10/29/02 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4. MUSIC
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#music
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GRATEFUL
DEAD (BECAUSE IT PAYS SO WELL): Being a dead pop star is big business. Last
year dead rockers - Elvis Presley (who earned $37m), George Harrison ($17m),
John Lennon ($20m), Bob Marley ($10m) and Jimi Hendrix ($8m) - had big paydays.
What's the attraction? "On one level, the reasons are straightforward.
Prematurely dead artists make perfect pop stars. They don't become old and
unattractive, nor do they lose the musical plot. They are easier to worship
because they're not around to blot their copybook with embarrassing middle-aged
lapses of taste... The Guardian (UK) 11/01/02
DETROIT
SEES RED: Add the Detroit Symphony to the list of American orchestras
posting deficits. The $500,000 shortfall on a budget of $28 million is smaller
than other major orchestras, but it's the second year in a row the DSO has
failed to balance its books. Detroit Free Press
10/29/02
WATCH
THE PAINT DRY LIVE! The renovation of Milan's famed La Scala opera house is
causing no small amount of controversy among Italy's notoriously belligerant
opera fans, due in large part to a modernist design which has raised the hackles
of traditionalists. Now, the city of Milan has mounted a
web site which will show the progress of the renovation and offer notes on
the design. Andante (ADN Kronos) 10/31/02
WHEN
MUSIC REALLY MATTERED: There was a time, at the turn of the 19th Century,
writes Michael Tilson Thomas, that music "was the only art form where, in
real time, one could take in the vast experiences that we think of now as being
in the realm of cinema - experiences on the scale of invasion, tempests and
geological cataclysms." The Guardian (UK)
11/01/02
NEW
DEAL OPERA: Opera is drawing big crowds in America, new operas are finding
performances and innovation seems to be in the air. "Is America about to
put its own, contemporary stamp on opera, that centuries-old import from Europe?
Maybe. While it may be too much to call this burst of activity a trend toward
'Americanizing' opera, it's certainly a sign of life, and that's enough to get
opera enthusiasts cheering." Christian Science
Monitor 11/01/02
- WELL,
NOT TOO NEW: Innovation is all well and good, but the staples of
the operatic repertoire are still the most popular draws at most North
American opera companies. A new survey by Opera America finds that Puccini's
La Boheme is the most oft-produced show on the continent, with 27
separate productions scheduled for this season, and 207 since the 1991-92
season. Andante (AP) 11/01/02
THE
PROBLEM WITH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAS: Symphony orchestras across America are
struggling with money (or rather, a lack of it). "What's the problem with
classical music? As it turns out, all unhappy symphony orchestras are unhappy in
their own way, but the answer is surprisingly consistent. "It really is
'the economy, stupid.' It's affecting all those revenue sources - especially
corporate, foundation, government and individual donations - that are crucial to
an orchestra's bottom line." Los Angeles Times
10/29/02
PRICING
THEMSELVES OUT? A crew from Deutsche Grammophon was in Boston this week to
record Andre Previn's new violin concerto with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In
years past, this wouldn't have been unusual, but in today's music world, big
labels rarely record American orchestras. T.J. Medrek asked DG's top man if the
Previn recording could signal a turnaround, but the answer, in a word, was no:
"It always comes back to money. I think when the (musicians) unions of this
country decide that they have overpriced themselves and that it would really
make sense to renegotiate terms in order to make more recordings, then I think
we (DG) would be the first ones who would be there." Boston
Herald 11/01/02
OLDER
STARS ABANDON RADIO: Noticed that older musicians seem to be showing up on
the tube more often? "Television - and not just MTV - has supplanted radio
as the chief means of exposing new music, particularly for veteran artists.
