Are We Living In A Golden Age Of Art? "Of contemporary art today, two things, and maybe only two things, can be said for sure. First, there is more of it — made in more styles and materials, by more artists who live, work and have exhibitions in more places — than ever before. Second, it doesn't fit into neat categories or hierarchies."
Los Angeles Times 10/01/06 Posted: 10/01/2006 11:41 am
A Year Of Bad Art You would think that it would be a great honor to be selected as a judge in Britain's notorious Turner Prize competition. But for Lynn Barber, who has spent the last year viewing submissions for the Turner, the experience has been terribly depressing. "There is so much bad work around, so much that is derivative, half-baked or banal, you can't believe that galleries would show it. I think what happened is that the huge success of the YBAs in the Nineties has created a peculiar post-boom glut whereby there are now more galleries looking for young artists than worthwhile artists to fill them."
The Observer (UK) 10/01/06 Posted: 10/01/2006 11:26 am
Baltimore Museums Scrap Admission Charge "Beginning tomorrow, after charging guests for 24 years - currently, it's $10 for adults - the Baltimore Museum of Art and Walters Art Museum go free, and both have blowouts planned to celebrate the move..."
Washington Post 09/30/06 Posted: 10/01/2006 10:08 am
Libeskind Builds His Brand In Denver Daniel Libeskind is such a prominent presence in the architecture world that it's easy to forget that he hasn't completed a single building in the US. Until now: "The architect's new wing for the Denver Art Museum... appears at first to be primarily an example of aggressive form-making — a branding exercise for designer and client alike... For all its iconic power — and for all the evidence it presents that Libeskind is still fully in thrall to the colliding, fragmented forms of deconstructivist architecture — this is a project that a New Urbanist could happily endorse."
Los Angeles Times 09/30/06 Posted: 10/01/2006 9:46 am
Click here for more Visual Arts stories...
Denying Evolution, Chicago Style "At a time when symphony orchestras and opera companies are marching proudly into the brave new electronic future of classical music, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra seems content to dither on the sidelines as the parade passes by... Sunday marks the fifth anniversary of the orchestra's discontinuing its locally and nationally syndicated radio broadcasts because of a lack of funding. That same year, 2001, the CSO and then-music director Daniel Barenboim lost their recording contract with Warner Classics." Chicago Tribune 10/01/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 10:42 am
When Does Controversy Become Unnecessary Provocation? The cancellation of a German production of Mozart's Idomeneo because of fears that it could inflame Islamic fundamentalists has the arts world debating its role in an increasingly dangerous world. "Artists are raising important questions, but we as a society are a bit frightened to be open to these ideas. We need a safe place to discuss them, and it's unfortunate that the arts are being attacked in this way, when they really are a place for exploration." San Francisco Chronicle 09/30/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 9:01 am
- Door Still Slightly Ajar For Idomeneo Deutsche Oper says it would consider reinstating the cancelled production of Mozart's Idomeneo if it receives security assurances. "At a government summit Tuesday with Islamic leaders, Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble proposed that the participants go to see the opera together if it is ever staged again, [and] Berlin's top cultural official, Thomas Flierl, said that he wanted the opera brought back." The Globe & Mail (AP) 09/30/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 9:00 am
- Mozart's Real Anti-Islamic Operas Joshua Kosman points out that Idomeneo is a strange opera to be causing such a storm of controversy. In fact, the scene giving such offense was inserted by a director looking to stir the pot, and has nothing to do with Mozart. "The irony is that there are a handful of familiar operas, including two that are performed regularly as part of the standard repertoire, that have anti-Muslim sentiment -- or at least comedic disrespect -- built into their very DNA." San Francisco Chronicle 09/30/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 8:50 am
Small Market Orchestra Gets Big Time Radio Deal The New Jersey Symphony has always had a tough time making itself heard above the roar of the high-profile New York orchestras just across the river. But thanks to a new deal with New York radio station WQXR, the NJSO will shortly be heard in concert across the country on a new weekly broadcast series. Not only that, but thanks to WQXR's well-respected brand name, the NJSO broadcasts will debut in six of the top ten media markets in the U.S. Newark Star-Ledger 09/30/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 8:26 am
Click here for more Music stories...
Variety To Be Hallmark Of Miami PAC Some observers have questioned the viability of Miami's new performing arts center, given the fact that the Florida Philharmonic, which was to be one of the center's anchor tenants, folded several years ago. But with 465 performances scheduled for the center's first season, supporters are hopeful that they can build a loyal local audience with a succession of high-profile touring orchestras and a healthy dose of Latin flavor. Miami Herald 10/01/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 10:59 am
- Will It All Be Worth It? New performing arts venues have served as the cornerstone of a larger cultural renaissance in several American cities. But will it work in Miami? "For all its efforts and aspirations, Miami clearly is no Manhattan, no Vienna... [But the center] may put a more visible stamp on the cultural community here and get people to find out about other cultural organizations in Miami." Miami Herald 10/01/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 10:57 am
KC PAC Digs In After years of planning and fundraising delays, ground will finally be broken this week on Kansas City's new downtown performing arts center. "The two-hall, $325 million project scheduled to open in fall 2009 will feature a state-of-the-art, 1,600-seat symphony hall, an 1,800-seat opera-ballet hall and a multipurpose Celebration Hall for chamber performances or educational purposes." Kansas City Star 10/01/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 10:56 am
Papers Opting Out Of "Grim" Assassination Ad A documentary-style film purporting to depict the assassination of President Bush has been the talk of film festivals around the world this fall. But as the film prepare to go into wider release, newspapers have a tough decision to make when they are asked to run ads for the movie featuring a presidential tombstone. Toronto Star 09/30/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 10:02 am
Big Culture Cuts Up North Canada has a Conservative government for the first time in over a decade, and the effect of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's budget-cutting plan has been felt immediately by the country's heavily subsidized arts organizations. "This week, Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs announced that it would slash $11.8-million from its 'public diplomacy' budget... Canada's spending was already pathetic, [and] foreign tourists already think of Canada as Mounties, mountains, maple syrup, Molson's and moose. So these cuts are painfully shortsighted." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 09/30/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 9:18 am
Just Shut Up And Sign The Checks As the major arts groups of Wales debate a change which would see the country's arts council replaced by a system of direct funding from the government, leaders are warning that politicians will need to learn to separate their personal feelings from their funding decisions. "If politicians believe they can give artistic advice in return for handing out money, the culture industry could suffer rather than thrive." Western Mail (Cardiff) 09/30/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 9:13 am
Click here for more Arts Issues stories...
