ARTS BEAT NEWSLETTER - Last Week's Top Stories

Arts Journal Home Page
DanceMedia
PublishingTheatreVisual ArtsArts IssuesPeople




SearchContact Us

2002

Nov 19-24
Nov 11-18
Nov 4-10

Oct 28-Nov 3
Oct 21-27
Oct 15-20
Oct 7-14

Sept 30-Oct 6
Sept 23-29
Sept 16-22
Sept 9-15
Sept 3-8

Aug 26-Sept 2
Aug 19-25
Aug 12-18
Aug 5-11

July 29-Aug 4
July 22-28
July 15-21
July 8-14
July 1-7

June 24-30
June 17-23
June 10-16
June 3-9

May 27-June 2
May 20-26
May 13-19
May 6-12

April 29-May 5
April 22-28
April 15-21
April 8-14
April 1-7

March 25-31
March 18-24
March 11-17
March 4-10

Feb 25-Mar 3
Feb 18-24
Feb 11-17

Feb 4-10

Jan 28-Feb 3
Jan 21-27
Jan 14-20
Jan 7-13

2001 archives
2000 archives

News Service Home`Services
Digest Samples
Headline Samples

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Week of  October 19-November 4, 2001

1. Special Interest
2. Dance
3. Media
4. Music
5. People
6. Publishing
7. Theatre
8. Visual Arts
9. Arts Issues

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. SPECIAL INTEREST
 
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#specialinterest
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CAN ART HEAL? - FOOEY: "The idea that art functions as a remedial agent—useful for the treatment of social, spiritual or emotional disorders—is positively Victorian. Still, we cling to the fantasy—even if healing in our post-Freud world is less about physical lesions and more about psychological wounds. Americans' sentimental relationship to art periodically drives us into the suffocating arms of therapeutic culture. The terrorist attacks seem to be doing it again." Los Angeles Times 11/04/01

THE ART OF SHOCK: There have been "two longstanding fetishes in the history of art since the Enlightenment: that an artist is a kind of sacred warrior and art an 'attack' on societies that need to be refashioned. Artists, of course, are not terrorists, but Stockhausen was right to notice the affinity between their hard work, their discipline, their commitment to a message, even their sometimes macabre imagination. What he missed, besides the obvious fact that artists create and terrorists destroy - and this is as fundamental as good and evil - is that terrorists insist you get the message. Great artists have more grace." Washington Post 10/28/01

CHANGE AS THE ESSENCE OF CULTURE: "Some researchers are now wondering whether the dietary, social and environmental changes of the past quarter-century have not affected the ways we relate to art. Attention spans, we know, are shorter among the text-message generation. They may also respond to different cultural stimuli. The world is moving on, faster than in any epoch in art history. Ephemerality is integral to art. Today's trash is tomorrow's culture, and vice versa." The Telegraph (UK) 10/31/01

MONUMENTAL MEMORIES: How do we as a society remember important events such as the WTC attacks? "In the last few decades, the reliability of memory, particularly traumatic memory, has been questioned. But while individual memory is under fire, collective memory is being hotly pursued. A public memorial or a ruin is a scaffold, something on which collective memory can hang. But that does not mean that it helps people remember things. With his concept of sites of memory, the French editor Pierre Nora has argued that monuments are built in place of memory." New York Times 10/27/01 (one-time registration required for access)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2.
DANCE
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#dance
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

JUST AS BALLET SURGES... Outgoing Scottish Ballet director Robert North says he wonders why the company's board wants to switch from traditional ballet to being a modern company. According to new figures, Scottish Ballet scored an increase of more than 50 percent in audience last year - from 43,000 to more than 66,000. "At the same time, contemporary dance companies in Scotland attracted an audience of little more than 3,000 between them." The Scotsman 10/30/01

NATIONAL BALLET - MORE WITH LESS: The National Ballet of Canada is 50 years old, but for all its critical acclaim, its funding and operations have been scaled back in recent years. The company is starved for money compared to its peers. "Measuring their budgets in Canadian dollars, that of the American Ballet Theatre is $43-million, while that of the San Francisco Ballet is $39 million - each roughly double the National's paltry annual budget of $15-million." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 10/31/01

NOW BEING RADICAL IS AN ASSET: Thirteen years ago Michael Clark was considered "far too radical" to head the Scottish Ballet. "But with the ballet seeking to modernise itself and using the dreaded C word (contemporary) he is rapidly shaping up as an ideal candidate. Obsessed with sex and famous for using atonal indie rock for his compositions, Clark is everything traditional ballet with its orchestras and twee costumes is not." Scotland on Sunday 10/28/01

