Insta-Mobs Flash mobs are performance art projects involving large groups of people. Mobilized by e-mail, a mob suddenly materializes in a public place, acts out according to some loose instructions, and then melts away as quickly as it formed. In New York, the city's finest turned out in force to block the city's third mob gathering last Wednesday evening. 'There's a real desire for something like this out there. Community has always been a big buzzword in the Web space, and I think the smart mob concept helps to bring the virtual community into real space. No matter how good our devices become at allowing us to communicate, I think we're always going to need some real face time with folks'."
Wired 07/05/03
Posted: 07/06/2003 8:50 am
Experts Criticize Iraq Exhibition Last Thursday, American authorities in Baghdad put objects from the Iraq National Museum on display. But only for two hours. "As propaganda stunts go it was not very successful. American archaeologists immediately accused the authorities of putting at risk the fragile 3,000-year-old golden ornaments by rushing them from the vaults of the Central Bank and back again to show that the looting of the museum had not been as bad as first claimed. 'I think it is an act of propaganda. It is to show that nothing really happened to the museum. No curator in the world would allow this sort of exhibition unless ordered to do so'." The Independent (UK) 07/04/03
Posted: 07/06/2003 10:52 am
Lloyd Webber: Lay Off The Negative Classical Music Stories Julian Lloyd Webber is tired of all the doom and gloom about the classical music bhusiness. "In this country only one small orchestra – the Bournemouth Sinfonietta – has closed in the past 30 years. Meanwhile, over the same period, membership of the Association of British Orchestras has increased by 38 orchestras, 19 of which are new. How come the 'grim reapers' don't write about that? Then again, I suppose good news is not news." The Telegraph (UK) 07/07/03
Posted: 07/06/2003 9:43 am
Musicians Protest Licensing UK musicians are protesting a new musician licencing law passed in parliament last week. "It means that venues catering for audiences of 200 or fewer will have to obtain a licence to stage concerts - with the exception of unamplified ensembles such as string quartets. The government says public safety is at risk from unlicensed events, citing more than 1,500 fires in pubs and clubs in England and Wales in 2001. But the Musicians' Union says its artists are being singled out - while performers such as stand-up comics and novelty acts are exempt." BBC 07/06/03
Posted: 07/06/2003 9:31 am
Patriotism In Creativity Patriotism isn't just about jingoism and flag-waving, writes Frank Rich. "Patriotism needn't make us so weary. Look around our culture, and it isn't hard to find a faith in America that is not defined by government-commissioned flag-waving, political demagoguery or cable news's jingoism-as-marketing-strategy. The most telling American fables don't come in the blacks and whites of our current strident political and cultural discourse, which so often divides Americans into either flag-draped heroes or abject traitors. The great American stories, from Huckleberry Finn's to the Dixie Chicks', have always been nuanced; they can have poetry and they can have dark shadows. They can combine a love of country with an implicit criticism of it." New York Times 07/06/03
Posted: 07/06/2003 9:54 am
Why Invest In Arts? Because Of "We The People" California legislators are deciding whether to eliminate the California Arts Council. The state has a huge budget deficit, but doesn't the state have a compelling interest in investing in culture, too? "Not as a matter of deciding what pictures get painted, not as a matter of supporting this or that artist, but as a matter of promoting excellence, the 'common wealth.' We certainly pay enough lip service to these ideals..." Los Angeles Times 07/04/03
Posted: 07/06/2003 9:06 am
Should Foundations Be Required To Spend More? A proposal before Congress would increase the amount of money foundations are required to give away each year. The foundations are opposed. "At root, the bill exposes the conflict over whether foundations exist to make an impact quickly and divest themselves of assets, or whether they exist to perpetuate themselves—and enrich the executives who run them." Slate 07/03/03
Posted: 07/05/2003 9:35 pm
Indianapolis' Big Cultural Initiative While other American cities have been cutting back their cultural initiatives, Indianapolis has been putting together a new $10 million plan for the arts. "The thing I've been most struck by is the intense emotion everyone feels about this initiative. Right or wrong, individual or organization, there is a very strong conviction that this is our chance, and we'd better not blow it." Indianapolis Business Journal 07/07/03
Posted: 07/05/2003 3:38 pm
NEA: Colorado Can Keep Grant Money The National Endowment for the Arts has decided to let the state of Colorado keep this year's NEA grant of $613,000. "The funding was at risk after the Colorado legislature reduced next year's funding to the CCA from $1.9 million to $200,000, leaving the agency with just one full-time employee. In the past, the NEA has not funded states lacking a fully functioning state arts council." Denver Post 07/04/03
Posted: 07/05/2003 3:36 pm
- Dismantling Colorado Arts Funding Colorado has all but eliminated its arts council, reducing funding to $200,000. The NEA has come across with another $600,000, but things are bleak. "The dismantling of the council has been slow and insidious, and painful to watch. Though some legislative support exists, there also has been a certain disinterest, if not scorn, for the agency's role in bolstering the state's cultural profile." Rocky Mountain News 07/05/03