Shrinking radio playlists have less room for new music. Far more radio stations
are likely to play James Taylor's Fire and Rain, for example, than take a
chance on his new single." Nando Times 10/27/02
PLOT
PROBLEM: Why are opera stories often so ridiculous? When one thinks of all
the effort that goes into composing and producing an opera, it seems odd that
plots are often so ludicrous. But many are classic stories, and "some
stories grow over centuries - each new generation's projections and alterations
ripening them until, eventually, they become mythic. With each successful
retread, a story will gain in resonance and meaning - reinforcing its power to
move and inform us." The Guardian (UK) 10/28/02
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5. PEOPLE http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#people
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SO
WHO IS DANA GIOIA? Nominated by President Bush to be chair of the National
Endowment for the Arts, Dana Gioia is "a writer with a background as a
businessman. He is a registered Republican who voted for George W. Bush and for
his father before that. His poetry is not political. His criticism, essays and
reviews are not polemical. Rather, Mr. Gioia appears to be someone with a wide
range of artistic and intellectual interests who is passionate about making
poetry more accessible to the public. Yes, his essay Can Poetry Matter?,
which appeared in The Atlantic Monthly in 1991 and then in a collection of his
essays, angered academics because he accused them of making poetry an insular
enterprise." The New York Times 10/28/02
MARTEL'S
'OVERNIGHT' SUCCESS: Last week Yann Martel won the Booker Prize. Not many
had heard of him before that. He got only a $20,000 for Canadian rights to Life
of Pi, US$75,000 for US rights and was turned down by five UK publishers
before getting $36,000 for the UK rights from a struggling publisher. For four
years those advances were his only income. "I could only do it because I
don't smoke, I don't drink, I don't have a car. I have roommates. I wear
second-hand clothes. I have no TV. I have no stereo. My only expenses are my
notebooks and my computer." National Post
(Canada) 10/28/02
THE
SUN KING: "At 66, Philippe de Montebello is celebrating his 25th
anniversary as director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art — probably the
longest tenure by any major American museum director — having taken over from
Thomas Hoving. Mr. Hoving the populist, Mr. de Montebello the elitist. That's
the familiar chestnut, even though the label of staunch conservative attached to
the latter is a bit misleading." The New York
Times 11/03/02
JOHN
LAHR REMEMBERS ADOPH GREEN: "He could sing a symphony—or, literally,
throw himself into song. Head bobbing, voice croaking, arms pinwheeling, Green
whipped himself up until he attained full dervishosity. A sort of prodigy of
playfulness, he was unabashed by silliness and quite capable of pursuing
frivolity to zany heights. In his version of Flight of the Bumble Bee,
for instance, he would start as if he were playing the violin, only to end up
flitting and buzzing like the bee." The New
Yorker 10/28/02
HOW
TO WRITE BOOKS AND INFLUENCE GOVERNMENTS: Greek author Vassilis Vassilikos
may be the embodiment of the old literary cliche about the pen and the sword. He
may just be the only author on earth who can claim that one of his books helped
to bring down a military dictatorship. And yet, Vassilikos, who has penned 98
books over a career which spans a half-century, does not get caught up in the
power and glory of it all. "I am known as a political writer but I think of
myself more as a writer of erotic novels." Toronto
Star 10/31/02 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
6. PUBLISHING
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#publishing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WHERE'S
THE POETIC LICENSE? Why has Los Angeles never produced a poet able to
capture the sense of the city? "The answer is that this is overwhelmingly a
city of private life. The great bourgeois conception that private life is
meaningful has reached its apogee - or decadence - here on the shore of the
Pacific. Our great spaces are private not public ones; our major preoccupations
are individual and familial rather than communal. And just as these facts
subsume common social and political expectations, so they frustrate the
expectation that a great city must inevitably have a single, great poet." Los
Angeles Times 11/03/02
WRITER
ADMITS LIE: Gabe Hudson got a lot of mileage out of a story he told about
sending George Bush a copy of his book and getting a letter back from Bush
condemning it. But the White House denied the story, and Friday Hudson had to
admit he lied. "I never sent my book, Dear Mr. President, to the
president, and I never received a letter from him. My claims that I received a
letter from the president were meant as satire, and were intended to be
perceived as such." Uh huh. Hartford Courant
11/02/02
CANADIAN
AUTHOR CANCELS US TOUR BECAUSE OF RACIAL PROFILING: Indian-born Canadian
author Rohinton Mistry has cancelled his book tour midway through its U.S. leg,
"citing the 'unbearable' humiliation of being searched at U.S.