DEFINING THE NEW: Twenty years ago, contemporary dance in Ireland was a backwater proposition. But through shrewd choices of collaborators and an eye for the innovative, Dance Theatre of Ireland has become arguably the hottest company in the country. Sunday Times (UK) 11/04/01

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3. MEDIA

http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#media
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

VIDEO WHEN YOU WANT IT: HBO introduces video-on-demand. "Video-on-demand is like having access to a virtual video store with no tapes or late fees to worry about. It not only gives viewers absolute control over viewing times, it also offers VCR-like functionality: Viewers can pause, rewind and fast-forward programs." Wired 10/30/01

I WANT MY MTV (SMALLER): After decades of growth, MTV says it's time to contract. The network will lay off 450. Officials say "the reorganization was motivated by a need for changes in MTV Networks' structure as well as by the poor advertising market." CNN.com 10/30/01

SURVEY DOWN, BOX OFFICE UP: A new survey says 60 percent of adults over 35 don't want to go to movies right now. So then what accounts for the increased box office every week since one but September 11? Fall receipts are 9 percent ahead of last year. MSNBC (Variety) 10/30/01

AUSSIE MOVIE RENTAL BATTLE: Australia's movie rental stores are fighting with movie studios. "Warner simultaneously releases DVDs to the retail and rental market. They are color coded - silver for retail at a wholesale price of $24, and blue for rental, wholesaling at $55. When Warner threatened to sue video shops caught renting the retail-designated DVD, the association - representing 55 per cent of Australian video shops - took the offensive. It argues that under the Copyright Act, Warner cannot restrict the rental of DVD movies." The Age (Melbourne) 11/01/01

DVD COPYING, FOR NOW, IS STILL LEGAL: The movie industry has been encrypting dvd's so they can't be copied. Trouble is, they can be, and movie producers want courts to ban distribution of the software that cracks the code. The court (so far) says no. The software, the court says, is protected free speech. Business 2.0 11/02/02

...BUT IT'S NOT EXACTLY LIKE THE BOOK: Pre-release reviews of the Harry Potter film are in. Are they good? Not really. Are they bad? Not really. Will the vast audience of true Harry Potter believers care either way? Not really. The Guardian (UK) 11/02/01

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4
. MUSIC

http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#music
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MUSIC TRADING DOWN: A leading internet traffic measuring company says the number of people trading music files online in Europe has fallen by 50 percent since Napster folded last summer. Gramophone 10/29/01

TORONTO SYMPHONY REPRIEVE: The Toronto Symphony has got the federal and provincial governments to "write matching cheques of $227,000 each to keep the orchestra afloat for the next 10 days." The gives the orchestra a brief window to come up with a plan to bail itself out of oblivion. Toronto Star 10/31/01

  • HOW DID IT HAPPEN? Orchestras go bankrupt all the time these days, but how could one of Canada's most prestigious ensembles find itself in such a seemingly hopeless position? Some pundits would like to claim that the TSO's imminent collapse is yet another sign of the impending death of classical music, but a realistic look at the TSO's history shows a horrifying lack of executive leadership. The Globe & Mail (Toronto) 10/31/01

ANOTHER ORCHESTRA IN CRISIS: "The Florida Philharmonic, which balanced its budget last season, could face a $2.1 million deficit for the current season and is in the grip of an immediate cash-flow crisis... To continue its season, the orchestra said, it needs $500,000 in the next three or four weeks." Miami Herald 10/26/01

CARNEGIE HALL POSTPONES HALL: Carnegie Hall has postponed plans for a new 650-seat underground hall. "The opening had been set for the fall season next year, but...the economic aftermath of the terrorist attacks had made Carnegie Hall rethink its plans." The New York Times 11/01/01 (one-time registration required for access)

WAKEUP CALL FOR LONDON MUSIC: Why did conductor Simon Rattle choose to go to Berlin rather than working in London? "So much playing in London now is like a Pavlov reaction: turn it on and it happens. Of course it's remarkable, but it's not healthy - I want to be an architect, not just a make-up artist. Whatever I want to build, I want to build on some human foundation." The Guardian (UK) 11/03/01

