ARTS ISSUES
http://www.artsjournal.com/artsissues
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Post Mortem On Creativity - What're The Rules? What should become of an artist's unplubished work after they're dead? "One school of thought says if a composer, writer or painter does not wish certain works to be seen or heard they should destroy them; that, indeed, leaving them in existence is a tacit acceptance that they will see the light of day eventually." And yet, seeing (or listening to) this work often leads to insight on the "official ouevre. - The Guardian (UK) 03/13/04
http://www.artsjournal.com/artsissues/redir/20040314-41825.html
Twin Talent Towers Manhattan Plaza is a subsidized apartment complex for artists in New York. "The complex's two towers consume the entire block bordered by Ninth and 10th avenues and 42nd and 43rd streets. Inside is the most talent-laden village in New York, its residents packed in as tightly as a pastrami on rye in a profoundly delicious deal subsidized by federal, state and city housing programs." Rent is based on a percentage of your income. - Newsday 03/14/04
http://www.artsjournal.com/artsissues/redir/20040314-41815.html
DANCE
http://www.artsjournal.com/dance
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Pas de Pregnancy: Choreographer Sarah Morrison decided that pregnancy wouldn't slow her down. So she's choreographed a piece for herself now that she's pregnant. Is it a pas de deux? "The improvisation is based on the idea of the psyche popularized by Carl Jung. The psyche is generated in the mind. The baby is developing in the body." The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) 03/14/04
http://artsjournal.com/dance/redir/20040314-41812.html
MEDIA
http://www.artsjournal.com/media
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Based On A (Not Really) True Story "How much fictionalization should be tolerated before the designation 'based on a true story' becomes both a liability and a lie? The harm or benefit to society is debatable, but in examining these specimens of reality-based myth, a barometer of America emerges: Namely, they reveal the political climate in which we live and the sort of comforting untruths we crave at the movie theater." Philadelphia Inquirer 03/14/04
http://www.artsjournal.com/media/redir/20040314-41817.html
FCC To Stations: Go To Your Room! The media "indecency" debate in the US is a classic parent/child conflict. "For our purposes, the role of the parents in this indecency script is played by the Federal Communications Commission. The kids are radio and TV stations. And for the past 15-20 years, the FCC has largely trusted them to keep the house of broadcasting orderly. The outcome, critics say, is a disaster, with food on the ceiling, busted china and God knows what going on in the basement." New York Daily News 03/14/04
http://www.artsjournal.com/media/redir/20040314-41816.html
MUSIC
http://www.artsjournal.com/music
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Tower Records To Come Out Of Bankruptcy Stronger Tower Records has been in financial difficulty for awhile. So there was considerable concern that when the chain declared bankruptcy last year, the end was near. Not so. "Wrapping up a fast-track case that's been mostly a formality, Tower is poised to emerge from bankruptcy protection Monday with its debt load $80 million lighter and its business intact." Sacramento Bee 03/14/04
http://www.artsjournal.com/music/redir/20040314-41826.html
What Makes A Great Violinist? What makes a great violinist? "The Genius of the Violin festival, which starts in London later this month, is designed to display the instrument's extraordinary versatility in everything from Bach to bluegrass. It is a tribute to the impresario Joji Hattori's powers of persuasion that three of the world's top fiddlers should be participants." The Independent (UK) 03/12/04
http://www.artsjournal.com/music/redir/20040314-41821.html
The Shostakovuch Question, Round 257 Time once again to play The Shostakovich Question. "The 'Shostakovich Question' is a debate is over the relationship between the composer and the triad of Stalinism, Mother Russia and Shostakovich's own deep humanism. It asks: why did Shostakovich remain in the USSR, while others like Stravinsky left? Was he obliged by a love of country to acknowledge, if not accept, the government? Or was his life torn between a public and private self? Indeed, was every musical phrase a thread woven through a tortured tapestry of dissent, a passionate but coded cry of opposition?" The Observer (UK) 03/14/04
http://www.artsjournal.com/music/redir/20040314-41820.html
Opera On The Outside (Of London, That Is) So where is the great opera happening in England these days? "Our regional companies, all of which tour way beyond their home bases, are currently setting standards at least as high as their better-heeled metropolitan rivals." The Observer (UK) 03/14/04
http://www.artsjournal.com/music/redir/20040314-41819.html
A New Chorus That's Been Around Awhile "When the Florida Philharmonic went bankrupt, it effectively meant the end of the Philharmonic Chorus as well. Yet in less than six months, a new organization has risen from its ashes to bring choral repertoire to local audiences." It is an old, established organization, and yet as an independent newcomer, the challenges of setting up are formidable. Florida Sun-Sentinel 03/14/04
http://www.artsjournal.com/music/redir/20040314-41831.html
PEOPLE
http://www.artsjournal.com/people
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Roos - The Music Critic Who Didn't Like Editing James Roos was the classical music critic for the Miami Herald for 31 years before being diagnosed with a brain tumor. He was a tough critic who didn't much like to be edited. "Jim was notorious for going to the composing room after the evening edition to restore his pieces to their pre-edited state. Consequently, he was banned from the composing room. That was a long time ago." Miami Herald 03/14/04
