Homogeneity, American-Style As much as we may want to believe that people are truly creative beings who appreciate the unconventional and revel in the revolutionary, the facts of modern life say otherwise, according to Lisa Rochon. "We've settled deeply into our La-Z-Boys and clicked on a lifetime of architectural reruns. It's Tim Hortons, it's Starbucks, it's the Gap, it's Home Depot, it's tract housing and towers for as far as the land rolls on... To suggest that people are desperate for an alternative is to romanticize the reality." Whose fault is it? Well, not to put too fine a point on it, but, um, Americans, actually, with our "development of ecologically sensitive land to exploit for the android architecture of the suburbs and big-box retailers which destroy the Mom and Pop stores of the downtown." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 05/14/03
Posted: 05/14/2003 5:23 am
30 Spaces for the 21st Century "Our old ideas about space have exploded. The past three decades have produced more change in more cultures than any other time in history. Radically accelerated growth, deregulation, and globalization have redrawn our familiar maps and reset the parameters: Borders are inscribed and permeated, control zones imposed and violated, jurisdictions declared and ignored, markets pumped up and punctured. And at the same time, entirely new spatial conditions, demanding new definitions, have emerged." Rem Koolhaas has no shortage of ideas on the future of space, from legislative gluts to the art of miniaturization to virtual space. Wired 06/03
Posted: 05/14/2003 4:53 am
Questionable (Artificial) Intelligence Scientists have been working for decades on trying to build artificial intelligence. But how much progress has actually been made, when "notions as 'water is wet' and 'fire is hot' have proved elusive quarry for AI researchers? Unfortunately, the strategies most popular among AI researchers in the 1980s have come to a dead end. So-called 'expert systems,' which emulated human expertise within tightly defined subject areas like law and medicine, could match users' queries to relevant diagnoses, papers and abstracts, yet they could not learn concepts that most children know by the time they are 3 years old." Wired 05/13/03
Posted: 05/13/2003 7:40 pm
A Study Of African American Art "The study of African American artistic production has emerged as a growing field within art history, while its subjects have proven equally amenable to visual culture studies. But a dearth of quality reproductions, institutional holdings catalogues and subject indices, and the number of out-of-print texts continue to slow our scholarly labor." American Art 05/03
Posted: 05/13/2003 11:09 pm
London - Capital Of The Art World London is the world's new art capital. "New Yorkers see their town as the source of all creation, a one-stop shop for culture. But London has become the art capital of the world. London has hot artists and a new museum every other year. New York is between generations and cannot get new buildings off the ground. It lacks coherence and unity. Visiting Americans will soon be offered a combined ticket for the Tate, the Saatchi, the Aquarium and the Eye. " London Evening Standard 05/13/03
Posted: 05/13/2003 9:25 pm
Sydney Opera House Considered For World Heritage Designation The Sydney Opera House is being considered for World Heritage listing. "Australia already has 14 World Heritage sites but they are mostly natural and cultural icons. The Government said listings boost the economy and continue to form 'our national identity . . . that we are morally bound to pass on to future generations'." The Mercury (Australia) 05/14/03
Posted: 05/13/2003 7:30 pm
Artist's Sign Warns Of Low-Flying Planes In Lower Manhattan An artists has painted a big sign on a building near the site of the former World Trade Center in New York. It says: CAUTION: Low Flying Planes. "The painting, which includes an image of a flickering flame, has angered neighbors and provoked complaints to the city Landmarks Preservation Commission." WNBC 05/13/03
Posted: 05/13/2003 7:27 pm
Concerns For Stolen Cellini Sculpture The saltcellar stolen from the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna over the weekend was crafted by the great Renaissance sculptor and metalworker Benvenuto Cellini in the 1540s. It was called by some the "Mona Lisa" of sculpture to give a sense of its importance, and is said to be worth $57 million. "It was extremely fragile. It wasn't cast in solid gold, but hammered into its delicate shape. I think if it comes back it will reappear all in pieces or as a ruin. The whole thing happened in less than one minute; in such a hurry [I can't imagine] that a piece of this fragility could survive." Washington Post 05/13/03
Posted: 05/13/2003 6:48 am
- Previously: Stolen: The "Mona Lisa of Sculpture" A valuable sculpture was stolen from the Art History Museum in Vienna. "The 16th century 'Saliera' (salt cellar) is considered 'the Mona Lisa of sculptures,' the museum said. The 10-inch-tall piece was the only remaining authenticated example of Italian master sculptor Benvenuto Cellini’s work as a goldsmith. This is an art theft of gigantic proportions. The 'Saliera' was worth at the very least 50 million euros ($57 million)." MSNBC (Reuters)
