Changing The Culture Of The CIA (Not That One) The Cleveland Institute of Art is a distinguished school, but over the decades, its leaders fear that it may have missed an artistic boat or two. "After World War II, [CIA] grew increasingly conservative and insular. It hired a lot of former graduates as faculty. It emphasized fundamental skills, such as painting and drawing, virtually to the exclusion of the theories and concepts that drive the art world today." Now, a new "academic demolition crew" has taken over the school, and is making a concerted push for change in the way that art students are educated. The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) 10/13/04
Posted: 10/13/2004 7:00 am
Gehry To Design Theater Center At Ground Zero "Frank Gehry, admired for his voluptuous buildings of undulating titanium and steel, is to be the architect of a new performing arts center at ground zero, his first major cultural project in Manhattan, the development corporation in charge of rebuilding the site said yesterday. The selection of Mr. Gehry for the arts center - which is to include the Joyce Theater and the Signature Theater - brings to Lower Manhattan a celebrity architect who has been notably absent from perhaps the most closely watched architectural site in the world." The New York Times 10/13/04
Posted: 10/13/2004 5:05 am
Training The Next Generation Of Museum Execs A new graduate program at Russia's University of St. Petersburg is offering high-level training to students interested in getting into museum administration. The curriculum is an effort to insure that the country's rich museum legacy doesn't fall victim to poor management just as museums are being forced to look to private funding sources for the first time. The Art Newspaper 10/11/04
Posted: 10/12/2004 8:51 pm
It's Kind Of Like Watching Paint Dry The world of art restoration is a mysterious one to even the most frequent of museumgoers, but a new program launched by the Minneapolis Institute of the Arts is giving non-experts a glimpse of the processes involved in caring for great and aging artwork. "On two occasions now, the Institute has performed its magic in a public gallery, so that visitors could witness the techniques in progress and in person - and for those who may have been prevented by time or geography from following the exhibit first-hand... the entire process [is archived for public viewing] on the web." The Christian Science Monitor 10/13/04
Posted: 10/12/2004 7:36 pm
The Munch Attraction At some point in the last twenty years, the works of Edvard Munch crossed over from being mere admired art to being symbols of contemporary culture. But what is it about the painter that so engages people, more than 50 years after his death? It may be that Munch's "landscapes and portraits of inner anguish" touch a nerve with nervous individuals in a world filled with fear and uncertainty. The Age (Melbourne) 10/13/04
Posted: 10/12/2004 7:02 pm
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What? We Can't Steal Your Ideas? "Since the dawn of the film industry, it has been common practice for writers to send scripts and pitch stories to movie executives and producers. And for almost as long, scores of writers have sued the studios for stealing their ideas, only to have suits, filed on hard-to-prove copyright infringement grounds, which are dismissed or quietly settled. But a recently published opinion from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in Jeff Grosso v. Miramax Film Corporation, may soon shift the balance of power in this age-old tug of war." The New York Times 10/13/04
Posted: 10/13/2004 5:58 am
Court Deals Recording Industry A Major Blow The Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal of the federal court ruling that barred the music industry from compelling internet providers to turn over the names and addresses of their subscribers. The decision could throw a major monkey wrench into the industry's tactic of suing illegal file-traders anonymously, then forcing providers to match the computer footprints with user information. A high court decision on whether it will rehear a separate case concerning the liability of manufacturers in piracy cases has not yet been announced. Wired 10/12/04
Posted: 10/12/2004 9:04 pm
Quantifying Art's Value To The Taxpayer In Wisconsin, civic and arts leaders are holding a Congress at the spectacular new Overture Center in Madison to try to sell legislators and the public on the idea that the arts are a good investment. The main thrust of the argument is that the arts attract tourists, who spend dollars in the state. (Of course, the Overture Center itself was built entirely with private money...) Wisconsin State Journal 10/13/04
Posted: 10/12/2004 8:19 pm
The Arts, Now 50% Off Times are tough in the art world, and attendance has been slow for many organizations. So a group of Philadelphia arts groups have banded together to try out a very old-fashioned method of gaining new business: they're offering half-price admission to everything from operas to plays to pop concerts to museums. But the discounts are a one-time event, since no arts groups wants to create a ticket base that gets used to not paying full price. Philadelphia Inquirer 10/10/04
Posted: 10/12/2004 8:09 pm
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A Black Master Of Vaudeville, In Blackface With a newly released set of recordings, contemporary listeners can -- and contemporary performance artists should -- experience black vaudevillian Bert Williams. "Like so many vaudeville artists, Williams made few film appearances. We might also know his work better if he hadn't spent most of his career performing in blackface. Blackface has become theater's equivalent of the mark of Cain. It's a hard tradition to live with: there's so much cruelty and shame there. But blackface comedy produced some superb artists." The New York Times 10/13/04
Posted: 10/13/2004 5:23 am
