That's Great (Isn't It?) Charles Murray attempts to quantify greatness. Is such a thing a good idea? Is it even possible? Denis Dutton believes so: "We take pleasure in watching an athlete break a record, hearing a soprano in full flight, or reading a philosopher of depth and insight. Human accomplishment is the ultimate spectator sport. Apply as much historical analysis to it as we wish, and we’ll not unlock all its mysteries. The continuous capacity of genius to surpass understanding remains a human constant." New Criterion 02/04
Posted: 02/07/2004 5:20 pm
Familiar Music In New Settings Looking for ways to present classical music in new formats, one French entrepreneur has developed a new sound for some familiar classics - Beethoven, Strauss, Vivaldi and others - and he's become quite the virtuoso. Okay, it's a joke, but it's fun! Hugi-Is 02/04
Posted: 02/07/2004 3:48 pm
When Science Explains Art (Is That Good?) Some art lovers get angry when scientists try to attach literal explanations to art. But "such literalism can actually add to an artwork's mystique. By helping us identify the part of art that's not a mystery, these efforts help us focus more narrowly on the part that is." The New York Times 02/08/04
Posted: 02/07/2004 5:05 pm
All The 411 On You (And They Have It) Wonder what information is contained in that barcode on the back of your driver's license? "Visitors to an art exhibit at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts got more than their martinis when they ordered drinks at a bar inside the gallery's entrance. Instead of pretzels and peanuts, they were handed a receipt containing the personal data found on their license, plus all the information that could be gleaned from commercial data-mining services and voter registration databases like Aristotle. Some patrons also got receipts listing their phone number, income range, marital status, housing value and profession. For added effect, the receipt included a little map showing the location of their residence." Wired 02/07/04
Posted: 02/07/2004 4:11 pm
Guggenheim Announces Boss Prize Finalists The Guggenheim announces the five finalists for its Hugo Boss Prize. "Since we don't do a biennial, this is our barometer of what's happening in the art world globally." The New York Times 02/06/04
Posted: 02/07/2004 2:26 pm
Your Local Record Store's Days Are Numbered Traditional record chains are hurting and going out of business. "A recent study by Forrester Research, which examines technology trends, predicts that in five years fully one-third of all music will be delivered through modems, and the CD itself will be passe, if not obsolete, in the years after. This isn't necessarily bad news for the record labels, but it could be lethal for brick-and-mortar stores." Washington Post 02/07/04
Posted: 02/07/2004 5:53 pm
Scottish Opera Borrowing On The Future "Finances at Scotland's national opera company are in such a state that the Scottish Arts Council (SAC) has agreed to advance it more than half of next year's budget to keep it afloat. Critics blame arrogant management for the crisis which could see up to 80 of its staff of around 200 lose their jobs. Although Scottish Opera enjoys huge critical acclaim for its onstage productions, it is almost as famous for its equally tumultuous off-stage dramas. In the latest twist for the opera company, it has been forced to seek £4m from the SAC in order to keep its doors open." The Guardian (UK) 02/06/04
Posted: 02/07/2004 5:44 pm
Philadelphia Orchestra Asks Staff, Musicians To Take Pay Cuts Trying to stem a deficit expected to exceed $4 million, the Philadelphia Orchestra has asked all its employees to help cut the red ink - including asking salary cuts for musicians and a ten percent cut in guest artist fees. "We are asking for voluntary help from all of the people who make this great art form happen, all the people who have benefited from its success over the years." Philadelphia Inquirer 02/07/04
Posted: 02/07/2004 4:21 pm
Recording Industry Raids Aussie File-share Offices The recording industry has conducted raids on the offices of the owners of file-sharing networks in Australia. "The raided sites included the office of Kazaa owner Sharman Networks, the homes of two of the company's executives, three Australian universities and Internet service providers." A spokesman for the recording industry said "the recording industry would launch a civil action against Kazaa in the Federal Court on Tuesday." Wired 02/06/04
Posted: 02/07/2004 3:44 pm
