Art Of The Talk - Public Debating Blooms Again Across the UK, public debates are drawing huge crowds, speakers' series are mobbed, and lectures are pulling in fans. The art of public talk and debate has bloomed again as people seek out others to talk. Why is this happening? One theory: "Email cuts you off, in one way, and yet it also links us all up. People are separated as they sit in front of their screen, but they are also much more quickly alerted to what's happening out there. Public debates have become more attractive because the old places for meeting, like pubs, had grown too noisy." The Observer (UK) 03/28/04
Posted: 03/30/2004 8:00 am
Saving A Language Just For Women Chinese archivists are trying to save an ancient language created just for women. "Nushu, meaning women's script, was held so securely by its speakers and writers that women used to burn manuscripts to keep them away from men, or they would bury items containing Nushu with female friends upon their deaths. The language's origins are unclear, but most scholars believe Nushu emerged in the third century during a time when the Chinese government prohibited education of women." Discovery 03/29/04
Posted: 03/29/2004 5:02 pm
The Vettriano Debate Jack Vettriano's paintings are hugely popular in the UK, and are widely collected by ordinary folk and celebrity alike. So why does the art establishment dislike his pictures, and why don't they hang in museums? "Vettriano's work is not being suppressed; it is in every Fastframe shop you pass on the high street. Despite the legitimacy of the argument, I refuse to believe our curators should be bullied by public opinion. Fastframe and our national galleries should occupy different roles in society." The Observer (UK) 03/28/04
Posted: 03/30/2004 7:49 am
Art From 9/11 Dust Wins Prize "A handful of dust, gathered from the streets of New York in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, last night won the first £40,000 Artes Mundi prize for the Chinese artist Xu Bing." The Guardian (UK) 03/30/04
Posted: 03/30/2004 7:40 am
It's Emin Vs. The 8-Year-Olds Tracey Emin is locked in a dispute with a school of eight-year-olds. "The Britart star, whose first experiment with bed linen was snapped up by Charles Saatchi for £150,000, is demanding the return of a blanket made with eight-year-olds as part of an art project after the school involved tried to auction it." The Guardian (UK) 03/30/04
Posted: 03/30/2004 7:30 am
Painting Declared An Authentic Vermeer A Painting long dismissed as a fake has been "reattributed" as a Vermeer. "Young Woman Seated at the Virginals, to be auctioned at Sotheby's in July, will be the first Vermeer to come on the market for 80 years and is expected to fetch more than £3 million. Researchers have spent more than ten years studying the painting, which languished in near-obscurity after being "deattributed" to Vermeer in 1947." The Telegraph (UK) 03/30/04
Posted: 03/30/2004 6:31 am
Radical Architecture Collective Grows Into Its Time The British radical architecture collective Archigram found little success back in the 1960s, and it wasn't until decades later that theyy were appreciated. "Perhaps the fascinating thing about Archigram is what seems to be an instinctive recognition that if those involved truly wanted to be radical, they needed to steer clear of actual building. So architects became writers and artists. Ideas were developed and then allowed to work their way into the intellectual consciousness." The Telegraph (UK) 03/30/04
Posted: 03/29/2004 7:36 pm
Aiming At Affordable Art (And Those Who Might Buy) There's a new breed of art fair, and it's doing quite well. The fairs offer "affordable art" aimed at the entry-level buyer. "Some buy for investment, calculating that as interest rates are low and the stock market is fluctuating then art should be a good long term home for spare cash. A survey this week revealed that 24 per cent of adults would consider buying art for this reason. But dealers and fair organisers say that most buy because they feel more confident than ever about doing so and because they want to spend disposable income on something for their home." The Telegraph (UK) 03/29/04
Posted: 03/29/2004 7:22 pm
