Week
of July 29-August 4, 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
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1. SPECIAL INTEREST
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#specialinterest
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WAR
ON MUSIC: "During the last three years, the battle
against file sharing has become the entertainment industry's
version of the War on Drugs, an expensive, protracted, apparently
ineffective and seemingly misguided battle against a contraband
that many suggest does little harm. The labels' main strategy -
busting the biggest dealers in an attempt to strangle the supply
of free MP3s, while offering few palatable solutions to stem the
demand - is a classic tactic from the War on Drugs book, and it
has failed just as clearly." Salon
07/31/02
THE
FUTURE OF FAIR USE: "When Congress brought copyright law
into the digital era, in 1998, some in academe were initially
heartened by what they saw as compromises that, they hoped, would
protect fair use for digital materials. Unfortunately, they were
wrong. Recent actions by Congress and the federal courts - and
many more all-too-common acts of cowardice by publishers,
colleges, developers of search engines, and other concerned
parties - have demonstrated that fair use, while not quite dead,
is dying. And everyone who reads, writes, sings, does research, or
teaches should be up in arms. The real question is why so few
people are complaining." Chronicle
of Higher Education 07/29/02
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2. DANCE
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#dance
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THINKING
THE UNTHINKABLE: Is New York dance on the road to extinction,
or at least irrelevance? On the surface, it seems like a silly
question. After all, the Big Apple is the undisputed capitol of
American dance, and one of the world's great centers of the art.
Certainly, there is "a strong circumstantial case for New
York still being the dance capital of the world - until you notice
that every one of these attractions relies on a presiding talent
that is either middle-aged, old or dead." So once the
Baryshnikovs and the Cunninghams are gone, will young innovators
like Mark Morris and Christopher Wheeldon really be able to carry
on the tradition of great American dance? The
Telegraph (UK) 08/03/02
NEW
TURN IN HOUSTON: It's been 27 years since Houston Ballet last
hired an artistic director. With Ben Stevenson's resignation, the
company's choice of a new leader will say much about what
direction it wants to go. "The perception is that it's a very
good dancing classical company, not a great dancing classical
company. ... That it had reached a very high level of (technical
ability), but it has fallen back a bit," he said.
"Everyone feels there's a company that they can personally
improve. Whether or not that is a reality may be more because of
what they've toured than what the company really is." Houston
Chronicle 07/28/02
DANCING
AS A CRIME: An Iranian American visiting Iran is arrested
there for the crime of dancing. Is dancing dangerous? "The
truth is that dance can be about communication, rumination and
celebration. It embodies ideas about religion, politics, culture,
individuality, survival and more. Is dance dangerous? The
governments and religions that try to control and ban it think so.
The Khordadian case is not just about one dancer. Before him,
people have died for the right to dance or, sometimes, they have
just died inside without it." Los
Angeles Times 07/28/02
BUILDING
A BRAND: A little good marketing and branding would get
England's National Ballet back on the right track again. "Why
has high culture such reticence to get down there and exploit its
international reputation to bring in hard cash? Tuesday night
showed the wealth of talent in the Royal Ballet, and the genuine
charisma and star quality of their principals. But, for all the
massive interest in dance, they remain known only to a relatively
small and select audience." The
Independent (UK) 07/27/02
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3. MEDIA
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#media
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PUTTING
RARE CULTURE ONLINE: A project in Britain will digitize
important artistic, historic, scientific and cultural records to
make them available to all. The project includes, rare books,
scientific records, old newsreels, photographs - many of the
documents or records are currently inaccessible because of fear of
damage, and it is hoped that digital records of them will help
research. Wired 08/02/02
RIGHT
TO OWN IS UNDER ATTACK: "The simple transfer of music,
from home to car to portable device, could soon be ending. Content
companies and consumer advocates are waging a vicious battle in
Washington, with the future of consumer rights - and what you can
do with products you have purchased - at stake. At the center of
the fight: government regulations being written with the support
of movie studios and record companies." Wired
08/02/02
YOUR
RIGHTS THREATENED: US lawmakers are seriously considering
legislation that would allow movie and music companies to hack
into personal computers to check for content. "Maybe this
grotesque legislation will die the death it deserves, once
sensible people understand the consequences. But if it or
something similar goes through, its passage will be only one more
in a series of laws and wish lists that have a single purpose. The