Urban Music Rules What's the world's most popular music now? "The urban scene - broadly covering hip-hop, rap and R&B - is firmly at the heart of mainstream culture in 2004, with its music and imagery impossible to ignore. Urban music is officially the most popular style in the US - overtaking rock in 2002 and now accounting for 25% of sales. Another landmark was reached in October 2003 when, for the first time, all the artists with top 10 singles in the US were black." BBC 02/07/04
Posted: 02/07/2004 2:07 pm
Increase Funding For The NEA? Yeah, Right! So arts supporters are cheering George Bush's proposal to raise the budget of the National Endowment for the Arts. Big deal, writes Dominic Papatola. "Even if Bush's proposed boost isn't the cynical political maneuver it appears to be — who wants to bet that congressional Republicans don't have a backroom deal to nix the increase? — the NEA budget will still be $37 million less than its high-water mark. And that's in nonadjusted dollars." St. Paul Pioneer-Press 02/08/04
Posted: 02/07/2004 1:53 pm
Atwood: Writing For Fun And Profit Margaret Atwood on how she became a writer: "I just started writing, and started writing poetry. I was too ignorant to know you couldn't just walk into it and make a living that way. I got a magazine called Writer's Market and thought maybe I will write true romances in the daytime, because you can make quite a lot of money doing that, and in the evenings I will write my works of genius." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 02/07/04
Posted: 02/07/2004 5:30 pm
Philadelphia Shakespeare Cuts Back Rather than run a deficit, and faced with a shortage of income, the "Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival has postponed the final production of the season and laid off three of its six employees." Philadelphia Inquirer 02/07/04
Posted: 02/07/2004 4:18 pm
When Bodies In Seats Are More Important Than Selling Tickets... Broadway now has a couple of businesses that help "paper" shows that aren't selling well. "Subscribers to these services are permitted up to two tickets per performance, based on seating availability. While most tickets are for Off- and Off-Off-Broadway shows, seats for Broadway shows are not impossible to find. It's all left to the discretion of producers, who may give away 'comps' when shows are in previews, underpublicized, or expecting reviewers or celebrities in the house." Backstage 02/06/04
Posted: 02/07/2004 2:02 pm
Writing After The Kid's Market "It is strange to find that I have joined the swelling ranks of children’s authors, since that was never either an ambition or an intention. But maybe we are all subconsciously influenced by the rags to riches story of Joanne Rowling. Certainly, children’s literature is no longer the poor relation in the publishing world. If you want to be an author, children’s literature is the place to be and agents are certainly on the hunt." The Scotsman 02/07/04
Posted: 02/07/2004 6:02 pm
Motion Calls On UK Goverment To Protect Literary Collections British poet laureate Andrew Motion says many important literary papers are being sold outside the country. "Motion says the government should do more to stop important literary papers, often belonging to the country's most distinguished writers, going abroad." BBC 02/07/04
Posted: 02/07/2004 2:09 pm
BBC To Invest Heavily In New Arts Ventures The BBC says it will spend £8 million on new arts programming in the next year and a half, representing "the biggest single new commitment to the arts on British TV. The BBC currently spends £50m on arts coverage." The Guardian (UK) 02/08/04
Posted: 02/07/2004 5:41 pm
TV Networks Flop Around Trying To Reinvent You can smell the desperation in the air. "Network television — battered by years of audience defections to cable channels and fearing the devastation that personal video recording machines like TiVo could wreak on advertising, its only revenue source — is beginning to embrace tactics considered heretical just a few years ago as it struggles to keep viewers tuned in and attentive." The New York Times 02/08/04
Posted: 02/07/2004 5:00 pm
When Did Hollywood Give Up Happy Endings? Hollywood has been a specialist in happy endings. But lately, happy conclusions seem to be out of fashion... New York Times Magazine 02/08/04
Posted: 02/07/2004 4:04 pm
Those Slow-Moving Canadians National Ballet of Canada director James Kudelka on the difference between Canadian and American dancers: It hardly needs mentioning that work like this is harder to do in a cold climate, and Kudelka believes that the weightier, slower look of Canadian dancers may actually have something to do with things like thicker blood and winter lethargy. 'We're less energetic than American dancers. Balanchine got dancers from Texas and Florida and California, where it was always summer. The bodies from the Midwest got left on the tarmac'." Toronto Star 02/07/04
Posted: 02/07/2004 5:58 pm
