We Know What's Real. Don't We? "Virtual reality" has come a long way in the last few years. In fact, it has come so far that most intelligent individuals would be hard put to give you a comprehensive definition of what it means, or to separate the first word from the second. "Right before our eyes, this thing that we call the world has been irrevocably altered, along with the 'reality' we have counted on. Virtual reality is so permeating our lives that one day soon we may find it impossible to distinguish the virtual from the real." The New York Times 01/08/06
Posted: 01/08/2006 12:05 pm
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Assessing The Cleveland Museum's New Director He is not a household name, even within the art world, and so he might have seemed an underdog for a major directorship at one of America's leading museums. But Steven Litt is impressed anyway. "In choosing Timothy Rub of Cincinnati as its next director, the Cleveland Museum of Art picked an arts manager who has not yet achieved cultural stardom... Rub transformed local perceptions about the 125-year-old [Cincinnati Art Museum,] long viewed as an elitist institution on a hilltop in Eden Park, overlooking the rest of the city... The new director will need those skills in Cleveland. Rub, whose appointment begins in April, will take over the massive, $258 million expansion and renovation the museum launched in October." The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) 01/08/06
Posted: 01/08/2006 12:19 pm
- Previously: Tim Rub To Head Cleveland Museum Cincinnati Art Museum director Timothy Rub has been named director and chief executive officer of the Cleveland Museum of Art. "During his six years in Cincinnati, Rub oversaw the creation of the $10 million Cincinnati Wing, renovations of the courtyard and auditorium, reinstallation of the African and American art collections, and free general admission." Cincinnati Enquirer 01/06/06
Cultivating The Nightclub Set Fresh off the high of the inevitable crowds that greet a newly expanded and renovated museum, Minneapolis's Walker Art Center has launched a new initiative designed to draw in a more diverse crowd than would normally spend its free time at a modern art museum. "To put it plainly, the Walker doesn't feel like any other museum. It feels, for lack of a better word, alive. Every Thursday, [when the museum scraps its admission charge and stays open late,] the Walker's contorted, dreamlike corridors bustle with activity. People are on dates; some are even dressed up, though not in the suit-and-tie sense. It's more like they're going to a nightclub -- you're likely to see miniskirts, fur boots, and overpriced vintage T-shirts. But remember, you're supposed to be looking at the art." Minneapolis Star Tribune 01/05/06
Posted: 01/08/2006 9:53 am
Fountain Freak-Out: Art or Vandalism? "The Dada movement made its name in the early 20th century by trying to destroy the conventional notion of art. Taking literal inspiration from their exploits this week, a latter-day neo-Dadaist took a small hammer to Marcel Duchamp's 'Fountain,' the factory-made urinal that is considered the cornerstone of Conceptual Art. The assailant, a French performance artist named Pierre Pinoncelli, was immediately arrested after his act of vandalism... The porcelain urinal was slightly chipped in the attack and was withdrawn to be restored... Mr. Pinoncelli, 77, who urinated into the same urinal and struck it with a hammer in a show in Nîmes in 1993, has a long record of organizing bizarre happenings. Police officials said he again called his action a work of art, a tribute to Duchamp and other Dada artists." The New York Times 01/07/06
Posted: 01/08/2006 9:31 am
Art Borne Of Sickness Moscow's 1200-bed Children's Clinical Hospital has quietly become an international pioneer in the field of art therapy, simply by encouraging its young patients to engage their creativity, even as they struggle through batteries of tests and exhausting medical treatments. Now, a Russian foundation is displaying the art created by the young patients in a space normally reserved for "serious" art. "The artworks, which include elaborate beadwork, went on display at the Russian Abroad Foundation, a gleaming new library and research and cultural center that is the creation of Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn and was built with the backing of Moscow's mayor." The New York Times 01/07/06
Posted: 01/08/2006 9:10 am
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Getting Beyond The Same Old Song & Dance Americans have a tendency to narrow the focus of everything: chardonnay is the only wine, Friends is the only sitcom, and opera singers with "creamy, smooth," pop-influenced voices are the only stars. "It's a world where the serviceably 'pretty' has become the definition of the beautiful, threatening to crowd out all the other categories of beauty, for instance, the exotic, the interesting, the gothic." But there are still a few singers out there willing to break the mold American audiences are locked into, if only we're willing to give them a chance. Washington Post 01/08/06
Posted: 01/08/2006 12:36 pm
The Accountant At The Helm Of ENO No opera could ever be as chaotic and melodramatic as the scandal currently enveloping the English National Opera. But as dark as things seem at the moment, the Australian financial whiz recently appointed to replace Sean Doran at the ENO's helm believes that she has a plan that will turn everything around. Loretta Tomasi is hardly a classic arts administrator, and comes from the world of finance and for-profit companies, a quality which immediately makes her suspect to many in the arts. But despite all the recent dust-ups in the press, the ENO is on the verge of retiring its accumulated debt and returning to normal operations after three years of emergency funding from the government. Of course, that doesn't alleviate the company's artistic problems... The Observer (UK) 01/08/06
Posted: 01/08/2006 11:35 am