Let's Overhaul The Whitney Biennial Tyler Green writes that the Whitney Biennial is a fundamentally flawed enterprise. "The irony of the Whitney Biennial is that it brings a muddled exhibit of contemporary art to the city that needs it least. The Whitney's formula is especially tired: The Biennial most often takes already familiar art and simply institutionalizes it. No one deserves to be confronted with 108 artists in a single show; the exceptional artists suffer for being mixed in with the soon-to-be-forgotten middle, and in the end it all begins to blur. So here is how the Whitney Biennial can become the most important show of contemporary art not just in New York, but in America: Trim the Whitney Biennial down to eight to 12 truly fantastic artists." OpinionJournal.com 03/30/04
Posted: 03/29/2004 3:57 pm
Giant Saddam Head In Scotland An enormous head from a statue of Saddam Husein has landed in the Scottish city of Aberdeen. "Since the head is thought to be the only one of its kind in Britain, museum officials are calling its arrival a coup for the city. But many citizens are outraged, accusing the museum of war looting. Weighing almost 136 kilograms, the head is from a statue believed to have come from the city of Basra, a British stronghold during the war." Edmonton Journal 03/29/04
Posted: 03/29/2004 3:31 pm
Denver: Can't We Be Austin? Austin's South by Southwest festival has put the city on the map as a center of live music. "Austin's scene generates about $616 million annually, and 11,200 jobs are directly related to the city's live music scene, according to a study by the Austin Music Commission." So music fans in Denver are petitioning the city for "more visible promotion of its live music scene and touting figures that show its economic strength. However, the Mile High City has a long way to go to match Austin's musical clout." Denver Post 03/30/04
Posted: 03/30/2004 7:14 am
A Better Barbican? Musicians have complained about the acoustics in London's Barbican Theatre for years. "But a £7m refurbishment to improve the deadening acoustics has proved so successful that more of the best musicians in the world are now happy to appear, it was claimed yesterday. Twenty years after its first - and only - distressing performance at the Barbican, the Vienna Philharmonic returns next month." The Independent (UK) 03/29/04
Posted: 03/29/2004 7:19 pm
Robinson Appointed Head Of Palm Beach Symphony Ray Robinson, 71, has been appointed music director and manager of the Palm Beach Symphony. He "headed Palm Beach Atlantic University's choral program for 14 years before semi-retiring last season. He also was a freelance music critic for the Palm Beach Daily News. Before that, he was dean of the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, president of Westminster Choir College in Princeton, N.J., and a visiting fellow at Wolfson College at Cambridge University in England. He's a violist and conductor, an expert on composers Felix Mendelssohn and Krzysztof Penderecki, and the author of 11 books on music." Palm Beach Daily News 03/28/04
Posted: 03/29/2004 4:50 pm
Philadelphia Arts Funding Cuts Will Be Felt Philadelphia's arts community is struggling to assess the impact of major cuts in the city's arts funding. "The mayor balanced his $3.4 billion budget proposal in part with about $4 million in cultural cuts." Philadelphia Inquirer 03/30/04
Posted: 03/30/2004 8:46 am
Is Copyright Killing Creativity? Current laws on copyright are not serving the cause of creativity and are hampering the production of new works. "Existing laws are simply not good enough to cope with the creative possibilities which are open to us all in the digital world. We need to find the balance between the freedom exemplified by the Grey Album and the anarchy towards which completely unregulated sharing of stolen intellectual property could lead." BBC 03/29/04
Posted: 03/29/2004 4:44 pm
Disney Wins Pooh Case Disney has won its case against a small firm that claimed rights and royalties from the Winnie the Pooh franchise. The judge chided the plaintif for its "willingness to tamper with, and even corrupt, the litigation process constitutes a substantial threat to the integrity of the judicial process. Disney officials had earlier claimed the confidential documents were stolen on behalf of SSI by a private investigator in the early 1990s." BBC 03/29/04
Posted: 03/29/2004 4:15 pm
The Governator... (Oops, Can We Say That?) Arnold Schwarzenegger's "election as governor and his newfound status as a public official have not curbed the zeal of his advisors to protect his image. If someone profits from or distorts his image, legal experts say, he can still sue for economic damages — even as governor. In the months since the recall, Schwarzenegger's hard-nosed lawyers say, they have been on alert for unauthorized ads and products." Los Angeles Times 03/30/04