PASSING ON ARAB: Last summer many music industry people were predicting that Arab music was going to be the next big thing in World Music in the US. Sept. 11 "altered those predictions. As panic set in and racist attacks escalated around the country, Arab artists such as the popular Algerian Rai singer Khaled canceled U.S. tours and DJs spinning once-hip Middle Eastern beats suddenly found themselves out of work." San Francisco Chronicle 11/04/01

BUYING INTO BELLINI: Vincenzo Bellini was born 200 years ago. He was the darling of the French capital and died at the age of 33. "With the sole exception of Verdi, he is Italy's greatest opera composer. He is also one of the supreme tragic artists of music theatre, whose works, far from being exercises in melancholy, explore the limits of individual suffering and the outer reaches of the human psyche." So why is he so seldom given his due? The Guardian (UK) 11/02/01

WHY BOSTON? Why did James Levine want the Boston Symphony directorship? "For all his remarkable achievements in opera in 30 years at the Met and his regular appearances at the Bayreuth and Salzburg Festivals, he has not left his interpretive stamp on the major orchestral repertory in any consistent way. Nor has he conducted contemporary music and introduced new works as much as he would like to and as much as he must if his name is to be included among the towering conductors of this era. Only a major orchestra post can give him these opportunities. Boston provides them." The New York Times 10/30/01 (one-time registration required for access)

DALLAS OPERA AGREEMENT: The Dallas Opera and its orchestra have agreed on a new contract, ending a strike. "The agreement spares the Dallas Opera from presenting Simon Boccanegra with two pianos playing the orchestral part." Dallas Morning News 10/29/01

THE RED VIOLIN (FOR REAL): Violinist Joshua Bell has a new fiddle - a 1713 Strad with a story. It once belonged to Bronislaw Huberman, but was stolen from his dressing room at Carnegie Hall in 1936. It only turned up a few years ago, complete with a tale about where it lived out the rest of the 20th Century... Dallas Morning News 10/28/01

SOUND REACTION: Composers have taken to the web with pieces responding to the September 11 WTC attacks. One composer calls it "the equivalent of a sonic photo wall, where people's emotions about the tragedy are translated into sound and hung on the Web." You can hear some of it at here. New York Times 10/29/01 (one-time registration required for access)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5. PEOPLE
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#people
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SPANO IN ATLANTA: Robert Spano has taken an unconventional path in his career. Now, as he takes over leading the Atlanta Symphony, some wonder how his theatrical approach will play. Los Angeles Times 11/03/01

THE TWO GEORGES: "George Rochberg tipped the world away from audience-alienating atonality, and is, in many ways, responsible for the neo-tonalists who are embraced by symphony orchestras around the world. George Crumb was a major pioneer of alternative ensembles and new ways of using old instruments, creating universes of sound, and bringing a whole new mystical element to music. Together, they developed the art of musical collage, taking disparate musical sources from pop tunes to primal cries, and showing that in art, as in life, integration and resolution aren't necessary." Now at the ends of their careers, two musical pioneers look back. Philadelphia Inquirer 11/04/01

FAMILY MATTERS: "The death of the billionaire aesthete Daniel Wildenstein has brought to an end the most revealing chapter so far in the history of perhaps the world’s wealthiest, most secretive family of art dealers." The Times (UK) 10/26/01

THE PICASSO VIRUS: In a remarkable new book, Picasso, My Grandfather, to be published on November 8, Marina Picasso describes how each member of the family became dependent on and cravenly submissive to Picasso's towering ego. 'The Picasso virus to which we fell victim was subtle and undetectable," she says. "It was a combination of promises not kept, abuse of power, mortification, contempt and, above all, incommunicability. We were defenceless against it'." Sunday Times (UK) 10/28/01

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
6
. PUBLISHING
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#publishing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DEFENDING OPRAH AND HER CRITIC: "Many people think Oprah is a saint for her bookselling, so any questioning of her is Bad-Wrong-Dumb. Sorry, the problem here is that in the often dim, anti-intellectual caves of network TV, she's the only person talking about serious lit. Her tastes aren't mine, but I actually wish she had more influence – on other producers. We might get some wider-ranging book coverage. Choices. Rivalries." Dallas Morning News 11/01/01

  • POWER TO THE PEOPLE: Maybe it was no surprise that Jonathan Franzen put down Oprah and her book club. "What was telling about the Franzen-Winfrey contretemps was the five-alarm outrage of Manhattan’s literary publishing community. Faced with a choice—reprimanding arguably their brightest star in years or alienating a woman who spends many of her shows in the company of a bald-pated schmaltzateer named Dr. Phil—judgment was swift. New York publishing chose Oprah." New York Observer 10/31/01