Mozart's Vienna Mozart's 250th birthday is being celebrated worldwide, but predictably, no city is going quite as far as Mozart's adopted hometown of Vienna. Born in Salzburg, the composer spent the bulk of his adult life in Austria's capital city, and beginning later this month, there will be literally thousands of events dedicated to celebrating his legacy. Vienna has appointed an artistic director to coordinate events across the city, and some 80 new works have been commissioned in tribute to the master. More than 600 public concerts will be held in an effort to popularize the celebration, and the famous Albertina museum will unveil an exhaustive Mozart exhibit in March. The Globe & Mail (Canada) 01/07/06
Posted: 01/08/2006 10:57 am
- Mozart's Screenwriter Mozart's operas are among the most celebrated in the repertoire. But as spectacular as the music they contain may be, half the secret to the success of works like The Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni may be the engaging characters and artfully woven storylines created by Mozart's librettist, Lorenzo da Ponte. "A poet, priest and womaniser, who ended his days as a grocer, he also wrote the words to some of the greatest operas." The Guardian (UK) 01/07/06
Posted: 01/08/2006 10:43 am
NY Pols: Turnbull Must Quit Harlem Boys Choir New York Congressman Charles Rangel and former NYC Mayor David Dinkins have stepped into the middle of the dustup over the future of the Harlem Boys Choir, telling founder Walter Turnbull that it is time for him to step aside and turn the organization over to someone with better management skills. "Haunted by a sex scandal, the choir is battling eviction from its rent-free space in a city school as well as accusations of shoddy bookkeeping and financial ruin so severe it owes roughly $3 million in unpaid taxes. At least 59 liens and judgments have been filed against the choir by federal, state and local governments since 1988." Rangel and Dinkins are attempting to raise $500,000 to forestall the eviction, but are making it clear that Turnbull's ouster will be a condition of their continues assistance. New York Daily News 01/08/06
Posted: 01/08/2006 10:27 am
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Welsh Assembly Looking To Abolish Arts Council A row has broken out between the Arts Council of England and the Assembly Government of Wales over what the English see as an attempt to impose political controls on the Welsh Arts Council. The Welsh Assembly wants to begin funding the largest arts groups in Wales directly, rather than allowing the Arts Council to divide up grants, and assembly members recently forced out the chairman of the Arts Council, who was speaking out against the plan. The Assembly would reportedly like to abolish the Arts Council altogether, but lacks the legal authority to do so. Instead, the planned funding transition would effectively strip the council of nearly all of its functions, while leaving it technically intact. Western Mail (Wales) 01/07/06
Posted: 01/08/2006 11:05 am
Missouri Cancels Arts Funding "The Missouri Arts Council has canceled a program worth millions of dollars once promised to local arts groups. In the fiscal year beginning July 1, the Kansas City Symphony, the Kansas City Ballet, the Lyric Opera, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and 21 other arts organizations across Missouri will no longer receive annual payments from the council that would have reached tens of millions of dollars over time. The arts council gave no notice to any of the affected arts groups in October when it voted to end contracts with organizations participating in the Capital Incentive Program. The program allowed them to collect interest from the council’s endowment. Now, because of budget cuts and erratic state funding of the arts council, there is too little money to pay them." Kansas City Star 01/08/06
Posted: 01/08/2006 10:39 am
SPAC, On The Road To Recovery, Discovers It's A Long Trek Upstate New York's Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) has had a productive year, and if reports from within are to be believed, the organization is well on its way to healing the divisive splits that left it on the edge of insolvency a year ago. But time doesn't stand still for rebuilding purposes, and SPAC is facing a daunting array of challenges in the year ahead, from expanding its audience base to expanding its board. A major marketing push is on tap, and audience services such as online ticketing are a priority as well. Still, SPAC needs millions of dollars to stabilize its depleted endowment, and is still trying to worm money out of the New York State Assembly for physical improvements. The Saratogian (NY) 01/08/06
Posted: 01/08/2006 10:32 am
Pittsburgh Museum Employee Claims Discrimination "A former employee of the Pittsburgh Children's Museum is suing the museum and its executive director, claiming she was harassed and faced racial and disability discrimination before being unlawfully dismissed. Yvonne Wilson, 56, was the executive assistant to museum head Jane Werner... Ms. Wilson claims she was fired Jan. 18, after her superior said she was insubordinate and hostile in the workplace." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 01/07/06
Posted: 01/08/2006 9:41 am
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The Shirtless Baritone Nathan Gunn is one hell of a singer. No one is disputing that. But the thing is, he's also unbelievably good-looking, especially in comparison to many of his male compatriots in the opera world, who have a tendency to look - how shall we put it - very, very fat. Consequently, Gunn's rise to the top of the opera world (and make no mistake, 2005 was the year the young baritone became a bona fide star) has run on two parallel tracks, one defined by his gentle and distinctive voice, and the other by his exceedingly well-defined pecs. The New York Times 01/08/06
Posted: 01/08/2006 12:00 pm
