Parliamentary Collection - Not Enough "Traditional Landscapes?" In Australia, "the future of the $85 million Parliament House art collection has been cast into doubt, with MPs considering proposals to curb purchases of emerging artists, stop temporary exhibitions, cut staff and hire a part-time corporate art curator." The government undertook a review of the collection last year after Government backbenchers' complaints that there were not enough "traditional" landscapes on offer to decorate their offices." Sydney Morning Herald 03/09/04
Posted: 03/09/2004 7:33 am
Board Member Quits To Protest AGO Gehry Makeover One of the Art Gallery of Ontario's most prominent board members has resigned and withdrawn his financial support for the museum. He's protesting the gallery's plans for a $194 million transformation by architect Frank Gehry. Joey Tanenbaum describes the Gehry project as "needless destruction" and "a blatant attempt to eradicate the recent history of the gallery." Toronto Star 03/09/04
Posted: 03/09/2004 7:25 am
UK MUseums: We Need Cash UK museums warn that they need an extra £115 million a year to keep up their services. "A Manifesto for Museums, launched on Tuesday, contained a warning that large London attractions may not be able to keep going at their present levels. BBC 03/09/04
Posted: 03/09/2004 7:21 am
Weak-Ankled David To Be Unveiled In May The cleaning of Michelangelo's David is more than half completed, and the scrubbed statue will be unveiled in May. "But tests will continue to explore one problem that emerged in the restoration - an apparent fragility of the statue's ankles, which support more than six tons of dead weight." CBSNews.com (AP) 03/08/04
Posted: 03/08/2004 6:41 pm
At Maastricht - High Expectations This year's European Fine Art Fair opens in Maastricht. It's the world's top bazaar for prized paintings. Expectations always run high because the dealers exhibiting here are among the best in the world. Experts consider the fair a barometer of the art market, and many visitors come for the sheer fun of enjoying beautiful art and objects." The New York Times 03/08/04
Posted: 03/08/2004 5:27 pm
- Just How Big Is Maastricht? "The scale of the event is astonishing. When it opened last Thursday, the art on show had been insured for more than $1 billion and included an estimated 70 per cent of the important Old Master paintings available for sale in the world. The stock of one leading jeweller is so valuable that when it arrived, security men sealed off the building until it was safely inside." The Telegraph (UK) 03/08/04
Posted: 03/08/2004 5:18 pm
Musical Max - Master Of Music Composer Peter Maxwell Davies is the ideal choice as the new master of the Queen's music. "He and Harrison Birtwistle are unquestionably the pre-eminent composers of their generation. Both have wide international recognition and both feel passionately about musical education. Max, in particular, is a wonderful animateur who loves working with children and non-professional musicians - a man of the community and one who galvanises people into action. It is brave of the Palace to go for that kind of distinction even if it risks having to deal with some outspoken comment." The Guardian (UK) 03/09/04
Posted: 03/08/2004 8:53 pm
The Bigger Soprano Covent Garden's sacking of Deborah Voigt once again brings up the issue of ample girth in opera. "It has become a cliche to say that we live in an era of 'director's opera', and that it is the producer rather than the singer who now reigns supreme. This is only partly true. Although there is a growing demand for theatrical veracity in opera, any operatic performance that is poorly sung is simply a non-starter. But there was a time when none of this even mattered. Jokes about the disparity between voice and appearance have always abounded, even among opera's most ardent admirers and practitioners." The Guardian (UK) 03/09/04
Posted: 03/08/2004 8:46 pm
Sales Of Classical Music Up In 2003 Sales of "classical" music CDs were up last year in the UK. "Classical sales increased by one million copies to 14 million in 2003. New Zealand's Hayley Westenra, 16, had the top-selling classical album of the year with her debut Pure, which has sold almost 600,000 copies in the UK. Welsh singer Bryn Terfel came in at number two, with Andrea Bocelli and Aled Jones also in the top 10." BBC 03/08/04
Posted: 03/08/2004 6:54 pm
Personal Music - Prime Choice Why have portable music players become so popular? Yes, they're cool. But there may be a deeper psychological reason. "Choice is the key factor. By choosing the music, you reclaim some of the world - it's no longer dominated by messages pointed at you." BBC 03/08/04
Posted: 03/08/2004 6:51 pm