http://www.artsjournal.com/people/redir/20040314-41830.html
PUBLISHING
http://www.artsjournal.com/publishing
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For Writers - the Best Of Times Things have changed in the publishing business in the past decade. "That's the real cultural revolution: the shift in the balance of power from the publisher to the bookseller. Thatcherism, which made the market king, empowered the bookseller and put the publisher on the defensive. For the past 10 years at least, most published writers in Britain and America have enjoyed a golden age of remuneration, publicity and, yes, sales scarcely dreamed of before. In 2004, the author's lot, though far from ideal, is better than it has ever been." The Observer (UK) 03/14/04
http://www.artsjournal.com/publishing/redir/20040314-41828.html
Call Out The Language Police What accounts for the popularity of recent books on grammar? "They are tapping into a widespread feeling that English is being debased by things such as computers, especially email, which have led some to do away with punctuation altogether. 'Text messaging, of course, has just about wrecked the English language'." Sydney Morning Herald 03/13/04
http://www.artsjournal.com/publishing/redir/20040314-41822.html
Study: UK Book Industry Not Diverse A new study of the UK publishing business reports that the industry is overwhelmingly white. "It says that nearly half those questioned felt they worked in a white, middle-class ghetto whose employees were drawn from a small ethnic pool. The findings in the survey, which was conducted by the Arts Council and the Bookseller, are supported by several senior publishing executives who say that nothing will change until recruiters look beyond Oxford and Cambridge." The Guardian (UK) 03/12/04
http://www.artsjournal.com/publishing/redir/20040314-41814.html
Booksellers Delay Deleting Book Prices From Covers Major booksellers in the UK have delayed plans to stop printing the prices of books on their covers. "Authors and their agents fear the move would intensify the price cutting war between chain stores over a small number of bestsellers, marginalise most other books and drive down the already low income of writers." The Guardian (UK) 03/14/04
http://www.artsjournal.com/publishing/redir/20040314-41813.html
THEATRE
http://www.artsjournal.com/theatre
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From Bombay To New York (By Way Of London) Meera Syal has a big London success in London with her musical Bombay Dreams. She's hoping the show will translate to New York next month. "You wouldn’t have put money on Bombay Dreams. It isn’t based on a pop group’s output or a film, it features a whole new culture and an unknown cast. And even though [composer] AR Rahman is a demi-god in India, he was unknown to anyone here who didn’t watch Hindi films."
The Scotsman 03/12/04
http://www.artsjournal.com/theatre/redir/20040314-41829.html
Pop Goes The (Damn) Musical What's with all these musicals based on pop songs? "What's baffling about musicals about music is their tautologous nature - it's like baking a pie pie. Worse, however, is that everything that might have been good about original rock/pop subject matter - its fleeting, perfectly glistening moments - is obliterated in these mercenary productions, these Trocaderofications of rock, in which the glorious past becomes the cheap and waxen perma-present. What's sad is how many artists, from Suggs to Rod Stewart, are prepared to collaborate in the ruin of their own often already dubious reputations." The Guardian (UK) 03/13/04
http://www.artsjournal.com/theatre/redir/20040314-41823.html
VISUAL ARTS
http://www.artsjournal.com/visualarts
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Gopnik: I love The Whitney Biennale, I Love... Blake Gopnik attempts the Whitney Biennale with a positive attitude: "If art lovers are almost always disappointed by the Whitney's survey, maybe the problem lies in our expectations rather than in the show itself. Though it features more than 300 works chosen from across the nation in something like nine months, we still somehow imagine that the biennial should be a tight, coherent show of excellent art. In fact, it can never be more than a grab bag of whatever work happens to have been made since the previous edition of the show. Great exhibitions come about when curators identify important art that speaks to them, and then spend many years shaping it into a show that will speak to us. The Whitney Biennial comes about because another two years have gone by and someone's got to pull something together, fast." Washington Post 03/14/04
http://artsjournal.com/visualarts/redir/20040314-41832.html
Face Off - Learning To Love Portaits "The arts editor had a brilliant idea. He thought. A weekly series on portraits? I wasn't so sure. The National Portrait Gallery is my idea of hell. Hard-faced Tudors and luxuriantly eccentric Victorians are great. But the 20th-century galleries make your flesh crawl with their bad paintings, trite photographs, and affirmation that the interest of a portrait lies in its subject rather than creator. The NPG classifies portraits by the person, with the artist's name second. This is why portraits can seem the opposite of serious art." And yet... The Guardian (UK) 03/13/04
http://artsjournal.com/visualarts/redir/20040314-41824.html
The Art Gallery Of Ontario's Pattern Of Woe Last week, the Art Gallery of Ontario's most important board member and benefactor quit. Disaster. "But this was only the latest in a series of plagues visited on the AGO over the past year. First there was plunging attendance, followed by its consequences: budget cutbacks and a confrontation with its employees' union. Meanwhile, interminable discussions with Gehry were conducted behind a veil of secrecy befitting the CIA." Toronto Star 03/14/04
http://artsjournal.com/visualarts/redir/20040314-41818.html
