Scottish Parliament - An Extraordinary Building Shouldn't Be All About Money Scotland's new parliament building has been awash in controversy - almost all of it about the enormous cost. But this is missing the point, writes Duncan Macmillan. "We seem unable to lift our eyes from the cost of the building itself to see what we are getting for our money. But sheathed in scaffolding and polythene sheeting, our parliament is a chrysalis. In a month or two a marvellous butterfly is going to emerge to astonish us all. Or maybe not a butterfly. Really, it is a flower." The Scotsman 03/06/03
Posted: 03/06/2003 10:17 pm
What To Do With Controversial Australia National Museum Review? Officials are wondering what to do with a controversial review of the National Museum of Australia. One thing they're not doing so far is making the findings public. "The review was set up against a background of debate about the presentation of indigenous history, which has pitted the celebratory 'three cheers' view of the impact of white settlement against the black-armband view so disapproved of by the Prime Minister, John Howard. It has been criticised by several historians as politically driven, a motive denied by the council's chairman." Sydney Morning Herald 03/07/03
Posted: 03/06/2003 9:43 pm
US Prosecutors Crack Down On Art Buyers Trying To Avoid Taxes US prosecutors are going after art buyers who have made deals with galleries to avoid sales taxes. So far, "34 Manhattan families had coughed up $6 million in back taxes on art purchases since June, when former Tyco International CEO L. Dennis Kozlowski was indicted on charges he evaded sales taxes on $13 million in art in a widely publicized case. Art dealers say they believe the government is looking for quick ways to collect revenue in a weak economy." USAToday (AP) 03/06/03
Posted: 03/06/2003 3:11 pm
Did Fire Alarm Cover Jail Art Theft? Did security guards at Riker's Island jail stage a fake fire drill las weekend to cover the theft of a Dali painting? "The rare middle-of-the-night drill was held Friday, hours before two officers noticed that the painting, last appraised at $175,000, had been replaced with a fake." New York Daily News 03/06/03
Posted: 03/06/2003 3:01 pm
- Previously: Dali Sprung From NY Jail A Salvador Dali drawing that hung in New York's Riker's Island jail in the presence of round-the-clock guards, was stolen this weekend. "The audacious thief was apparently not only brazen enough to confiscate Dali's sketchy rendering of Christ on the cross from a locked display case in the lobby of the men's jail, but he or she also managed to leave behind a schlocky, B-rate copy that at least three correction officers were puzzled to find upon reporting to work yesterday morning." The New York Times 03/02/03
Bacon Heir's Death Leads To Speculation About The Artist's Paintings What will happen to a number of important paintings by Francis Bacon now that the painter's primary heir has died? "John Edwards, who died in Thailand on Wednesday aged 53, was Bacon's friend and muse for many years. He inherited the artist's £11m estate when Bacon died in 1992." BBC 03/06/03
Posted: 03/06/2003 2:47 pm
A Plan To Help Museums With Insurance Since the Sept. 11 attacks, U.S. museums have struggled to obtain works for major exhibitions from overseas due to skyrocketing insurance rates and jittery art lenders who fear losing their pieces in a terrorist strike." Now legislation has been introduced in the US Congress that "would raise the amount of indemnity coverage that can be provided at any particular time from $5 billion to $8 billion. It also increases how much coverage the program - run through the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) - can provide to one exhibition, from $500 million to $750 million." The Star-Tribune (Minneapolis) 03/06/03
Posted: 03/06/2003 1:51 pm
Opera As A Big Fun Show "Whether or not the Broadway Bohème is an operatic success is almost beside the point. It is a marketing triumph that will likely allow Luhrmann and his investors to recoup the show's $6.5 million investment - and then some. La Bohème's success shows that it's possible, if expensive, to sell opera to non-operagoers. There's a lesson here for opera impresarios. It shouldn't be that hard to persuade people who love the art form to attend performances by giving them a good reason for going. And if opera can go to Broadway, why can't Broadway go to the opera?" Opera News 03/03
Posted: 03/07/2003 9:01 am