Pavarotti Lumbers Through Farewell Luciano Pavarotti began his last set of performances at the Metropolitan Opera Saturday. How'd he do? "There is an honored protocol for opera buffs and critics to give great artists a pass for their farewells, and Mr. Pavarotti has been one of the greatest vocal artists of our time. Still, he has invited comment with his sadly prolonged and hapless exit." The New York Times 03/08/04
Posted: 03/08/2004 5:24 pm
The Use Of Dr. Seuss Great to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the creator of Dr. Seuss. "But exactly which Dr. Seuss is being celebrated? Is it the literary Seuss, creator of charmingly anarchic, oddball characters whose adventures are recounted in ingenious nonsense verse? Or is it the Seuss of Hollywood and myriad product tie-ins who has been "interpreted" and marketed and theme-parked within an inch--maybe beyond--of his reputation?" Opinionjournal.com 03/05/04
Posted: 03/08/2004 9:01 pm
Scottish Government To Nix Extra Arts Funding Scottish arts groups, looking for more funding, are unlikely to get it from the government. "The Scotsman has learned that the best-case scenario under the Executive’s three-year comprehensive spending review is a 2.5 per cent increase in arts funding, barely in line with inflation. The worst is said to be a cut of as much as 10 per cent." The Scotsman 03/08/04
Posted: 03/08/2004 6:44 pm
Safire: The New Improved NEA William Safire has had a change of heart about the National Endowment for the Arts: "Remember the hoo-ha a while back about the funding of edgy art, offensive to some taxpayers, by the National Endowment for the Arts? That controversy is over. The N.E.A. has raised a banner of education and accessibility to which liberal and conservative can repair." The New York Times 03/08/04
Posted: 03/08/2004 4:58 pm
Spalding Gray, 62 The body of Spalding Gray, the monologuist who went missing a few months ago, has been found. "Mr. Gray's body was pulled from the East River near Greenpoint, Brooklyn, on Sunday and was identified through dental records." The New York Times 03/08/04
Posted: 03/08/2004 5:19 pm
Gospel Play Circuit "Sometimes referred to as urban theater or chitlin' circuit plays, these popular live productions tour major cities, selling out venues by using a moneymaking mix of comedy, music and melodrama to draw large crowds of African-American patrons. Filled with stereotypes and base cultural elements, gospel plays have been accused of promoting negative images within the African-American community. On the other hand, the productions employ and make money for scores of black actors, singers, comedians and playwrights." Chicago Sun-Times 03/09/04
Posted: 03/09/2004 8:00 am
Tony Kushner, Inveterate Tinkerer Tony Kushner is so successful as a playwright that his new plays are performed as soon as he writes them. But he never stopps tinkering and rewriting them. "People think that I'm self-indulgent. I try not to be. My job is to entertain an audience. It's not to teach them, it's not to improve them." Washington Post 03/08/04
Posted: 03/08/2004 7:08 pm
Hemingway Tirade On Sale "A fierce and foul-mouthed tirade by Ernest Hemingway against his literary rivals has surfaced after nearly 80 years and is expected to fetch up to £30,000 at auction." The Observer (UK) 03/08/04
Posted: 03/08/2004 8:36 pm
The Instant Bestseller The book, 'The Glorious Appearing,' by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, has already sold 1.9 million copies even before it goes on official sale March 30. That makes it one of the top-selling books of the year. "The advance sales indicate that as well as a major subject of discussion in church groups and in the news media. The series is based on Dr. LaHaye's reading of the Book of Revelation in the Bible." The New York Times 03/08/04
Posted: 03/08/2004 5:10 pm
Nielsen To Track Tivo Viwers In another sign that the viewing habbits of TV watchers is changing, the ratings company Nielsen says it will begin tracking viewers that record TV shows on digital recorders such as Tivo for later viewing. "The company will keep track of shows that are recorded and watched within seven days but will not collect information on 'trick modes' like fast-forwarding, rewinding or pausing." Wired 03/08/04
Posted: 03/08/2004 7:01 pm
The UK's DVD Addiction Brits spend more per capita on DVDs than any other country in Europe. "Almost three billion euros (£2bn) were spent in the UK on DVDs during 2003. There are currently more than 50 million DVD players in western Europe - equivalent to one in every three homes." BBC 03/08/04
Posted: 03/08/2004 6:48 pm
Dance Masters "Dance Masters of America, a national organization for dance educators formed in 1884, is one of the largest promoters of dance competitions in the country. Last year more than 5,000 dancers age 7 to 25 competed in Dance Master competitions nationwide." The New York Times 03/09/04
Posted: 03/08/2004 8:57 pm