LEAVING THE PENGUIN NEST: Penguin Putnam has lost its chief executive and several key editors; now it may also be about to lose top authors Tom Clancy and Patricia Cornwell. The key defection is that of longtime chief executive Phyllis Grann, who's leaving the end of this year after continued criticism of Pearson, parent company of the book publisher. The New York Times 11/01/01 (one-time registration required for access)

IN BLURBS WE TRUST: Ever wonder about the recommendations of books by bookstores? Can you trust them? Well... "The sums involved are considerable: the leading high-street chain, W.H. Smith, charges £10,000 to call a book ‘Read of the Week’. Books etc.’s ‘Showcase’ and Borders’ ‘Best’ cost as much as £2,500, and Amazon demands £6,000 for its ‘Book of the Month’ endorsement. To have a book called ‘Latest Thing’ will set you back £15,000, and ‘Fresh Talent’, an accolade recently won by Richard Littlejohn, costs £2,850." The Spectator 10/20/01

IF IT'S NOT REALLY HARRY... Last spring author NK Stouffer sued JK Rowling, claiming Rowling ripped off elements of Harry Potter from Stouffer. But though Stouffer got her book published , it's being ignored. "One review was by The Associated Press, which called it an 'excruciating mix of cliche, preachiness and just poor writing.' Meanwhile, the country's leading superstore chains, Borders and Barnes & Noble, declined to stock Stouffer's work. Baltimore Sun (AP) 11/03/01

BIG BUCKS/LOW SALES: At a time when many serious writers have difficulty even getting published, publishers are paying millions of dollars to celebrities to pen books. But those books are rarely successes - either critically or at the cash register. In fact, they sell poorly. So why the big money? Poets & Writers 10/01

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
7. THEATRE
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#theatre
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

IF YOU CAN MAKE IT THERE...: "Catharsis comes in surprising packages these days. Who would ever have thought three months ago that the most emotionally stirring shows in Manhattan would be a sincerely kitschy musical set to the songs of Abba (Mamma Mia!), an earnest story-theater rendering of Greco-Roman myths (Metamorphoses) and a dizzy, well-known romp like Noises Off? Strange times breed strange diversions, however. And what [those three] have in common is that they bypass that celebrated skeptical New York mind to go for the gut." The New York Times 11/02/01 (one-time registration required for access)

FOR $480, YOU GET THE UNDERSTUDY: "Nathan Lane, the Tony Award-winning star of The Producers, appears to have developed a polyp on his vocal chord and will be out of the hit show indefinitely, his spokesman said yesterday. News of Lane's ailment comes just one week after the producers of The Producers raised their top ticket price to a staggering $480." New York Post 11/02/01

MODERNIZING SCOTTISH ACTING SCHOOLS: "The popular perception of drama schools as being noisily peopled with big-mouths who have seen the video of Fame once too often and posh kids too thick for real university courses is, of course, only partially deserved." Now two new directors have been brought in to "modernise a course fraying at the edges" at Scottish drama schools. Glasgow Herald 10/31/01

BROADWAY AND THE ART OF HUMMING: Which is more important to the success of a Broadway musical - the lyrics and story or the music? Three current shows give contradictory answers. But a hint: "No one ever left a musical chanting the words rather than humming the tunes." New York Post 11/04/01

THE WORLD'S MOST UNPRONOUNCEABLE PRIZE: "The first recipient of Canada's single largest arts prize is Toronto theatre director Daniel Brooks, it was announced last night at a ceremony at the University of Toronto. Brooks, 43, was named the inaugural recipient of the Elinore and Lou Siminovitch Prize in Canadian Theatre, worth $100,000. The award, to be handed out annually, was created in January of this year to recognize an artist in mid-career 'who has contributed significantly to the fabric of theatrical life through a total body of work.'" The Globe & Mail (Toronto) 10/30/01

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8
. VISUAL ARTS
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#visualarts
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A HOME FOR THE PARTHENON MARBLES: Britain still has not said it has any plans to return the Parthenon marbles to Greece. But evidently the Greeks think they will get them back. "A £29 million Acropolis museum has already been commissioned by the Greek government to house the 2,300-year-old artefacts. Plans for the building, which will stand at the foot of the Acropolis hill are understood to include a glass gallery with windows or roof designed so that the marbles can be seen against the background of the Parthenon." The Guardian (UK) 10/26/01