airports." Nando Times (AP) 11/03/02
THINKING
BACK: Sure we're always hearing buzz about the latest books coming out. But
it's a publisher's backlist that pays the bills. "Though the definition of
where frontlist ends and backlist starts is tough to pin down, the idea of books
that have stood the test of time inspires rapturous enthusiasm among independent
booksellers, several of whom recently shared their thoughts on this vital
category. Selling older titles is profitable and basic to the entire book
enterprise." Publishers Weekly 10/28/02
"DIFFICULT"
WIN: France's top literary prize is the Prix Goncourt. It has great prestige
but only token monetary value. This year's winner is Pascal Quignard, who won
for a book that critics have described as a "difficult" read.
"It's a sequence of beginnings of novels, stories, landscapes,
autobiographical fragments. It's not a novel or an essay." BBC
10/29/02
TO BE
CANADIAN (SAY IT PROUD): Canadians seem to be scooping up all the big
international literary prizes these days. Canadians themselves seem a little
dazed by all the attention, but there's no denying that Canadian literature now
has cachet. How did Canada grow its crop of prominent writers? MobyLives
10/29/02
POETS
LAUREATE - PRACTICING WITH AN EXPIRED LICENSE? Current controversies over
American state poets laureate are a bit embarrassing. But hey, poets live messy
lives, and besides, ''it has sparked the kind of controversy that allows people
to have opinions about something they never knew existed in the first place.
Maybe people will even care to have an opinion, and that's a good thing.'' Boston
Globe 10/29/02
RESCUING
WRITERS: The Australia Council has a program for "eminent" writers
to "rescue" them from financial hardship. The program gives $80,000
each to authors who have "published at least four works, regardless of age,
and must 'dazzle' the board with their literary merit, critical recognition and
contribution to Australian literature. Eighty-one writers received grants
totalling $1.94 million, out of a record 543 applicants." Sydney
Morning Herald 10/29/02
SUING
THE PATRIOT ACT: A coalition of free-speech groups have sued the US Justice
Department over the Patriot Act. "The Patriot Act, passed in October of
2001, allows the seizing of records from institutions like libraries and
bookstores even in situations where criminal activity is not suspected. It also
imposes a gag order that prevents those who records have been seized from
reporting what happened. The suit seeks certain pieces of what it describes as
generic information, such as how many times the act has been used and against
what kind of establishments. It does not seek to uncover what was revealed in
these seizures." Publishers Weekly 10/24/02 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
7. THEATRE http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#theatre
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PARLIAMENTARY
DEBATE ON THEATRE RACISM: The British House of Lords debates racism in
English theatre. "The Lords debate follows a survey which concluded the
theatre was institutionally racist, with 88% of theatre staff claiming they had
been subjected to racism in their job. 'The old objection to casting Afro-Caribbeans
in roles originally intended for white actors is still being put forward, in
spite of this prejudice having been shown in the majority of cases to be
unfounded'." BBC 11/01/02
EVERYTHING
CHANGES IN 50 YEARS: Fifty years ago Jerome Willis appeared in a production
of The Tempest at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Now he's at it again -
same play, same company... but everything else has changed. "To join the
Royal Shakespeare Company in 2002 is to start work with one of the largest
theatrical organisations in the world. The Memorial Theatre season I joined in
1952, by contrast, was in many ways an extension of the London theatre."