The Rap On Rap Music Videos A new US study says that "black teenage girls who view more rap videos are apparently more likely to get in trouble with the law, to take drugs or to become infected with sexually transmitted diseases. Only two factors other than rap-music viewing boosted the teens' rates of promiscuity, substance abuse and violence: lack of employment and lack of parents who monitor teen activities. The Globe & Mail (Canada) 03/07/03
Posted: 03/07/2003 7:11 am
Opera Australia's New Boss In taking on the top job at Opera Australia, conductor Roger Hickox committed to "moving to Sydney, fund-raising and programming one new Australian opera every two years." Mr Hickox, 55, was the unanimous choice of the board and the advisory committee. He was among a four-person shortlist that included two Australians. Mr Hickox has been involved with the company since 1994 and has conducted five operas for it." Sydney Morning Herald 03/07/03
Posted: 03/06/2003 9:38 pm
- Previously: Hickox To Head Opera Australia British conductor Richard Hickox has been appointed new director of Opera Australia. Hickox "replaces local conductor Simone Young, whose contract with Opera Australia was not renewed at the end of last year amid controversy over her vision for the company. However, she will remain in the position until Mr Hickox takes the reins in January 2005. Mr Hickox, 55, is now the principal conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and is also an associate guest conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra." The Australian 03/06/03
Pennsylvania Arts Funding Saved Pennsylvania's governor Ed Rendell has decided not to ask for cuts in his state's arts spending. "Why, then, did Rendell stay committed to arts funding as he sought to make up a $2.4 billion shortfall? Arts supporters across Pennsylvania say it's because he saw how Philadelphia arts initiatives benefited that city when he was mayor. Arts leaders also suggest the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts was spared because whittling its budget would not add much to the cuts Rendell needed to make. Its $14 million budget represents 0.07 percent of Pennsylvania's general fund." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 03/07/03
Posted: 03/07/2003 7:59 am
Michigan Arts Funding To Be Cut 50 Percent Michigan's governor proposes cutting state arts funding by 50 percent. "The steep cuts, which left $11.8 million for arts grants, are a particularly bitter pill for arts groups because the bleak economy has already forced corporations and foundations to slash their arts giving. In addition, arts institutions have seen investment income from endowments plummet along with the stock market." Detroit Free Press 03/07/03
Posted: 03/07/2003 7:07 am
This Year's National Medal Of Arts Winners: Country singer George Jones, Motown legend Smokey Robinson, Florence Knoll Bassett, the designer and architect; Trisha Brown, the dancer and choreographer; Philippe de Montebello, the art historian and director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art; Uta Hagen, the actor and teacher; Lawrence Halprin, the landscape architect; the late Al Hirschfeld, the artist and show business caricaturist; and Ming Cho Lee, the set designer and educator. Washington Post 03/07/03
Posted: 03/06/2003 9:51 pm
Broadway Musicians On Strike "Early this morning the union representing Broadway musicians announced it was on strike, but theater producers said talks would continue through the day." This is the first Broadway musicians strike in 25 years. Baltimore Sun 03/07/03
Posted: 03/07/2003 6:54 am
Will Broadway Workers Cross Musicians' Picket Lines If There's A Strike? If Broadway musicians go out on strike tomorrow, producers are planning to have synthetic music ready to go. But will the actors and others employed on Broadway cross picket lines? Actors Equity has called an emergency meeting for Friday to consider the matter. "The Coalition of Broadway Unions and Guilds (COBUG), representing 13 Broadway unions, on Wednesday issued a statement of support for Local 802 following an emergency meeting. The coalition represents all aspects of the Broadway theatre, from actors, musicians, playwrights, directors and choreographers, to set, costume and lighting designers, stagehands, ushers and ticket-takers, box office personnel, wardrobe, hairstylists, porters, press agents and company managers." Backstage 03/06/03
Posted: 03/06/2003 2:10 pm
Indie Bookstores Weathering Downturn The book business is suffering in the economic downturn, just like everything else. But there are signs that independent booksellers are weathering the downturn better than they have in the past. "Before stores might have had five employees and now they have three. People who leave aren't being replaced." Publishers Weekly 03/07/03