BRITISH MUSEUM CRISIS: "The museum’s deficit last year was just over £3 million and there would have been a similar deficit this year, unless drastic action had been taken. The cuts will lead to shorter opening hours, a rota of closed galleries, cancellation of exhibitions, reduced building maintenance, a reduction of education programmes, a freeze on most new posts, and the requirement for foreign borrowing institutions to meet the full costs of loans, including curatorial time." The Art Newspaper 10/29/01

ITALIAN PRIVATIZATION SCHEME CRITICIZED: Members of a left-wing coalition in the Italian parliament are blasting a plan by the Berlusconi government to privatize the nation's art museums. Those in charge of the plan are defending it, pointing out that "the public sector would retain responsibility for exhibitions and the protection of cultural assets." BBC 10/30/01

TATE BRITAIN EXPANSION OPENS: "The Prince of Wales will open art gallery Tate Britain's £32.3m centenary development on Tuesday. The project, the most significant change to the gallery since it opened in 1897, gives it a modern entrance, with 10 new and five refurbished exhibition spaces all built into the neo-classical structure." BBC 10/30/01

BELLAGIO PULLS BACK ON ART: Las Vegas' Bellagio Hotel has reportedly canceled exhibitions at its art gallery, and some are wondering if the experiment with fine art at the hotel is over. "The Bellagio has cited reduced tourist business as a reason for cutting back on its exhibitions in the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art, a two-room exhibition space located between snack bars and marriage chapels in the mammoth resort. Business has fallen to the extent that some 15,000 to 20,000 Las Vegas casino employees have been laid off." The Art Newspaper 10/29/01

WHAT'S IT MEAN TO BE BRITISH? "Until very recently Britain hasn't had much interest in self-consciously using its national museums to say anything much about its identity. It's the unconscious message that is more revealing. If the received wisdom is to be believed, confident states don't need to worry about that kind of thing. But with the division of the Tate into two, and the creation of the Victoria and Albert's new British Galleries, the country has started to think more carefully about the nature of culture as an expression of national identity, which seems to suggest the onset of a bout of insecurity." The Observer (UK) 11/04/01

LONDON'S TIME PASSED? In the runup to this year's Turner Prize, some are wondering if the edge is off London's contemporary art scene. The buzz seems to be gone, and some are trying just a little too hard to make buzz. "Once something becomes widely visible, that is its moment of collapse. Tate Modern is the curtain call for British art." The Telegraph (UK) 11/03/01

MILLENNIUM DOME TO NEW YORK? The man hired by the British government to oversee the Millennium Dome suggests the structure be given to New York to cover the World Trade Center site. “It would be a wonderful gesture on the part of the Government to give the Dome to the City of New York. It would be a marvellous means of seeing the Millennium Dome having a meaningful purpose to its life.” The Times (UK) 11/03/01

LEONARDO BRIDGE OPENS: A bridge that Leonardo da Vinci designed 500 years ago was rejected by the Turkish sultan, and criticized as being unbuildable. This week the bridge was finally opened, in Norway, about 1,500 miles north of where Leonardo intended - in Norway. Fans call it the 'Mona Lisa of bridges'. "This is the first time any of Leonardo's architectural and civil engineering designs has been built. There have been models, but this is the first in full size." The Guardian (UK) 11/02/01

REMBRANDT AUTHENTICATED: A small 17th Century Dutch painting, purchased by the National Gallery of Ireland for £20 in 1896 has been authenticated as a genuine Rembrandt. At the time of its purchase "it was believed to have been painted by another 17th-century Dutch artist, Willem de Porter. While it is almost impossible to judge the precise value of La main chaude, it is certainly now worth millions of pounds." Irish Times 11/01/01

TRAPPED PAINTINGS: A group of El Grecos is trapped in Vienna. On loan from America for a show last summer, their owners are reluctant to let the canvases travel after September 11. "This apparently timeless ensemble on the venerable museum walls is thus deceptive. The gallery has become a depot where the pictures wait before being shipped out. The museum has added a few works by contemporaries of El Greco to justify their display, and looking at the unexpected works has an almost illicit feel to it." Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 11/01/01

THE AFGHAN ART TRADE: Long before the latest war began, the fabulous art treasures of Afghanistan — deposited there by overlapping Greek, Buddhist and Islamic civilizations — were presumed gone, destroyed by 20 years of war, economic desperation and, most recently, by the Taliban's fundamentalist brand of Islam. And yet during the last decade, much of the art has made its way out of Afghanistan to North America, Western Europe and, in particular, Japan. The New York Times 11/01/01 (one-time registration required for access)