Columbus Running Deficit The Columbus (Ohio) Symphony Orchestra is the latest regional ensemble to announce a substantial deficit for the current season. The CSO is reportedly seeking ways to alleviate a $300,000 shortfall, but is in no imminent danger of shutdown. The Columbus deficit is significant because the orchestra has been a model of fiscal reponsibility in recent years, even while paying its musicians relatively well and keeping a high artistic standard as its top priority. CSO officials are blaming the down economy and a slump in program advertising and corporate giving as the main reasons for the shortfall. Columbus Business First 05/09/03
Posted: 05/14/2003 6:00 am
Not Quite Dead Yet? Musicians and management at the near-defunct Florida Philharmonic are reportedly still talking, in an effort to find some way of preserving or reinventing the ensemble. There isn't a great deal of optimism at the moment, but orchestras in other communities have risen from the ashes, and some at the Florida Phil appear to think it can do the same. But any new orchestra would likely face the same problems - funding, haphazard management, and audience apathy - as the current group. Miami Herald 05/14/03
Posted: 05/14/2003 5:33 am
- Previously: Florida Philharmonic Ceases Operations The Florida Philharmonic has laid off "all but five of their 111 employees and suspended operations Friday, saying the symphony had run out of money. The Philharmonic's 80 musicians and the rest of the orchestra's employees received their final paychecks Friday, two weeks before the scheduled end of the season. Eight concerts were canceled." Miami Herald 05/10/03
A Crisis In American Orchestras America's orchestras are slipping away. "Nearly a dozen orchestras across the country have either closed or are in danger of doing so. This season's first orchestral casualty was the San Jose Symphony, which shut down in November. The Tulsa Philharmonic, the Colorado Springs Symphony and the San Antonio Symphony followed. In February the 49-year-old Savannah Symphony Orchestra canceled the rest of its season. It was $1.3 million in debt, had gone through five executive directors in seven years and was unable to meet its payroll." The New York Times 03/14/03
Posted: 05/13/2003 9:37 pm
Dear Stanley: You're Fired Stanley Crouch's last column in JazzTimes was blunt. In it he "accuses white critics of elevating white musicians 'far beyond their abilities' to 'make themselves feel more comfortable about . . . evaluating an art from which they feel substantially alienated.' Crouch also claims that white writers, who were born in 'middle-class china shops,' ensure 'the destruction of the Negro aesthetic' by advancing musicians who can't swing at the expense of those who can." And with that, the magazine fired Crouch... Village Voice 05/13/03
Posted: 05/13/2003 7:17 pm
Artists In Post-Hussein Iraq Artists in Iraq under Hussein had mixed fortunes. Those in favor were treated well. Those who were suspected for anything were killed or imprisoned. Now artists wonder about the future. "Though they know their agenda is less urgent than restoring electricity or holding elections, the men agreed that Iraq's cultural rebirth will be crucial if the country is to prosper. There will be a place for Western influence, the men concluded, but they hope it is a tempered one." Chicago Tribune 05/13/03
Posted: 05/13/2003 7:10 pm
More Arts Cuts In San Jose Last year the city of San Jose cut its arts funding 19 percent. This year there's another 24 percent cut coming. In a city with struggling arts organizations, the news is discouraging. San Jose Mercury-News 05/13/03
Posted: 05/13/2003 7:00 am
After Orchestra Fails - Can Miami Support Ambitious Arts Plans? After the Florida Philharmonic collapse, arts watchers in south Florida are wondering whether the region can support a new $263 million performing arts center, currently under construction. "The issue, arts experts say, is whether the South Florida arts donor base is too narrow: too heavy on the elderly, substantially but not wholly Jewish crowd, often from the Northeast, and too light on young professionals, local Hispanics and wealthy, part-time residents from South America." Miami Herald 05/13/03
Posted: 05/13/2003 6:04 am
A Musician Without An Orchestra Nick Dargahi is a cellist. Or, rather, he was. Or maybe he still is. It's hard to tell these days. When you are an orchestral musician, and your orchestra is suddenly pulled out from under you, it becomes difficult to know what you are for sure. Dargahi has left the music business, at least temporarily, and is training to be an engineer. Author Richard Florida thinks that stories like Dargahi's are an unnecessary tragedy, and says that orchestras need to redefine their mission and reenergize the public to prevent a sustained crisis. Studio 360 05/10/03 (RealAudio Player required)
Posted: 05/14/2003 6:07 am
SARS Fears Wreaking Havoc With Canadian Festivals Canada's Shaw and Stratford Festivals, both based in Southern Ontario, have been hit hard by the SARS outbreak in the province. Ticket sales have plummeted, thanks in large part to the festivals' American regulars who have been staying away for fear of exposure to the virus. But both the Shaw and the Stratford insist that sales are returning to normal, and neither anticipates much long-term harm to their bottom lines. The Globe & Mail (Canada) 05/14/03
Posted: 05/14/2003 5:17 am
