Activism And The Law What is this "activist judges" charge that George Bush keeps flinging around? What he means, of course, are courts with whose rulings he disagrees. "Still, the charge isn't going away. Though it is misused by partisans, scholars have for generations held serious debates about judicial activism - and have sometimes even found ways to embrace it." Boston Globe 03/07/04
Posted: 03/07/2004 8:10 am
What Defines Good Writing About Art? Charles Saumarez Smith, director of London's National Gallery, has just become a juror for a new competition to find the best writing about art. But what defines good writing about art, these days, he wonders... The Guardian (UK) 03/06/04
Posted: 03/07/2004 9:50 am
Courting Oblivion - Are English Court Buildings In Danger? "A report by the conservation group Save says that Britain is in danger of throwing away a treasury of court buildings, usually the most important civic buildings - architecturally and socially - in their areas." The Guardian (UK) 03/06/04
Posted: 03/07/2004 9:46 am
Taking On The WTC Memorial - Critics Get Organized With a project so emotionally charged as the memorial at the World Trade center site, It had to happen of course; protests are pouring in about the winning design and the process to choose it. "The whole competition stinks of collusion, rule-breaking, and fraud," is the general tone of criticism. "At least one organized group hopes to stop the winning design from getting built. Called the World Trade Center Memorial Focus Group, it consists of losing competitors and is led by an employee of the New York City transit authority named Jeff Johns." Boston Globe 03/07/04
Posted: 03/07/2004 8:00 am
Another Whitney Whirl In The Wings It's time for the art world's every-two-years' food fight - the Whitney Biennial. "Some Biennials simply recap the commercial activity of the preceding two years. Others look ahead; the 2002 edition, for example, anticipated the current interest in youth culture, collectivism, sound art and craft-intensive, Pop-ish work. This year's show will probably do both. Although much of the work comes straight out of recent gallery exhibitions, a substantial chunk is brand new and being shown for the first time. A few pieces have even been commissioned for the occasion." The New York Times 03/07/04
Posted: 03/07/2004 7:28 am
Hey - Could Ya Turn Down That Art Over There? Contemporary art is getting noisier. "Almost regardless of medium, today's art comes with soundtracks, voiceovers, loudly moving parts or interactive elements. The computer and the Internet have brought out the inner polymath in many artists, who often play in bands and now sample and splice sound and music as easily as they once cut and pasted magazine images. Exhibition catalogs incorporate CD's. Speakers and headsets abound in museums, galleries and art fairs." The New York Times 03/07/04
Posted: 03/07/2004 7:17 am
Minnesota Tour - The Price Of Greatness The Minnesota Orchestra picked up lots of critical praise on its recent three-week European tour. But was the cost worth it? "The orchestra's recent tour, which ended Feb. 27, was certainly a success in terms of the musicians' bonding and finding confidence with new music director Osmo Vänskä. Whether it was worth the $1.6 million it cost is not an exact calculation." The Star-Tribune (Mpls) 03/07/04
Posted: 03/07/2004 10:09 am
Indie Labels Thrive In A Downloading World "As the bad news keeps befalling the music recording industry giants - downsizing, filesharing, another Britney tour - the struggling major labels are looking for help and are relying more and more on small independent labels to find and nurture new bands. "Instead of signing more baby acts, they are signing more baby labels." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 03/06/04
Posted: 03/07/2004 9:35 am
Met Opera Makes Public Appeal For Broadcast The Metropolitan Opera broadcasts will continue next year, after the Met raised money to cover the costs. But the company says help will be needed from Met fans if the broadcasts are to continue beyond that. The Met says "the search for another corporate sponsor had been difficult. 'The corporate community looks at the radio broadcasts and doesn't believe it's a good media buy, that we don't reach enough listeners. They are better off having commercials on big sporting events.' The Met broadcasts are carried on more than 350 stations in 42 countries, reaching 11 million people, the Met says." New York Times 03/06/04
Posted: 03/07/2004 7:45 am