goal is to give copyright owners profound control over music,
movies and other forms of information. The fact that this control
would do enormous damage to your rights, and to the future of
innovation in a nation that desperately needs more innovation, is
apparently beside the point." San
Jose Mercury News 07/30/02
KID-PROOFING
THE BIG SCREEN: It may be hard to believe in this era of
family-friendly blockbusters, but there was a time only a few
years ago when a PG rating was considered box office death, and
directors intentionally inserted words and scenes designed to
garner the adults-only R rating into their movies. So what's
changed? According to one industry analyst, ""If you've
got excessive violence or nudity, you're taking out a huge portion
of America, conservative moviegoers included, not to mention the
most lucrative audience of all, and that's the under-16
crowd." Denver
Post 08/04/02
PBS
AT THE GATE: PBS seems determined to make itself unloved and
unwanted. "Like an underperforming child, you get angry at
its failures because you so badly want it to succeed. But lately
PBS hasn't even been responding to tough love. It does what it
wants, for whom it wants, never takes criticism well and then
can't understand why it gets hassled all the time." San
Francisco Chronicle 07/31/02
- PILING
ON PBS: "This is all very nice and earnest, but PBS
isn't getting sympathy and support from critics any
more." So says a Canadian writer after observing PBS's
various stumblings in recent months, and its sad, pathetic
attempt to make generic, boring programs look exciting and
new. With the Louis Rukeyser flap and the HIV-positive Muppet
flap both thoroughly botched by network management, reruns of The
Civil War simply aren't enough to cover up public
broadcasting's glaring inadequacies anymore.
The Globe & Mail
(Toronto) 08/01/02
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4.
MUSIC
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#music
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A
QUOTE BY ANY OTHER NAME... Bootlegs are the hottest thing in
new music. "The debate over what bootlegs are and what they
mean is taking place within the wider context of a culture where
turntables now routinely outsell guitars, teenagers aspire to be
Timbaland and the Automator, No. 1 singles rework or sample other
records, and DJs have become pop stars in their own right, even
surpassing in fame the very artists whose records they spin. Pop
culture in general seems more and more remixed -- samples and
references are permeating more and more of mainstream music, film,
and television, and remix culture appears to resonate strongly
with consumers. We're at the point where it almost seems unnatural
not to quote, reference, or sample the world around us." Salon
08/01/02
SETTLEMENT
AT 'MOSTLY MOZART': "Lincoln Center has reached an
agreement with the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, ending the
four-day strike that led to the cancellation of 17 of the
festival's 27 programs, according to a joint statement released by
Lincoln Center and Local 802, the New York musicians' union. The
remaining concerts that were to have featured the orchestra will
not be reinstated. But the union informed its members late Friday
afternoon that pickets at the festival would end." Andante
08/03/02
- A
TALE OF TWO FESTIVALS: There may be more to the Mostly
Mozart strike than meets the eye. Critics are increasingly of
the opinion that the management of the festival is playing
with the notion of firing players or even scrapping the idea
of a full-time festival orchestra altogether. Meanwhile, while
Mostly Mozart is diminishing its own profile with labor
disputes and cancelled concerts, the increasingly diverse but
always light-hearted Lincon Center Festival continues to raise
its profile and elevate its already considerable reputation. Washington
Post 08/04/02
THE
WORLD'S LARGEST CHAMBER MUSIC FEST: The Ottawa International
Chamber Music Festival is the largest chamber music fest in the
world. "Last year, with 106 concerts, attendance reached
57,000." How did the nine-year-old festival get so popular?
Director Julian Armour says "he has succeeded by refusing to
pander to his public, with relatively unknown composers such as
Lutoslawski, Dutilleux and Romberg co-habiting alongside Bach,
Beethoven and Brahms. This is an event for purists: unlike some
'classical' music festivals in this country, in Ottawa there are
no Celtic fiddlers or Dixieland bands." The
Globe & Mail (Canada) 07/31/02
STILL
AFLOAT, BUT LISTING DANGEROUSLY: With the English National
Opera furiously denying rumors of cutbacks and shutdowns at every
turn, there is no small amount of panic surrounding the future of
opera in the UK. The ENO is one of only a handful of companies in
the world presenting classic operas in the local dialect (English,
in this case,) and whether or not the rumors of crisis are
completely true, there can be no doubt that the company is facing
a very uncertain future in an age when opera is supposed to be
making a comeback. The Guardian (UK)
08/03/02
ISRAEL
PHIL CANCELS AMERICAN TOUR: The Israel Philharmonic has
canceled its American tour. "There were reports that the
group could not find an insurance company willing to cover them
for the trip, and that security firms were reluctant to guard the
musicians and audiences." BBC
07/30/02
ODE
TO SILENCE: Silence is much underrated - in our music, and in
our everyday world. It's increasingly difficult to find quiet.