It Was A Great Story While It Lasted, Though New scientific research has concluded that members of the Medici family, which is popularly cited as having funded much of the Italian renaissance, did not kill each other in a bloody slaughter, as had been rumored for centuries. In fact, researchers now say that the allegations that four members of the Medici clan ran each other through with swords and daggers are nothing more than fantasy stories spread by jealous rivals. "Malaria is the most likely cause of death for all four members of the family." Discovery News 10/11/04
Posted: 10/12/2004 8:57 pm
A Better Use For Botox "Botox hits the headlines these days chiefly as a sort of fashion accessory – the celebrities' wrinkle-remover. But in the case of the veteran American pianist Leon Fleisher, its effectiveness in treating muscular contraction has given him back the use of his right hand, out of action for more than three decades... Fleisher has now teamed up with the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation to launch his Freedom to Play campaign, aimed at helping musicians - some 10,000, says Fleisher - who suffer from the complaint, either in the hands or, in the case of wind players, the mouth." The Telegraph (UK) 10/12/04
Posted: 10/12/2004 8:36 pm
The Accidental Documentarian "In 1946 Li Tianbing stole his grandmother's cow and bought a camera with the proceeds. Some 300,000 photos later, he is being feted as one of his country's most influential artists... For Li, it is a hobby and a job, rather than art. But his evocative images of a China that was thought to have passed without visual record have upstaged some of the most provocative installations and performances of the country's growing avant-garde movement." The Guardian (UK) 10/13/04
Posted: 10/12/2004 7:48 pm
Axelrod Fighting Extradition Fugitive philanthropist Herbert Axelrod, accused of tax fraud and under investigation for overcharging the New Jersey Symphony on the 2003 purchase of a collection of valuable instruments, is appealing his extradition from Germany, and will likely not be returned to U.S. custody for weeks or even months. Axelrod had been scheduled to appear in federal court this Friday - that court date has been canceled. Newsday (AP) 10/12/04
Posted: 10/12/2004 6:47 pm
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Public Nears A Choice On New Chief The Public Theater may announce the successor to its artistic director, George C. Wolfe, as soon as next week. Doug Hughes ("Frozen"), who spent four years as artistic director of Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Conn., and Mark Russell, the former artistic director of P.S. 122, are said to be the favorites. New York Post 10/13/04
Posted: 10/13/2004 5:44 am
Selling Broadway With Graphic Design "Good play posters do more than just give theater lovers, collectors and local luncheonettes artwork to display on their walls. They sell a show. To do that, they must catch your eye and hold it long enough for you to see who’s in a show and what it’s about. In those few seconds, you can get psyched about seeing the show. Simple, right? Anything but." New York Daily News 10/12/04
Posted: 10/13/2004 4:59 am
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He Did, After All, Bring Us The Simpsons "It goes against nearly every stereotype about Rupert Murdoch, the conservative-leaning media baron who owns Fox News and The New York Post: a publishing imprint he owns has, in fact, released a new book titled, 'Unfit Commander: Texans for Truth Take On George W. Bush,' which takes a decidedly critical view of Mr. Bush's presidency. But ReganBooks, the publisher, and Judith Regan, its impresario, conform to few stereotypes - unless, that is, they involve making money. ... In politics, at least, ReganBooks goes both ways." The New York Times 10/13/04
Posted: 10/13/2004 5:10 am
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A Decency Crusade Becomes A Fox Hunt "The Federal Communications Commission said on Tuesday that it would fine 169 Fox television stations $7,000 each, or a total of $1.18 million, for violating indecency rules when it showed a particularly graphic episode of the show "Married by America'' last spring... The commission found an April episode of the show violated the indecency rules through a series of sexually suggestive and explicit scenes." At least one Fox affiliate had refused to air the episode, and will not be fined. The New York Times 10/13/04
Posted: 10/13/2004 6:45 am
Is The FCC's Decency Crusade A Red Herring? The raging debate over decency standards and the public airwaves has the FCC in a tizzy, and free-speech advocates up in arms. But are both sides missing the point? "Until now, the government's censorship powers have been limited to the airwaves, on the grounds that they alone use spectrum. But with politicians left and right in a mad scramble for 'decency,' the increasingly flimsy technological rationale that allows the government to intrude on broadcast content is being conveniently forgotten." Wired Magazine 10/04
Posted: 10/12/2004 9:10 pm
But We're Pretty Sure That Undertakers Like Six Feet Under You can't open a newspaper these days without coming face to face with a story extolling the virtues of HBO's runaway hit mob drama, The Sopranos. But at least one demographic is not at all enamored of Tony and his gang of thugs: Italians, who see the portrayal of all-Italian mobs as stereotypical and insulting. "On Monday, Italy's Deputy Prime Minister added his voice to protests by Italian-Americans at the depiction of their community." Sydney Morning Herald 10/13/04
Posted: 10/12/2004 8:41 pm
Bringing Hollywood Back To California Having a governor with serious Hollywood clout is paying big dividends for California's movie industry. "Capitalizing on his industry insider knowledge, the governor has signed laws to ease red tape in filming, fought Internet video piracy, appointed proven Hollywood veterans to the state film commission, and mandated film industry liaisons in all state agencies and departments." The effects have been most immediately noticable in the number of films being made in the state which might otherwise have fled to Canada or other lower-cost environs. The Christian Science Monitor 10/13/04
Posted: 10/12/2004 7:30 pm
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