Posted: 03/07/2003 8:56 am
New Books - No Refunds, No Returns? Borders chief Greg Josefowicz suggests that it is time to stop the practice of book stores being able to return books they haven't sold to publishers. "This practice arose during the Great Depression when publishers needed a way to reduce the risk of buying books, so they gave retailers the opportunity to return unsold orders for a full refund. Today, nearly seven decades later, we're still playing by the same rules. While this certainly offers obvious benefits to companies like Borders, I wonder if it is the best way to run the book business in 2003 and beyond..." Publishers Weekly 03/07/03
Posted: 03/07/2003 8:53 am
Pope's Poetry An Instant Bestseller In Poland Pope John Paul II's first book of poetry since he became Pope was published this week. In Poland the book has already become a best-seller. "Buyers have locked up orders for about 80 per cent of the initial printing of 300,000 copies - a publishing phenomenon in a country where literary works reach bestseller status at 50,000. 'The Roman Triptych' was written after John Paul's emotional visit to his homeland last summer." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 03/07/03
Posted: 03/07/2003 7:19 am
Will US Supreme Court Allow Library Internet Porn Filters? The US Supreme Court hears arguments on whether public libraries should be required to filter porn sites on their computers. "The case pits free speech rights against the government's ability to protect the public from the seamy side of the Internet. Solicitor General Theodore Olson argued that libraries don't have X-rated movies and magazines on their shelves and shouldn't have to offer access to pornography on their computers. Librarians and civil liberties groups contend that filters are censorship and that they block a vast amount of valuable information along with the pornography. Some of the justices seemed skeptical of the challenge to the Children's Internet Protection Act." Wired 03/06/03
Posted: 03/06/2003 3:19 pm
- Previously: US Supreme Court Hears Library Internet Censorship Appeal The US Supreme Court hears arguments this week in the US government's appeal of a Philadelphia court ruling that the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) is a violation of the First Amendment. "The law, enacted in December 2000 in part to protect minors from access to Internet pornography, requires schools and libraries to use the filtering software to shield minors from adult material but, because it called for adults to get permission to access certain information, it raised the ire of the civil liberties and library groups. The law also blocked federal funding to libraries that did not install the software." dcinternet.com 03/05/03
Will Bollywood Conquer All? Bollywood is not just an Indian, but a global, phenomenon. 'Our films have reached half the world. The Middle East, all of Africa, all of Russia, the Far East, and the Indian diaspora everywhere — the half of the world that Hollywood has not yet recognized.' The typical Indian commercial movie today is probably handsomer than it has been at any time since the 1950s, the so-called Golden Age of Bollywood — or, more precisely, the Expressionist Chiaroscuro heyday of noir-inflected auteur directors like Raj Kapoor and Guru Dutt." Now Bollywood is making its move on America. LAWeekly 03/06/03
Posted: 03/06/2003 10:41 pm
Will Piracy End TV As We Know It? Hollywood TV and movie execs told Congress Thursday that "without copy protection the threat of extensive piracy will force the industry to move its best programming to pay services such as cable and satellite TV. 'Over-the-air television as we know it today will be a thing of the past'." Yahoo! (AP) 03/06/03
Posted: 03/06/2003 2:54 pm
A little Healthy Competition The Kennedy Center's International Ballet Festival presents the rare chance to see major companies daning side by side. "This first week of the festival, featuring the Royal Danish Ballet, the Bolshoi Ballet and ABT performing at the Eisenhower Theater through Sunday, is not to be missed. The evening is buoyed by healthy competition; each company is trying to outdo the others with its best dancers and signature choreography. Does the festival offer a true representation of the performance styles that distinguish these troupes? Not exactly." Washington Post 03/06/03
Posted: 03/06/2003 11:21 pm