Barenboim The Crusader Say this for Daniel Barenboim: he's never boring. The celebrated conductor/pianist may not have the youthful sheen that once added to his stardom, but his controversial involvement in Mideast politics and his outspoken opposition to America's near-constant use of music as background noise make him one of the era's best interviews. These days, Barenboim is on a lecture tour of three continents, and he is taking seemingly everyone to task: Americans for their short attention spans, Germans for being unwilling to accept the unpleasantness of their own history, Britons for allowing music education to decline precipitously, and Israelis for their seeming inability to differentiate between power and strength. The Independent (UK) 01/08/06
Posted: 01/08/2006 10:10 am
Aging Like A Fine Wine Let's face facts. Elaine Stritch is not exactly in her prime these days - her voice cracks, her intonation is off, and she sounds like every bit of her 80 years. But Stritch did not become a Broadway legend by vocal talent alone, and her magnificent stage presence and bravado is 100% intact. Furthermore, the aspects of her singing that always made her unique - her use of silence and her special way of delivering lyrics - could be used as a primer for aspiring theatrical singers. The New York Times 01/07/06
Posted: 01/08/2006 9:16 am
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Broadway Sets A New Year's Record 2005 was a blockbuster year for Broadway, and it wrapped up with a record-setting performance in the biggest week of the year. The week between Christmas and New Year's nearly always racks up the biggest box-office gross of the season, and this time around, 28 shows took in more than $25 million over the week, making it the highest-grossing seven day period in Broadway history. Chicago Tribune (AP) 01/08/06
Posted: 01/08/2006 11:26 am
Two Countries Separated By A Common Musical? There was a time when, if a musical was a smash hit on London's West End, it was soon to be a similar hit on Broadway, and no one bothered asking whether the action and staging would "translate" well to an American audience. But increasingly, the biggest hits in London are falling flat in America's leading theatre cities. Part of the problem is simply the London audience's affection for a specific style of theatre from which American audiences long ago moved on. But the larger issue may be the incredible specificity of recent London productions: shows which require an offhand knowledge of recent UK political and social history are likely to meet with blank stares across the pond. Chicago Tribune 01/08/06
Posted: 01/08/2006 10:19 am
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Quick Lit, Direct To The Consumer Every type of entertainment seems to be available on-demand these days, so why not literature? (Yes, yes, we know, books are technically an on-demand content delivery device, but just humor us.) One well-known Canadian author has launched an online subscription service for his work, e-mailing three stories per month directly to readers in exchange for an $8 annual fee. "The benefits to the author are obvious. In addition to the enforced deadlines and the built-in revenue stream (he makes about $275 a month, in addition to direct-marketed book sales and speaking engagements related to his subscription list), Rogers has found a way to overcome one of the most vexing problems faced by writers: launching their words into a void." Toronto Star 01/07/06
Posted: 01/08/2006 9:43 am
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FM Looks To Talk To Save It From Satellite Having so homogenized the FM radio landscape that listeners have begun turning to iPod shuffles and satellite pay services for their music fix, the corporate conglomerates that control a majority of U.S. commercial radio stations have begun to try out news/talk on their FM frequencies. In the process, traditional talk formats are being swept aside in favor of more wide-ranging approaches that skew less political and (the broadcasters hope) attract a wider variety of listeners. Washington Post 01/08/06
Posted: 01/08/2006 12:31 pm
Maybe They Can Watch Touched By An Angel Reruns Instead When NBC television created its new Friday drama, The Book of Daniel, it was hoping to tap into the new mainstreaming of religion as entertainment that has done such great business for Disney (The Chronicles of Narnia) and Mel Gibson (The Passion of the Christ). Instead, NBC affiliates in markets heavy with evangelical Christians are refusing to air the show after receiving protest calls from religious right activists who do not appreciate the title character's portrayal as a pill-popping Episcopal minister who believes that Jesus speaks directly to him. To date, four stations have pulled the show, with the largest affected market being Little Rock, Arkansas. Chicago Sun-Times 01/07/06
Posted: 01/08/2006 9:21 am
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Ballet On The Brink Dance has not fared particularly well in Northern Ohio in recent years. The old Cleveland/San Jose Ballet folded back in 2000, and this season, the Ohio Ballet, which performs in Cleveland and Akron, canceled many of its winter performances and laid off all but two full-time staffers. Now, the ballet has 60 days to determine whether it has the resources to rehire its dancers for April performances. More importantly, the company is attempting to assess whether there is really enough support in the area to sustain a resident ballet in the long term. The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) 01/08/06
Posted: 01/08/2006 12:13 pm
Washington Ballet Rejects Mediation Offer The current contract negotiations between Washington Ballet and its dancers could best be described as an extended meltdown, with both sides dug in and spouting vitriol at their opponent through the press. So it should have been a positive development last week when Michael Kaiser, president of Washington, D.C.'s Kennedy Center, offered to mediate the talks. Kaiser is widely respected in the arts world by both managers and performers, and he has stepped into the middle of more than one labor dispute with good results. But Washington Ballet's management team wants nothing to do with mediation, saying that "we're just not there yet." A representative of the dancers, who have been out of work since mid-December, called the ballet's rejection of Kaiser "asinine." Washington Post 01/07/06
Posted: 01/08/2006 9:51 am
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