“Once the air was filled with music. Now it is filled with
noise. The young have never heard silence. In our polluted world
they will never be able to hear it.” The
Times (UK) 07/30/02
COMPETITION
CORRUPTION: At its best, the tradition of musical competition
is a way of preparing young musicians for the pressures of the
professional world, and a proving ground for young soloists on the
verge of greatness. But the world's great competitions haven't
been at their best for quite some time, and these days, corruption
and cutthroat tactics are the rule at most events. Pianist Nikolai
Petrov, a veteran of the circuit, is proposing major reforms, and
many observers are saying that the competitive world would do well
to listen before it becomes completely irrelevant. Andante
07/30/02
IN
SEARCH OF DIVERSITY: The Chicago Symphony recently hired its
first-ever African-American musician as a member of the orchestra.
Many critics wonder why it took so long. The answer is far from
simple. Chicago Tribune 07/28/02
MUSIC
IN THE MOUNTAINS: The Aspen Music Festival is one of the
largest teaching camps in the US. Few if any of the 750 young
people here will be the new Yo-Yo Ma, yet they swarm through this
chic town, eager and hoping for the best. The most beautiful of
arts offers career success to several and frustration to many.
There is a kinship here with history's ambitious laborers and
their largely unprofitable mines. Beauty beguiles the soul, but
finding a way to make it feed the stomach is less easy. Quite
rightly, such paradox is ignored at places like this." The
New York Times 07/29/02
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5. PEOPLE
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#people
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TEACHING
WRITING IN THE BACK OF A PIRATE STORE: Dave Eggers' writing
career is well established. But these days he's spending most of
his time running and supporting a writing program for kids in San
Francisco's Mission District. "Open just a couple of months,
826 Valencia is starting to buzz with young people who have heard
about the space through word of mouth. They come for the free
tutoring and workshops, but often are lured in by the sweetly
twisted Disneyland that is the pirate supply store, with its
strange little dioramas and hidden trapdoors." San
Francisco Chronicle 08/02/02
MILLER
THE IRONIC: One doesn't tend to think of Arthur Miller as an
author of hilarious satire - he's generally perceived as being
darker than a festival of film noir drenched in motor oil. So its
no great surprise that he would choose a relatively remote
location to try his hand at comedy. Miller's latest play combines
crucifixion and commercialism in what Minneapolis's Guthrie
Theater hopes will be an attention-getting progression in the
career of America's arguably most famous playwright. The
Star Tribune (Minneapolis/St. Paul) 08/04/02
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6.
PUBLISHING
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#publishing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LIFE
OF THE BOOK: "Most books go through catabolic and
anabolic cycles, just as foodstuffs are broken down to simple
acids and usable energy, before the nutritional Lego is remoulded
nearer to the heart's or liver's desire, using up some of the
energy from the first step. So books, their information consumed,
pass to charity shops, jumble sales, or through the hands of
literate dustmen, to the lowest rung of dealer; and from there,
they start an irregular climb, increasing in order, negative
entropy, and incidentally price, until they reach the top
collector of Wodehouse or Waugh, or the ultimate specialist in
cheese or chess, concrete or campanology." The
Guardian (UK) 07/27/02
WHAT'S
THE SECRET? Readers seem fascinated by the act of writing, and
they tend to ask writers detailed questions about their craft.
"Musicians tend not to face these questions because it is not
generally held that everyone has a symphony in him somewhere.