- Monette To Stay On At Stratford "Richard Monette made Canadian theatre history yesterday as he became the longest-serving artistic director in the 51-year history of the Stratford Festival. Monette, who has been at the helm for the past 10 seasons, will keep his post until 2007." National Post (Canada) 05/14/03
Posted: 05/14/2003 5:05 am
The Future of Arab Fiction The Arab world is changing fast, and Arab writers are following suit, writing more freely about subjects once considered the worst kind of taboo, and producing work which eschews the defeatist, underdog tone which has for so long been the hallmark of the region. "Despite a wave of religious conservatism in the Arab world, the young generation of Egyptian poets and novelists is seeking ways to circumvent censorship, using the Internet and satellite television to disseminate their works." The young writers leading the charge are controversial, outspoken, and - surprise! - popular. Washington Post 05/14/03
Posted: 05/14/2003 5:55 am
That Future Where They Burn Books - Fifty Years Later Fifty years after its publication, Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451" remains "a favorite of teachers who assign it to English classes and librarians who appreciate its celebration of literacy as the hallmark of civilization. The public loves it, too. Last year, 'Fahrenheit 451' reached No. 1 on the Los Angeles Times best-seller list after Mayor Jim Hahn made it the centerpiece of a citywide reading program. Mr. Bradbury insists that the purpose of "Fahrenheit 451" was not to prophesy. 'I wasn't trying to predict the future. I was trying to prevent it.' In one immediate sense, he failed." OpinionJournal.com 05/14/03
Posted: 05/13/2003 6:48 pm
Comic Book Nation "Today, students who come to a campus with Spider-Man on their minds may have trouble believing it, but they share the superhero with middle-aged professors. For, in our scholarly lives, many of us are not just harking back to distant memories of the Marvel comics of our childhoods, but creating a new scholarship on the comic book and the comic strip. The scholarly part is an odd experience and, for the most part, a recent one." Chronicle of Higher Education 05/12/03
Posted: 05/13/2003 11:40 am
TWoP In Twouble? Television Without Pity is that rarest of internet beasts - a funny, useful, and popular web site with a large staff, a coherent mission, and a bevy of devoted readers who hang on every word. But all of that may not be enough to save the site, which specializes in detailed (and unabashedly sarcastic) recaps of the action on more than three dozen TV shows. TWoP is successful, yes, but it's still heavily in debt, and considering its harshly independent style, it's unlikely that its creators can look to Hollywood itself for help. The site's co-founder says future prospects will be reevaluated after May sweeps end in a couple of weeks. Chicago Tribune 05/14/03
Posted: 05/14/2003 5:04 am
Transport Strike Causing Cannes Concern Movie stars, as a rule, do not like to wait around. So one can imagine that the organizers of the Cannes Film Festival are more than a little bit concerned about a country-wide transport strike in France which is threatening to make the logistics of the festival a bit tricky. Cannes opens on Wednesday, and while some luminaries of the film world have already arrived, many are finding themselves stranded in Paris, at least temporarily. BBC 05/13/03
Posted: 05/14/2003 4:45 am
Lucas Starts Animation Studio Filmmaker George Lucas has started his own animation studio. "For nearly six years, Lucas has tried — without success — to break into the feature animation business, which has become increasingly competitive. Rivals such as Pixar Animation Studios and partner Walt Disney Studios, DreamWorks SKG's Pacific Data Images and 20th Century Fox's Blue Sky Studios have cashed in on such blockbusters as 'Monsters, Inc.,' 'Shrek' and 'Ice Age,' respectively. Last year, Sony Pictures joined the fray by forming its own computer animation outfit." Los Angeles Tribune 05/13/03
Posted: 05/13/2003 7:04 pm
Labor Troubles In Pittsburgh "Dancers with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre handed out leaflets before performances of 'Cleopatra' last week because they wanted ballet patrons to know about PBT's proposals to reduce rehearsal time and increase the number of student performers, a union representative for the dancers said yesterday." PBT dancers have been at an impasse with management over the details of a new contract. The issue of student performers seems to be the biggest sticking point, with dancers fearing that they could be gradually pushed out of PBT productions in favor of cheaper student performers eager for professional experience. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 05/14/03
Posted: 05/14/2003 5:46 am
Fort Worth Dallas Ballet Takes A New Name Fort Worth Dallas Ballet has a new name. Henceforth it shall be called Texas Ballet Theater. "Last month's merger of the ballet's two boards - one based in Fort Worth and one in Dallas - prompted the decision. It reflects the new board and the new artistic direction. We did not want to be known as North Texas Ballet, either. It limits yourself. We have grown beyond Fort Worth and Dallas. We are spreading our wings." Dallas Morning News 05/08/03
Posted: 05/13/2003 10:14 pm
