Ideas In Praise Of Elitism "The elitism question is a complicated matter, not least because of the widely-observed paradox that claims of anti-elitism emanate from academics who write a language of deliberately clotted opaque jargon and make a parade of not particularly relevant erudition, such as Lacan's forced marriage of psychoanalysis and mathematics. It's also complicated because the word elitism is thrown around with wild abandon with no particular definition being stipulated, as if its meaning were entirely transparent and self-evident and generally agreed on. But nothing could be farther from the truth." Butterflies & Wheels 09/03 Posted: 09/16/2003 9:25 pm Visual Arts Guerrilla Girls: Where Are They Now? When the underground feminist art movement known as the Guerrilla Girls began its in-your-face campaign to broaden the recognition granted to female artists in traditional institutions, its members were considered revolutionaries. Now, a quarter-century later, the group has mostly disbanded, though a few members still keep up the fight. In retrospect, the question of what was accomplished by the Guerrilla Girls, and whether their message has had any lasting effect on the American cultural scene is a matter open to debate, and the remaining members of the group seem to have taken their movement away from a strict focus on art, and towards more general issues of feminism and society. Minneapolis Star Tribune 09/17/03 Posted: 09/17/2003 6:16 am Why No Auction House Reforms? "After a major price-fixing scandal in which Al Taubman was sent to jail, Dede Brooks placed under house arrest and numerous former Christie's senior officers were exposed as hypocritical backstabbing cowards, why does business at the high end of the New York market continue, without any major, or minor, reforms whatsoever?" Artnet.com 09/17/03 Posted: 09/16/2003 9:17 pm The Archaeology Sleuths New archaeological study is shedding light on sometimes long forgotten massacres in American history. "Archaeology can fill gaps in the incomplete oral and written histories of these atrocities, resolve discrepancies among various accounts, and help people to better understand what happened. This better understanding can lead to closure for many people, but archaeology can also cause controversy. These events all raise different issues and debates on the place of archaeology, and its helpful or damaging effect." Archaeology 09/16/03 Posted: 09/16/2003 6:45 pm British Museum Rejects Rosetta Stone Request The British Museum has rejected a request by Egypt to return the Rosetta Stone or loan it. “The trustees do not consent to the loan of what might be called ‘iconic’ objects which we consider to be central to the collection'—such as the Rosetta Stone. It added: 'We have excellent relationships with all our professional colleagues in Egypt. Whilst we are always willing to discuss new ways of cooperating with them on joint projects, we are clear, as are they, that the Rosetta Stone will stay in London.' This statement appears to rule out a loan." The Art Newspaper 09/12/03 Posted: 09/16/2003 1:40 pm Guggenheim In Taiwan? The Guggenheim board is considering a plan to build a branch of the museum in Taiwan. "The planned museum is to become part of a new NT$12.4 billion ($360.4 million) district in Taichung to include an opera house designed by Jean Nouvel, architect of the proposed Guggenheim Rio, and a new City Hall to be designed by Frank Gehry, architect of the Guggenheim Bilbao. The familiar roster is no coincidence, as Mr Krens served as advisor to the city in selecting the architects." The Art Newspaper 09/12/03 Posted: 09/16/2003 1:33 pm Music NJ CEO Is Top Candidate For Pittburgh "Lawrence Tamburri, president and CEO of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, has emerged as the leading candidate for the managing director position at the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra." Pittsburgh CEO Gideon Toeplitz left his post in May, and there have been multiple rumors about who might replace him. For a time, it seemed that Douglas Gerhart, of the San Diego Symphony, was a shoo-in, and Gerhart even resigned from his San Diego position in order to focus on his candidacy, but the match never panned out. Pittsburgh is facing significant financial challenges, and is nearing a September 21 deadline to reach a new labor agreement with its musicians. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 09/16/03 Posted: 09/17/2003 6:35 am Detroit Symphony Keeps Raking It In "Just three weeks before the grand opening of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's new Max M. Fisher Center, the symphony has received $8.7 million more in gifts from philanthropist Fisher and several other donors. Fisher kicked in another $5 million, bringing his contribution toward the refurbished and expanded Woodward Avenue concert venue and entertainment complex, which will now bear his name, to $10 million." Detroit News 09/17/03 Posted: 09/17/2003 5:58 am Appeals Court To Scrutinize RIAA A federal court is challenging the recording industry's assertion that consumers who have copyrighted material available to others on their home computers are guilty of illegal distribution. Judge John Roberts is asking the industry to clarify how such practices are any different from an open library door. But the judge also has some tough questions for the telecommunications companies who have been subpoenaed by the RIAA, telling the lawyer for Verizon Communications, "You make a lot of money off piracy." Wired 09/17/03 Posted: 09/17/2003 5:33 am Now You've Done It! You Woke Up Congress! Senator Sam Brownback has had about enough of the recording industry's legal crusade against illegal file-swapping, and, since he makes laws for a living, he's making a law intended to make it tougher for the industry to keep up its pursuit. Among other things, "the legislation would require owners of digital media to file a John Doe lawsuit to obtain the identifying information of an Internet user, rather than simply requesting a subpoena." Wired 09/17/03 Posted: 09/17/2003 5:28 am Opera That Can't Work So impressario Raymond Gubbay is planning to stage operas in London in competition the the Royal Opera and English National companies. But the plan is to present in a small theatre, and the numbers don't work out. Gubbay can't make it work out financially. So what's the point? The Telegraph (UK) 09/17/03 Posted: 09/16/2003 7:11 pm La Scala Fight Ensnares Muti A fight is brewing between La Scala director Riccardo Muti and the company's general manager. "Mr Muti did not attend the official launch of the 2003-4 season, and on tour in Japan this week he was quoted as saying that La Scala was 'at risk of decline'. The danger is that, unless Mr Muti gets what he wants, the great conductor will go elsewhere. Though still unspoken, it has been enough to sow alarm among the loggionisti, La Scala's devotees, who sometimes queue all night for the cheap seats in the loggione, the equivalent of 'the gods'." Some see the flap as a power play with Italy's volatile prime minister. The Guardian (UK) 09/16/03 Posted: 09/16/2003 2:15 pm Arts Issues Banking On The Arts Two of Canada's largest banks have announced plans to make major contributions to a number of Ontario arts organizations. The Art Gallery of Ontario and the Royal Ontario Museum will each get CAN$2.25 million from the bankers, and the National Ballet School of Canada will get CAN$1.5 million. The Globe & Mail (Canada) 09/17/03 Posted: 09/17/2003 6:01 am Non-Profits Taking Big Economic Hit America's non-profit corporations, including many arts groups, are being forced to make painful cuts in the face of declining public funding, stagnated individual giving, and tumbling foundation spending, and the situation may not improve for quite a while, even if the economy continues its current rebound. Government funding is the second-largest source of revenue for non-profits, and at the moment, with states strapped for cash and the federal government charting a course which does not include much state aid, the public subsidy situation is dire. USA Today 09/16/03 Posted: 09/17/2003 5:47 am Senate Rejects FCC Rules Changes "The Senate approved a resolution Tuesday to repeal media ownership rules critics say could lead to a wave of mergers and ultimately stifle diversity and local viewpoints in news and entertainment. Defying a White House veto threat, the Senate voted 55-40 to undo changes to Federal Communications Commission regulations governing ownership of newspapers and television and radio stations. Those rules already have been placed on hold by a federal appeals court." Wired (AP) 09/16/03 Posted: 09/17/2003 5:40 am Previously: What Does FCC Deregulation Mean? "Despite the disingenuous if not wholly cynical blather of FCC Chairman Michael Powell, Monday's vote is antithetical to promoting diversity and will allow, if not guarantee, that Americans are served an ever-more-homogenized news and entertainment product by the same handful of gigantic entities that already control the majority of the most popular venues and channels. If