Language however belongs to us all. Is there a hint of resentment
in readers? 'We all speak English. We all write e-mails and
letters every day. What's your secret? Just give us enough detail,
and we can be inducted into the coterie, too.' It is almost as if
some people feel that they were off sick or at the dentist's the
day the rest of the class was told how to write a book, and that
it isn't fair of authors to keep the mystery to themselves." The
New York Times 07/29/02
BRITISH
LIBRARY CLOSED BY STRIKE: The British Library was closed for
the first time in its history by a strike Monday. "The
24-hour closure was over the library's refusal to raise a 4% pay
award to staff. These include the library assistants - some of
them earning only £10,000 to £15,000 a year - who usually bring
the scholar his books from library stores." The
Guardian (UK) 07/30/02
MORE
BRITS READING TO KIDS: A new poll in the UK reports that the
number of parents reading to their children has more than doubled
in the past two years. "Ninety percent of those polled said
they regularly read to their child, compared with 40 percent when
the same question was asked in 2000." The popularity of Lord
of the Rings and Harry Potter is offered as a reason
for the jump. Atlanta
Journal-Constitution 07/31/02
MAINLY
MALE (AND EVIDENTLY THAT'S OK): Is it a problem that The
New Yorker publishes many more male writers than female
writers? Dennis Loy Johnson's survey of bylines so far this year
revealed an overwhelming number of male writers. But aside from a
few letters reacting to his research and a defensive letter from
the New Yorker, Johnson's surprised the issue hasn't touched more
of a nerve. MobyLives 07/29/02
'THE
GREAT GERLACH' JUST DOESN'T SOUND RIGHT: "Was Jay Gatsby,
the title character of F. Scott Fitzerald's most famous novel, a
distinguished Austrian baron,or a poseur bootlegger who changed
his name to cavort with the rich and famous of Prohibition-era New
York? That is the question at the centre of an international
literary hunt to unearth the shady details of Max von Gerlach, the
man experts believe to be the prototype for the mythic American
tycoon who graced the pages of the 1925 novel The Great Gatsby."
The Globe & Mail (Toronto)
08/04/02
HEAVENLY
REPRODUCTION: There are only four 'nearly-perfect' copies of
the Gutenberg Bible in the U.S., and sadly for the type of
scholars who break out in hives when they contemplate having to
actually leave the Boston-New York-Washington corridor for a
couple of days, one of the copies is all the way out in Austin,
Texas, where an armed guard keeps it under constant watch. But the
University of Texas is near completion of a project to digitize
all 1300 pages of its Gutenberg, to the delight of religious
scholars. Much of the book is already online, and the quality is
said to be far superior to any previous reproductions of a
Gutenberg. Chicago Tribune 08/01/02
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7. THEATRE
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#theatre
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MORE
TICKET WOES TO COME: "According to new statistics from
the League of American Theaters and Producers, Broadway's main
trade group, only about one in three theatergoers is buying
tickets more than four weeks in advance. That figure is a sharp
departure from the typical 50 percent that producers had grown to
expect over the last decade, a period of remarkable prosperity for
Broadway as a whole... Factor in a weak economy and weak advance
sales, and some Broadway insiders say they expect producers may
just close long-running shows rather than risk a series of weekly
losses." The New York Times
08/04/02
FRINGE
BENEFITS: The largest Fringe Festival in the world opens this
weekend in Edinburgh, Scotland, and the largest
in America opens in Minneapolis. Fringe festivals have become
increasingly popular in the last decade, with the main attraction
being the chance for the public to get a look at the type of
non-mainstream artists whose work often goes unnoticed,
underfunded, and unreported on. In fact, some longtime fringe fans
have expressed concerns that the whole idea has become too big and
popular, and fear that fringe festivals may soon go the way of
independent film festivals, which are often accused of having been
coopted by the 'establishment' they are supposedly disdaining. BBC
08/04/02 & Saint Paul Pioneer Press 08/02/02
EASY
AUDIENCE: "It may be more difficult to please the critics
- but to make the Los Angeles theater crowd happy, it seems that
all you have to do is finish the show. Can't act, can't sing,
can't dance - but, hey, nobody's perfect. Posing the question 'Are
there too many standing ovations in Los Angeles?' touches a nerve
with some members of the local theater community, who insist this
is a misconception fueled by jaded journalists who attend way too
many opening nights, where the house is papered with friends,
agents, celebrities and the performers' moms and dads." Los
Angeles Times 08/02/02
IF
ONLY THERE WASN'T THAT DAMN AUDIENCE: "Theatre-going,
unlike the solitary darkness of movie-watching, is undeniably a
communal experience. We're all in it together, and when theatre
becomes magical, it is because we react together, because our
emotions surge collectively. The only problem is all those other
people – whether it's the one person sitting next to you (for
whose enjoyment you feel illogically responsible) or everyone else
in the theatre, who all seem to be misunderstanding the entire
performance. Whatever and whomever, your response to a play is
dangerously vulnerable to the behaviour of others." The
Independent (UK) 07/31/02
CREEPY,
YES, BUT FLATTERING: Every year, playwrights send out dozens
of scripts, tapes, and video recordings of their work to theatre
companies around the world which are considering what works to
place on their upcoming seasons. But one Canadian author recently
became suspicious of one particular request for samples of his
work, and a quick investigation revealed that the individual
behind the request was not a producer at all, but a
more-than-slightly unbalanced theatre buff living on the
Virginia-Tennessee state line with a massive collection of
ill-gotten theatrical gains. The Globe
& Mail (Toronto) 07/30/02
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8.