Everything about how theatre is produced here has been transformed. The
Guardian (UK) 10/31/02
BOMB
THREAT CANCELS MOSCOW PRODUCTION OF 42ND STREET: A bomb threat at the
Moscow theatre where a traveling production of 42nd Street is playing
forced cancellation of the show. The threat was enough for several cast members,
who decided to quit the show and leave Russia. "Everyone is trying to find
out tonight whether this bomb scare was al-Qaeda or Chechnyan or some random
prankster, but the Russian government is not telling us anything, just like they
are not telling doctors the gas that they used." Denver
Post 10/30/02
LOOKING
GOOD: It's shaping up as an unusually good year on Broadway. Ticket sales
are surging, already there have been two blockbuster hits, a couple more solid
contenders, and December (usually a down month) has a calendar stuffed with
openings. Dallas Morning News 10/29/02
AYCKBOURN
PROTEST STAR TURNS: Prolific playwright Alan Ayckbourn is threatening to
quit London's West End theatre scene. "The dramatist is 'furious' that
producers in search of new audiences are hiring cinema, pop and television stars
at the expense of accomplished stage actors. Sir Alan criticised Madonna's
'inaudible' starring role in David Williamson's Up for Grabs, which he
said was so bad she should have been regarded as a silent exhibit rather than an
actor." The Independent (UK) 10/25/02
LOOKING
TO REGAIN AN EMPIRE: Cameron Mackintosh is one of the biggest producers of
Broadway hits ever. But currently he's only got one show running on the Great
White Way. "Mackintosh says Broadway is going through a 'retro' wave of
upbeat shows centered on familiar material, 'often rather brilliantly
repackaged'." But things change, he says. And he's negotiating on his next
project. Hartford Courant 10/27/02 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8. VISUAL
ARTS http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#visualarts
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ANOTHER
TURNER CONTROVERSY: This year's Turner Prize shortlist follows a tradition
of nominating controversial art. It includes a work that is a graphic
description of a pornographic movie. "The four shortlisted artists - Fiona
Banner, Liam Gillick, Keith Tyson and Catherine Yass - will learn who has won
the coveted prize, and with it a £20,000 cheque, in December." BBC
10/30/02
- THROWING
UP FOR ART: With Stuckists protesting outside at the absence of
traditional painters on the Turner shortlist, inside art glitterati were
upchucking after watching a movie by one of the finalists (and it wasn't the
porn project). The Guardian (UK) 10/30/02
- CLUELESS?
British culture minister Kim Howells' attack on Turner Prize artists
curiously helps define a line of artistic meaning. "No sensible critic
defends all modern artists. But, equally, no intelligent person dismisses
them all, as the culture minister has done. If you believe that execution
and time spent are the defining qualities of art, then Howells, with his
weekend landscapes and portraits, is an artist, denied greatness only by the
fact that many others are better at painting trees. If you accept that
modern art depends on ideas and connections (or what Howells calls
'conceptual bullshit') rather than paint-stained hands, then Britain has
some remarkable artists." The Guardian (UK)
11/02/02
BATTLE
FOR THE BARNES: Lincoln University is a small black college with control of
an art collection worth billions of dollars. But the Barnes Collection, claiming
poverty and an unworkable relationship with Lincoln has filed a petition for
divorce and announced its intention to move to Philadelphia. The plan is a blow
to the tiny college, and court battles over the Barnes' right to self
determination figure to drag out a long time. The
New York Times 10/30/02
ART
ONLINE: Many museums have resisted putting images of their artworks online
for fear that they would lose control of the images. A project in California
seeks to put museum collections across the state online. "Users can search
150,000 images of artifacts, paintings, manuscripts, photographs and
architectural blueprints from 11 public and private museums. But with more than
2,000 museums in the state, that's just scratching the surface. 'Our goal is to
get every museum, library and archive in California to have their collections
digitized and online'." Wired 10/30/02
SHOOT
ME: An art exhibition in Soho is drawing criticism for its violent theme,
particularly after the DC-area sniper attacks. "Shoot Me, by the
multimedia artist Miyoung Song, features a basement shooting gallery that
enables visitors to take potshots with a BB gun at random women, children and
porn stars in the throes of sex as they flash by on a video screen equipped with
a paper bull's eye." The Globe & Mail
(Canada) 10/30/02
PARIS
MUSEUMS PREPARE FOR SUPERFLOOD: Paris' leading museums, including the Louvre
and the Musee d'Orsay are removing thousands of precious artworks from their
basement storage because of fears about a hundred-year super-flood that could
happen this winter. "We're not saying the great centennial flood is coming
this winter, we're just saying we know it will come some time soon and the signs
are not encouraging. We have to make sure we can deal with it when it
happens." The Guardian (UK) 10/26/02
BRITAIN'S
WOEFUL PUBLIC BUILDING RECORD: Why are public building projects in Britain
so woefully carried out? "In Britain we have become so used to the idea
that any major public building project will be delivered several years late and
costing some multiple of the figure originally predicted that initial
projections are treated rather like the boasts of an imaginative angler."