    • Previously: THE MOST DANGEROUS RELIGION (HINT: IT'S NOT ISLAM): The world has watched in horror as Afghani fundamentalists willfully destroyed cultural treasures. But destruction of art is only a piece of a larger cultural battle going on here. Is international cultural conflict replacing political Cold War conflict? ArtsJournal 03/16/01

TAKING ART LOCAL: In Los Angeles, a movement has been springing up over the last several months that is changing the way the city's residents look at art. Suddenly, the hottest destination for fans of new art is a parade of small, locally owned, and almost amateurish galleries. These new-fangled exhibition centers are distinctive, reflective of their neighborhood surroundings, and, most importantly, exist not to turn a profit, but to fulfill the dreams of the people who have opened them. Los Angeles Times 11/01/01

TYRANNY OF INTERNATIONALISM: Are contemporary Egyptian artists being stifled because foreigners control the country's art business? "If the most active of these galleries are owned by foreigners, who have been accused of monopolizing modern art to fit their images, is the trend to promote art forms that are totally foreign to Egypt and Egyptian artists, forms that focus on denying national identity in favor of an international one?" Egypt Today 10/29/01

JAPANESE MUSEUM DIRECTOR FINED FOR BRIBES: The former vice-director of a Japanese museum has been fined 9.2 million yen ($75,000) for accepting bribes from the head of an art sales company. The fine is equal to the amount of the alleged bribe. Mainichi Shimbun 10/30/01

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
9
. ISSUES

http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#issues
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A MISSION FOR ARTISTS AND WRITERS: America's critics abroad are being answered by "tight-lipped or bland remarks offered in rebuttal from American officials, who act as if articulateness or eloquence were some weakness to be avoided." An alternative: "A friendly, decently informed American, thinking on his feet, listening to the members of his audience, taking them seriously, answering questions — not defending every government policy but defending by his performance a certain idea of the free individual — that is what might work." Slate 11/01/01

BUYING AUSSIE: Director Peter Sellars said he was going to reinvent the Adelaide Festival, and he has. Instead of a showcase for international stars, next year's festival will present homegrown Aussie and Aboriginal artists. "People want to see what is happening in Australia and this will be an interpretation of where we are today." The Age (Melbourne) 11/01/01

    • SELLARS MISSES THE PLANE: Peter Sellars couldn't be in Adelaide for the program announcement so he made a taped message. "Sellars's role from the start has been as a visionary, thinker and facilitator, not a doer." But "in the interests of being as contemporary as possible, Sellars left his message so late it missed the plane. It was the kind of flaw in execution that has marked the lead-up to yesterday's festival launch, which in terms of programming is running three months late." Sydney Morning Herald 11/01/01

ALL-KNOWING: Australia's opposition Labour Party wants to get elected on a "knowledge nation" platform. The party promises to transform the country, injecting $176 million for 600 new specialist teachers, focusing on literacy and numeracy, $493 million for a fund to improve the quality of teaching and learning at universities, doubling the number of research fellowships and creating a new category of elite fellowships at a cost of $38 million, a new University of Australia Online, with 100,000 new online undergraduate places by 2010, costing $320 million, and 35,000 new high skill apprenticeships, costing $105 million. Sydney Morning Herald 10/31/01

ART IN THE NEW CENTURY: The new head of the Australia Council says digital art is a revolution. It is "new in the same way film and television were the defining cultural drivers of the 20th century, I cannot believe that digital arts and digital technology won't be the comparable driving force in this century. It's not just about how we produce art, it's how it will change the nature of audiences, how it will change the access and distribution to culture that will change." Sydney Morning Herald 10/30/01

ADELAIDE FUNDING RESTORED: Australia's Telstra has decided to reinstate its $500,000 support for the Adelaide Festival. The company had pulled its sponsorship after the festival ran ads featuring images of Hitler. The Age (Melbourne) 10/30/01

  • HITLER ADS PROVOKE ADELAIDE SPONSOR: The Adelaide Arts Festival has lost a major $500,000 sponsorship after the festival aired ads featuring Adolf Hitler. "A black-and-white television commercial shows the German World War Two dictator behind a camera apparently taking a photograph, then with his head superimposed on to the body of the painter Pablo Picasso, and again sitting in a film director's chair." CNN.com 10/28/01

HOME