VISUAL ARTS
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#visualarts
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ELEVATING
THE WHITNEY: "In what is believed to be the largest
donation of postwar American art to any museum, the trustees of
the Whitney Museum of American Art have joined forces to give it a
trove of 86 paintings, sculptures and prints that experts value at
$200 million... The joint gift is the culmination of a three-year
effort led by the Whitney's chairman, Leonard A. Lauder. During
that time trustees quietly, almost stealthily, scoured artists'
studios, art galleries and auction houses — and even their own
living rooms — for the kind of important postwar American work
that has been increasingly vanishing from the market as it has
been acquired by collectors and institutions." The
New York Times 08/03/02
LOOKING
FOR ANSWERS: "Like critics trying out adjectives to
describe a perplexing canvas, investigators and art experts are
looking at the theft this week of two Maxfield Parrish paintings
from a West Hollywood gallery and straining to understand. Most
find the thief's work 'sophisticated.' But they also label the
$4-million disappearance 'disturbing,' 'puzzling' and
'weird.'" Los Angeles Times
08/03/02
THE
UFFIZI'S NEW GATE OF HELL? The Uffizi is getting a new exit,
and it's been designed by Japanese architect Arata Isozaki.
Trouble is - official Florence hates the proposal. "Is the
talk of this art-blessed town these muggy midsummer days really an
aesthetic disaster-in-the making, as fired-up opponents like film
and opera director Franco Zeffirelli would have it - or an
unappreciated artistic vision, as frustrated proponents contend?
Or, to put it another way, would Dante have assigned architect
Arata Isozaki to inferno or to paradise?" Nando
Times (AP) 08/02/02
SPRUCING
UP STONEHENGE: A £57 million plan to dress up the Stonehenge
site is unveiled. "Even the critics agree that the design for
the visitor centre, or 'gateway'as English Heritage prefers to
term it, is lovely. Australian architects Denton Corker Marshall
have almost buried the building in the ground in their anxiety not
to eclipse the monument. From the air it will show as silver
parallel lines in the earth, and from the ground as pewter-coloured
metal slabs roofed with turf. A car park will have trees around it
for camouflage." The Guardian
(UK) 08/01/02
NEW
ATTENTION FOR WOMEN ARTISTS: As a group, women artists have
not received nearly the attention of their male counterparts. But
in Australia, a recent string of big sales of work by women
artists has caught the attention of collectors. Sydney
Morning Herald 07/30/02
ANOTHER
AUCTION SCANDAL? Sotheby's is facing a crimminal investigation
over a £49 million Rubens painting which was sold by an Austrian
woman earlier this month. "Public prosecutors in Austria
launched an inquiry after they were handed a dossier from an
anonymous source claiming the company had conspired with the
painting’s owner to conceal the true identity of the Old
Master." The Scotsman 07/28/02
"WHAT
IS HAPPENING IS A CRIME": Greece is building a museum at
the base of the Acropolis to house the Parthenon Marbles, if
Britain ever returns them. Greece is rushi9ng to get the $100
million museum open before the 2004 Olympics. But "a growing
number of critics say the government is damaging other antiquities
in a rush to make the museum ready in time. They charge that
excavation at the museum's site at the foot of the great Acropolis
citadel has uncovered substantial Roman, Byzantine and Stone Age
ruins that provide vivid archaeological snapshots of ancient
Athens, and that development should be delayed while the remains
are studied." Washington Post
07/29/02
REVERSE
BEGGING: An artist in Colchester England is given £300 and
had 24 hours in which to spend it. He began asking people on the
streets if they'd like it. "Instead of asking people for
spare change I said, 'Would you like some spare change, mate?'
When people saw that image they automatically went into their
beggar mode, and said, 'No mate'." BBC
07/28/02
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9.