The UK has failed to invest in its educational infrastructure. What's needed is
a massive education plan for engineers and architects... The
Guardian (UK) 10/29/02
YE
OLDE OBELISK TRANSPORT COMPANY: In ancient times hundreds of obelisks lined
the Nile. But beginning in Roman times, foreign countries made sport of taking
souvenirs, and it became fashionable to remove the giant stone obelisks and
bring them back for placement in leading cities. One of the last taken was
transported to New York in 1881 to Central Park, where thousands of New Yorkers
waited... Archaelogy 11/02
THE
MAN BEHIND REM, DANIEL, ANISH... Modern architects like Rem Koolhaas and
Daniel Libeskind like to dazzle with theatrical structures. But Cecil Balmond is
the engineer behind them who helps make the ideas possible. "Balmond's
structures tend to look as if they have no business standing up. Instead of
depending on massive walls and simple symmetry for their strength, they rely on
what he presents as being a deeper understanding of nature. In his softly-spoken
but determined way, Balmond is trying to shift the way that we see engineers, as
well as engineering." The Observer (UK)
10/27/02
LOOKING
FOR A DIGITAL HOME: Seeing how there are museums for just about anything, is
there a possibility of a museum devoted to digital art? "Efforts to
establish a one-stop shop for the digital arts — a Linkin' Center, if you will
— have been, at best, modestly successful. Donors are tight fisted, especially
when there are no tangible objects that they can call their own. As a result,
while there are small high-tech art centers scattered around the country and
virtual museums sprinkled across the Web, none fulfill the museum functions of
organizing, commissioning, exhibiting, collecting, preserving art works and
education. But two organizations are moving in the right direction." The
New York Times 10/28/02
SOTHEBY'S
DRAWS BIG FINE: Sotheby's is fined more than 20 million Euros by the
European Union for "operating a price-fixing cartel during the 1990s."
Fellow partner-in-crime Christie's escaped punishment because the company came
forward to provide evidence of price fixing. "The pair handle 90% of the
auction market and have been under investigation by the commission for breaking
fair trade rules. They were accused of inflating commission fees and defrauding
art sellers out of £290 million." BBC 10/30/02
A
NERVOUS ART MARKET: Whenever the economy goes down, the number of artworks
up for auction goes up. "While the monetary total is not unusually high,
the sheer number of works for sale this fall has increased. Some is being sold
by people in financial distress, but many other sellers think this is the moment
to cash in. The question is whether collectors will have the appetite, never
mind the means, to buy." The New York Times
10/31/02
SEMANTICS,
ART, AND THE FUTURE OF DIGITAL: "Conventional wisdom values art partly
because it's scarce - there's only one Mona Lisa, and it isn't hanging in your
living room - but the impact of digital art only increases as it multiplies
through spontaneous, viral transmissions. Art will make a detour from the realm
of the cultural cognoscenti to the world of karaoke on Nov. 1, when Southern
California media art coalition LA Freewaves kicks off its eighth biennial
Festival of Experimental Media Arts, TV Or Not TV...More than 350 artists
will present around 300 works at close to 65 venues, including museums,
Koreatown pool halls and neighborhood Internet cafes. The festival will also
take place on three TV channels, and online." Wired
11/01/02
PROFIT
IN UNCERTAINTY: Sotheby's realized some time ago that artwork whose
ownership during the Nazi years wasn't clear could be a big problem for sales.