The Great Shostakovich Debate "Duplicity, codes, death threats, propaganda, the U.S.S.R. vs. the West -- composer Dmitri Shostakovich's life had all the elements of a Cold War spy drama. And the intrigue continues more than three decades after his death in 1975... Far from being a cut-and-dry commemoration of some distant figure, Shostakovich's centennial has given a sharp crescendo to the controversy surrounding his participation in the oppressive Soviet system." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 10/01/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 11:11 am
Canada's Arts Mayor Gets Rave Reviews Running for mayor of Toronto three years ago, David Miller painted himself as the arts candidate, a politician who recognized the inherent value of culture in a diverse city. More incredibly, he delivered on his promises. "In the midst of an era of city budget shortfalls and money crunches, the Miller regime has increased cultural grants for both the Toronto Arts Council and major institutions like the National Ballet and the AGO by $2 million, up to $15.2 million a year. This year, culture was one of only three major departments to have its funding increased, alongside the [transit system] and the police service." Toronto Star 09/30/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 9:57 am
Pioneering Sports Photographer Dies "Martha Holmes, a photographer for Life magazine for 40 years, who was known for her intimate portraits but also for covering sports at a time when that was male turf, died on Sept. 19 at her home in Manhattan. She was 83." The New York Times 09/30/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 9:50 am
Click here for more People stories...
Hypersensitivity Knows No Religious Boundaries While Germany's cultural establishment argues over the cancellation of an opera production deemed insensitive to Islamic fundamentalists, a Frankfurt theatre is quietly going ahead with a satirical play about Jews and Muslims in the Mideast that might prove far more provocative. "Members of the German-Israeli Society, which works to further relations between the countries, wrote to the theater condemning the play as anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli." The New York Times 09/30/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 9:52 am
Tennessee Comes To Cape Cod "In the summer of 1940, Tennessee Williams, who was living in Provincetown, [Massachusetts,] fell hard for a young dancer named Kip Kiernan. It was the writer's first real love affair, and his first broken heart. Williams wrote a thinly disguised theatrical version of the relationship that was lost for years. Now the world premiere of that resurrected play, The Parade, or Approaching the End of a Summer, will be performed in Provincetown, where it was set and written." Boston Globe 09/30/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 9:30 am
Click here for more Theatre stories...
Too Much Of A Good Thing? It's looking like this will be a banner fall for the publishing industry, but some observers are wondering if there may be more good books than the marketing apparatus can handle. "The situation has publishers trying novel marketing and publicity strategies as they struggle to get attention for their authors." Los Angeles Times 10/01/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 11:44 am
Reading, Race, And Rap Can hip-hop culture be a tool to encourage greater literacy among ethnic minorities? Some London rappers think it's essential. "What deters people [from reading] is that they are forced to do so much of it at school. It has the stigma attached to it of boredom. But Tupac [the late US rapper] said when he came out of prison that the knowledge he gained was from reading books." The Observer (UK) 10/01/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 11:32 am
Click here for more Publishing stories...
CBC Seeks "Mandate Review" In the wake of ongoing controversy over what a public broadcaster's role should be, Canada's CBC is seeking a regular "mandate review" in order to better connect it with what Canadians want from them. The review, which would occur every ten years, would spell out exactly what the CBC would be expected to deliver, and more importantly, would assure adequate funding through the next review. The Globe & Mail (Canada) 09/30/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 9:36 am
Well, At Least They Remembered To Get Some Movies The Boston Film Festival had a rough year in 2006. "Panels never materialized. Real stars were scarce. Marketing was terrible. Festival creative director John Michael Williams said they sold enough tickets to cover the cost of the theater rental, but not much more. So what happened?" Boston Globe 09/30/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 9:33 am
Click here for more Media stories...
Place Prize Goes To Rajarani "An Indian classical dancer has won Europe's most prestigious award for choreography. London-based Nina Rajarani was last night awarded the £25,000 biennial Place prize, the dance world's equivalent to the Turner prize." The Observer (UK) 10/01/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 11:31 am
Rescuing Balanchine There are at least 75 Balanchine ballets that remain in the standard repertory today, 23 years after the legendary choreographer's death. But Balanchine created more than 400 ballets in his lifetime, many of which have not been preserved. Now, an ambitious effort is underway to rediscover some of what has been lost of Balanchine's legacy. The New York Times 10/01/06
Posted: 10/01/2006 11:15 am
Click here for more Dance stories...