you doubt it, all you have to do is turn on your radio." St. Paul Pioneer-Press 06/02/03 People Sculptor Granlund Dies Sculptor Paul Granlund, whose works were commissioned by collectors and colleges around the world, has died at the age of 77. "Granlund is known for his exuberant human figures, especially dancing lovers and families lifting children into the air. Though primarily a figurative artist, he was equally adept doing geometric and Cubist shapes and even Pop subjects including... huge bronze alphabet letters and a star-burst." Minneapolis Star Tribune 09/17/03 Posted: 09/17/2003 6:13 am Jonathan Miller, Junkyard Director Director Jonathan Miller has turned sculptor. He spends time in junkyards finding pieces of scrap to weld together. "When I get called an intellectual or a renaissance man or a polymath I think about how my parents would have been embarrassed to be called such vulgar things. they were middle-class, cultivated people - my mother was a very good novelist - to whom knowing about books and art and speaking languages was normal, as well as taking an interest in science and philosophy. They were just educated people who had a lot of interests. It's normal. And so it is for me. I'm just normally sophisticated, like my dear old dad and my long-dead mother, but I'm increasingly ashamed of the vulgarity around me." The Guardian (UK) 09/16/03 Posted: 09/16/2003 2:31 pm Theatre The Unlikliest Pulitzer When Nilo Cruz got the phone call informing him that his new play, Anna in the Tropics, had won the Pulitzer Prize for drama, he wasn't entirely sure if he believed it. After all, he was a little-known playwright whose play had only been seen onn stage during a short run in Florida, and he was up against such legends as Edward Albee and Richard Greenberg, both of whose entries were running in New York. But it was no joke: Cruz is the first Latino playwright to win the prize, and his play gets a more auspicious bow this week at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, before moving to Broadway later in the fall. Philadelphia Inquirer 09/17/03 Posted: 09/17/2003 6:29 am Publishing BBC In Print The BBC is best known as a broadcaster. But it is also one of the biggest publishers in the UK. "BBC Magazines, now the third biggest publisher in the UK behind IPC and Emap, employs 550 staff and publishes 35 titles, usually linked to successful television programmes such as Top Gear and Top of the Pops, and the many lifestyle shows." The Independent (UK) 09/16/03 Posted: 09/16/2003 6:58 pm Atwood, Ali Lead Booker Shortlist Margaret Atwood and newcomer Monica Ali head up the shortlist for this year's Booker Prize. Martin Amis and JM Coetzee didn't make the cut, but Zoe Heller, Damon Galgut and debut writers Clare Morrall and DBC Pierre did. Three of the nominations are for first novels. The winner is announced October 14. BBC 09/16/03 Posted: 09/16/2003 5:26 pm Media Cartoon University For decades, Disney ruled the animated roost, cranking out blockbuster after cartoon blockbuster, and employing the top animators in the world. These days, the digital pioneers at Pixar have taken up the Disney mantle and are advancing the medium at an astonishing rate. But what these two giants of the animated film have in common is the California Institute of the Arts, which has consistently turned out students who have a passion for animating, and the techinical knowledge to have a profound impact on the industry. San Francisco Chronicle 09/17/03 Posted: 09/17/2003 6:47 am Art Of The Video Game "Computer and video games were once the province of futuristic gladiators and soldiers of yore. But as better graphics technology has made games more visually realistic, digital artists have been using 3-D game environments to recreate real places and simulate recent events. In the process they are turning what has been a platform for pure fantasy into a medium for social realism. At the very least the violent action at the heart of many games accurately reflects the world that game players confront when they step away from their screens. Digital games appeal to artists for several reasons." The New York Times 09/17/03 Posted: 09/16/2003 9:11 pm Dance Bolshoi Fires Overweight Dancer "A long-running feud came to an end yesterday when the ballerina Anastasia Volochkova was fired by the Bolshoi Theatre for being too heavy for male dancers to lift. The ousting of Volochkova, a prominent Russian celebrity, marked the climax of a row over claims that she was too large." The Guardian (UK) 09/17/03 Posted: 09/16/2003 7:20 pm