So it begun brokering deals for the disputed work. "Sotheby's has neatly
turned a problem into a business-getting scheme but, although it is not doing
anything illegal, there are questions to be asked about its new venture. By
getting involved in settlement negotiations over paintings that it may
ultimately sell, it risks being accused of a conflict of interest." The
Telegraph (UK) 11/02/02
WHAT'S
WITH FRIDA? "We may never know the key to Fridamania, but Frida Kahlo
made sure that every element of her fame was inextricable from every other. Her
face, her life with muralist Diego Rivera, her connected eyebrows and faint
moustache, and her ethnic Mexican wardrobe were part of her art. And as a
result, she's an icon from every angle. Pictures of her are as popular as
pictures by her, and they're often the same thing." Dallas
Morning News 11/03/02
PLEA
TO U.S. - CAREFUL OF IRAQI CULTURAL SITES: An international assortment of
curators, collectors, art patrons and lawyers is urging the US government to be
careful of Iraq's ancient cultural sites in any possible war. "Experts
estimate that the number of archaeological sites in Iraq could be anywhere
between 10,000 and 100,000. They warn that these sites face a greater risk than
they did 10 years ago because of the greater American determination to topple
the regime." The Art Newspaper 11/01/02
NATIONAL
GALLERY HEAD WARNS OF DECLINE: The new director of London's National Gallery
has warned the government that persistent underfunding of the national museum
collections is seriously damaging Britain's image abroad. Some visitors to
British museums are having an experience "more akin to the former eastern
Europe." The Guardian (UK) 11/02/02 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
9. ISSUES
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#issues
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BRIT TRASH
(AND WE LOVE IT): There was a time when English cultural exports to the US
were civilized, intelligent. No more. "The most powerful British influences
on American culture today are ferociously crass, unvarnished, unseemly - and
completely unapologetic about it. They are, in fact, one of the latest assaults
on what was once quite a civilized country." The
New Republic 10/28/02
IN
PRAISE OF GENERALISTS: Of course we want students to be focused. We want
them to excel. But specialization without a broad general education leads to
myopic thinking. So maybe we ought to come up with some program of broad general
graduate study, suggests Catherine Stimpson. Chronicle
of Higher Education 11/01/02
RETHINKING
UK ARTS FUNDING: Has British public funding of the arts backfired on itself?
"The English system of funding has fallen victim to the necessity of
political justification. Everything has to have a catch phrase - outreach,
cultural diversity, accessibility. All these things were inherent in the best
companies anyway - but it has led to tremendous bureaucracy. What can be done?
Are there lessons to be gleaned from abroad about the way we fund our
arts?" The Guardian (UK) 10/28/02
CULTURE
CAPITAL FINALISTS: Six finalists for the 2008 European Capital of Culture
have been named. They are Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Liverpool, Newcastle/Gateshead
and Oxford. "The rivalry between the cities has been fierce, owing to the
benefits previous holders of the title have received. The UK's last City of
Culture - Glasgow in 1990 - saw a massive increase in tourism as a result of
winning the title." BBC 10/31/02
A
GROWING RIFT BETWEEN EUROPE AND AMERICA: Are America and Europe growing
further apart culturally? Politically, relations have been getting worse in
recent years, but culturally a gap seems to be widening as well. "The more
the European masses appear to be hooked on American popular culture, the more
bitterly their elites decry the U.S. as the profitable but cynical pusher."
Commentary 10/02
BOSTON'S
NEW ACTIVIST ARTS: Boston hasn't built a major new museum or theatre in
about a century. But that's about to change. With major building plans in the
works, the city is taking a more activist approach to arts development.
"Two years ago, there was an episodic commitment to the arts. We want a
sustained commitment now. Right now there are projects on the drawing board in
every neighborhood of the city.'' Boston Herald
11/03/02 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
10.
FOR FUN http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#forfun
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ IT'S
JUST A DAMN QUARTER ISN'T IT? American states each get to have a
design represented their state in production for a limited time. But of
course the rivalries and controversies about what should go on the coin
are fierce. Take California: "Our quarter will differ a lot from the
other (state) quarters, because of our state's unique diversity. We'll
blow any other state out of the water." Uh huh. North
County Times (California) 10/31/02
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