Posted: 07/05/2003 3:33 pm
California Arts Council Fights For Its Life The California Arts Council is in dancer of going out of business next week. "The arts council is listed on a seven- to eight-page document totaling $11 billion in cuts, and it includes things like hearing aids for people with hearing disorders - so when you're looking at things that are sustenance for the elderly, the blind and the disabled, you have to keep that in mind when you're looking at the arts council." San Francisco Chronicle 07/04/03
Posted: 07/05/2003 3:10 pm
- Impact Of California Arts Cuts Would Be Severe "The 27-year-old agency is best known for its grants to local organizations, and much of the funding is used to send artists and performers into public schools. In the fiscal year that ended Monday, the Arts Council spent almost its entire budget of $18.2 million on grants." Contra Costa Times 07/03/03
Posted: 07/05/2003 3:03 pm
Naked Theatre "You could see a lot of actors stripping this past season, especially if you were one of the many people who took opera glasses to the theater. This bumper crop of flesh, both subtly achieved and blatantly revealed, offered audiences a chance to study in depth how nudity actually functions onstage. One thing was clear in almost all of last season's strips: it was the moment of first removal (rather than the eventual full monty) that brought the biggest gasps." The New York Times 07/06/03
Posted: 07/06/2003 10:00 am
Seen The Movie, Now Come To The Play, Er, Movie...Er... Used to be that theatre productions used to depend on stars to attract audiences. But lately, movies have been the draw. "Miramax, the studio that created 'Chicago,' has secured the rights to film at least three more Broadway musicals. Two of them — 'Guys and Dolls' and 'Damn Yankees' — have been given the Hollywood treatment before. And industry publications have said in recent weeks that uber-producer/director Steven Spielberg is interested in creating a film version of Stephen Sondheim's 1979 masterpiece, 'Sweeney Todd.' If these projects do make it to movie theaters, it will represent a turnaround from Broadway's recent history." St. Paul Pioneer-Press 07/06/03
Posted: 07/06/2003 9:16 am
Knockoff Harrys Outsell Original In Pakistan Knockoff editions of the new Harry Potter are outselling the authentic version in Pakistan. "One bookseller said at least five different versions of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix were on the market. Priced at between 295-495 rupees (£3-5, $5-8.50), they are proving hugely popular in competition with the $29.99 (£18) official version. Pakistan is ranked as one of the world's largest producers of pirated goods, including CDs, films and computer software." BBC 07/06/03
Posted: 07/06/2003 9:35 am
Could Technology Decipher Burned Medieval Manuscripts? Scientists suggest that technology used to scan and map planets could be used to decipher a unique library of medieval manuscripts mostly destroyed in allied bombing during World War II. "The collection, then housed in an annexe of Chartres town hall, comprised around 2,000 medieval books and parchments, many of which dated to the 12th Century. The library was considered a national treasure and a good proportion of the works were unpublished." BBC 07/05/03
Posted: 07/06/2003 8:58 am
NJ Abolishes Poet Laureate Position The New Jersey State Legislature has passed a bill abolishing the position of state poet laureate. The move is the culmination over unhappiness over poet laureate Amiri Baraka, who wrote a poem last year suggesting Israel had advance knowledge of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. "The Assembly approved a bill Tuesday that passed the Senate in January. Gov. James E. McGreevey, who cut off the $10,000 annual stipend that goes to the poet laureate after Baraka refused to resign, intends to sign the bill, according to a spokesman." Yahoo! (AP) 07/01/03
Posted: 07/05/2003 3:28 pm
The Voice-Over A-List All sorts of A-list actors are showing up as voices in new animated features. What's the attraction? Animators get to cash in on the big names. As for the actors, it's easy work. "No hair and make-up necessary, not a personal trainer in sight and a four-hour work day: these are just a few of the enticements luring A-list actors, including Jim Carrey, Will Smith and Robin Williams, to headline animated features." The New York Times 07/06/03
Posted: 07/06/2003 10:38 am
Play It Again Sam "This summer, more than ever, the creative and marketing logic behind the movie sequel has reversed. With the exception of the odd original picture - 'Finding Nemo' or a comic-book franchise like 'The Hulk' - sequels have become the movie industry's core product. They are bigger, more expensive, more heavily hyped and - arguably - sometimes superior to their progenitors." Washington Post 07/06/03
Posted: 07/06/2003 9:47 am
FCC Releases Details Of New Media Ownership Rules America's Federal Communications Commission has released details of its new regulations on media ownership. "The rules as released yesterday - bound in a 257-page document that includes a historical survey of the 20th-century media industry - represent Powell's belief that the FCC has little role in regulating media content. The language in the rules is likely to inflame opponents, who say that the agency cares more about enriching big media companies such as Viacom Inc. and NewsCorp Inc. than fostering equal access to the airwaves and encouraging minority viewpoints." Washington Post 07/03/03
Posted: 07/05/2003 3:24 pm