ISSUES
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#issues
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MASSACHUSETTS
CUTS ARTS SPENDING 62 PERCENT: Despite the calls of thousands
of arts supporters lobbying their state representatives, the
Massachusetts state legislature cut the state's arts budget from
$19.1 million to $7.29 million for fiscal 2003, its lowest level
since 1994. The 62 percent cut will wipe out whole categories of
programming and funding. Boston Globe
08/02/02
ART
WITHOUT THE GOVERNMENT? What would happen if government arts
funding simply went away? A panel put together by the Australia
Council debated the question this week. "Scenarios ranged
from the rise of venture capitalists prepared to invest in the
future income stream of artists to the 'swallowing'of the arts by
big business, undignified corporate tussles over naming rights and
aggressive branding of artworks." Sydney
Morning Herald 08/02/02
AND
BY 'STABILITY,' WE MEAN 'LOTS OF CASH': Lincoln Center is the
world's largest performing arts complex, and with great size comes
great financial difficulty. The center has been in nearly
continuous upheaval for the better part of a decade, but a new
president promise to bring stability. More than that, Reynold
Levy, who in May became Lincoln Center's fourth CEO in less than
two years, is promising to raise $1 billion in the next decade to
help stabilize the complex and fund a massive, and massively
controversial, renovation. Andante
(AP) 08/04/02
KENNEDY
CENTER HONORS: This year's Kennedy Center Honors have been
announced. Chosen are Paul McCartney and Elizabeth Taylor,
conductor James Levine, actor James Earl Jones and dancer and
actress Chita Rivera. "Now in their 25th year, the Honors are
presented by the nation's performing arts center as a tribute to
those who have distinguished themselves in the fields of music,
dance, theater, film and television. The honors will be bestowed
at a State Department dinner Dec. 7, followed the next night by a
Kennedy Center gala." Washington
Post 07/31/02
ARGENTINA'S
GREAT DEPRESSION: "As Argentina struggles to survive a
four-year economic calamity that in statistical terms is now the
equivalent of the Great Depression in the United States, the
impact on the nation's cultural life is felt in every way and at
every level. Cultural producers are not only scrambling to try to
do more with less, they are being forced to rethink the role,
function and nature of culture in Argentine society." The
New York Times 07/30/02
SUMMER
FEST: This summer there are a record number of arts festivals
across America. There are "3,000, drawing an audience
estimated at up to 130 million and accounting, by industry
estimates, for close to $2 billion in spending. With the number of
arts festivals nearly doubling, by some accounts, since the
mid-90's, the festivals have changed the ways Americans consume
culture." The New York Times
07/30/02
THE
VISA PROBLEM: Getting visas for foreign artists to come into
the US to perform has become tougher. Visas are delayed, or in
some cases denied, "sometimes for reasons that are
understandable and sometimes for reasons that seem arbitrary.
Among the artists denied entry were 10 of the 28 members of an
Iranian troupe that performed at Lincoln Center Festival 2002 this
month, and most recently a Yugoslav pianist with a recording on
EMI Classics to his credit and a recommendation from the conductor
Christoph Eschenbach in his file." The
New York Times 07/30/02
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
10. FOR FUN
http://www.artsjournal.com/Arts%20beat.htm#forfun
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TATE
IN SPACE... Think today's ambitious museums have lost
perspective with their expansion plans? The Tate pokes fun at its
ambitions. "First there was Tate Britain. Then there was Tate
Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St. Ives. Next, coming to a galaxy
near you: Tate in Space - an extraterrestrial art-exhibition venue
for space tourists in search of intergalactic cultural enrichment.
'In order to fulfill their mission to extend access to British and
International contemporary art, the Tate Trustees have been
considering for some time how they could find new dimensions to
Tate's work. They have therefore determined that the next Tate
site should be in space'." The
Globe & Mail (Canada) 07/31/02
NOW
FOR A SOMETHING THAT REALLY MATTERS... What are the greatest
cartoon characters of all time? TV Guide has made a list. And no
one's bound to be entirely satisfied. No. 1's bad enough, but
"the most serious scandals are near the end of the list: Yogi
Bear and Boo Boo (36) beating the more ingenious Wile E.Coyote and
the Road Runner (38); the charming stammerer Porky Pig (47)
out-talked by the incomprehensible Donald Duck (43); two
ingratiating magpies, Heckle and Jeckle (25), flying higher than
the definitive bird/cat combo Tweety and Sylvester (33)." Sydney
Morning Herald 08/02/02
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