Giving Voice To Music Of The Streets Pepe Garza was looking to revive a struggling radio station in Los Angeles. Looking for music, he took to the streets, and discovered a thriving scene, which he put on the air. Now, "Garza, a native of Monterrey, Mexico, has emerged as one of the most influential figures in the Latin music industry by giving L.A.'s immigrant population something it never had before — the chance to be on the radio and become stars. Until he moved here in 1998, the music of these working-class artists was dismissed as low-brow, crude or simply awful." Los Angeles Times 03/07/04
Posted: 03/07/2004 7:07 am
Live From The Middle Of The Orchestra Want to know what it's like to be a working professional musician? Chris Pasles suggests you check in on some blogs - like Pasadena violinist Laurie Niles' online account of naking it in the orchestral world of Southen California. Or ArtsJournal's own Sam Bergman, in his recent blog (www.artsjournal.com/roadtrip) about touring with the Minnesota Orchestra through Europe... Los Angeles Times 03/07/04
Posted: 03/07/2004 6:49 am
Albee Holds Forth Edward Albee on writing for the theatre: "What's the best way of dealing with audience expectations? Forget them. Write work that interests you. It's an unfortunate trend, he says, that audiences think they know what they should see, and theater companies and playwrights respond." Boston Globe 03/07/04
Posted: 03/07/2004 7:56 am
Theatre Of The Real If you want to see plays about serious issues of the day, New York's not the place. Instead, the enterprising playwright heads to London. "Clearly there is a hankering in Britain for dramatic work that grapples with contemporary issues. Call it, if you will, the theater of dissent. 'London's the important place in my book, not New York or anywhere else in America. London's where the interesting stuff happens'." Los Angeles Times 03/07/04
Posted: 03/07/2004 6:57 am
Embargo This! (If You Can) "The embargo is the absurd practice by which publishers distribute advance copies of newsworthy new books to the media only after individual editors have signed a quasi-legal document denying their right as members of an otherwise free press from reporting or reviewing the contents of such titles." But in the age of the internet, embargos (thank God) are becoming unworkable. The Observer (UK) 03/07/04
Posted: 03/07/2004 9:59 am
Defending The French (Language, That Is) Two prominent French intellecftuals are brawling over protecting the French language. "The pair's vitriolic if eloquent spat is the latest expression of a debate that is increasingly dividing French writers and intellectuals: how best to ensure that their language survives intact the onslaught of English at home, and does not disappear altogether abroad." The Guardian (UK) 03/06/04
Posted: 03/07/2004 9:40 am
Muller Named To Run Venice Film Fest Marco Muller, former director of the Locarno Film Festival, has been named director of the Venice Film Festival and will "run the Venice event for four years. The festival has undergone a turbulent few years, with changes of top staff amid charges of political interference." BBC 03/07/04
Posted: 03/07/2004 9:28 am
Old Master Paintings And A Cinematic Christ Alan Artner looks at "The Passion of the Christ" with an art critic's perspective. "Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" is turning out to be many things to many people, but to me it's primarily a film in a genre that has been deeply indebted to other forms of visual art: painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, printmaking." Chicago Tribune 03/07/04
Posted: 03/07/2004 9:20 am
Demographic Gold (Really?) What is it about males 18-34? "They are the most sought-after demographic - early adopters of technology, tastemakers and trend shapers who influence much of what we see on television, the Internet, billboards and in the movies. They are the muses for The Howard Stern Show and Jackass: The Movie." Chicago Tribune 03/07/04
Posted: 03/07/2004 9:07 am
Is The TV Sitcom Dying? It would certainly seems so, given what's currently on the air. And there seems to be little creativity coming along to take the place of the shows going off the air. A panel of TV folk gets together to talk about the state of the art: "Though everyone agreed that the traditional sitcom was coming to the end of its dominant era, they said that what is ahead is visible only in fragments. Forces like talk radio and the Internet have made the tried-and-true development process too slow in responding to the cultural climate; the adult-content comedies available on cable have made conflicting demands on the networks, both to sauce up their offerings and to offer clean-cut alternatives. And financial pressures are always an issue..." The New York Times 03/06/04
Posted: 03/07/2004 7:36 am
Dancing In Your 40s - There Are Tricks To It Dancing is a young person's activitiy. But two forty-something dancers in the Joffrey Ballet, who take the floor daily with dancers half their age, credit their longevity to... Chicago Tribune 03/07/04
Posted: 03/07/2004 9:12 am