Posted: 03/30/2004 8:19 am
French Rock Star Jailed For Murder "The celebrity murder case that has held France in thrall since last summer reached its conclusion yesterday when Bertrand Cantat, one of the country's biggest rock stars, was found guilty of killing his lover, the film and TV star Marie Trintignant, and was jailed for eight years in Lithuania." The Guardian (UK) 03/30/04
Posted: 03/30/2004 7:34 am
Alistair Cooke, 95 Alistair Cooke, who broadcast his Letter from America for 56 years, has died at his home in New York. Earlier this month, he announced his retirement on health grounds following advice from his doctors. Leading the tributes, Prime Minister Tony Blair described him as "a remarkable man" and "one of the greatest broadcasters of all time". BBC 03/30/04
Posted: 03/30/2004 6:35 am
Remembering Peter Ustinov "He wrote 23 plays, 13 books, nine films and numerous memoirs, acted in 40 films and 20 plays, and directed eight films, eight plays and 14 operas. He spoke five languages. His entry in Who's Who was seven inches long. According to Michael Parkinson, Sir Peter was 'God's gift to a talk show host'." The Telegraph (UK) 03/30/04
Posted: 03/29/2004 7:40 pm
Hadid Revealed Who is architect Zaha Hadid, asked Herbert Muschamp. "Born in Baghdad and long a resident of London, Hadid is 53. She has been my personal Alfred Hitchcock movie for roughly 20 years. At times, the suspense has been unbearable. Would Hadid become a builder? Or was she destined to remain celebrated as the designer of some of the greatest architecture never built? Hadid would get a big project, and she would lose it. She would get another big project, and she would lose it. She would be offered a show at a major museum, but would make such legendarily exotic demands that eventually the show would be canceled." New York Times Magazine 03/28/04
Posted: 03/29/2004 5:21 pm
The Word Project The Oxford English Dictionary was a long work in progress. "Thirty-one years ensued before the last of 414,825 words was cataloged. From its inception in 1857, the enterprise had consumed 71 years and witnessed the deaths of numerous employees (including the astonishing James Augustus Henry Murray, who was editor from March 1879 until his death in the summer of 1915). The dictionary would number among its contributors J.R.R. Tolkien and novelist Julian Barnes. And, of course, a murderer." The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) 03/28/04
Posted: 03/30/2004 3:17 pm
Updike Wins PEN/Faulkner Award John Updike was cited for "The Early Stories," a compilation of short fiction from 1953 to 1975. He will receive $15,000. Washington Post (AP) 03/30/04
Posted: 03/30/2004 8:35 am
American Scholar Editor Is Out The American Scholar magazine is a player. "Its witty essays by leading writers on subjects as varied as jigsaw puzzles and diabetes have sparked intellectual discussion, lured fresh talent and earned this quarterly three National Magazine Awards in six years. But a high profile and a healthy circulation of about 28,000 were apparently not enough to safeguard editor Anne Fadiman's job. Last week a budget deficit for the journal, which costs $1.25 million a year to produce, left Ms. Fadiman and her publisher, the Phi Beta Kappa Society, at loggerheads, with Ms. Fadiman contending that she had been dismissed." The New York Times 03/30/04
Posted: 03/30/2004 7:19 am
The Textbook Copy Problem Textbook piracy is rampant in much of the world, particularly in countries with expanding economies such as China. Governments aren't exactly eager to crack down on pirates. "Countries say to us: 'We really want education for our kids. You people [in the United States] are rich. Why do you want to stop us from copying textbooks?'" Chronicle of Higher Education 03/29/04
Posted: 03/29/2004 7:27 pm
NPR's Edwards Problem National Public Radio is taking a public beating over its announcement that Bob Edwards is being replaced as host of Morning Edition. "NPR is suffering a severe credibility loss because of the inexplicability of this management move. There is no rational explanation to anyone else outside National Public Radio as to why this should be done." And yet, NPR member stations have been criticing the show for years. "You would not have been able to go to a gathering where representatives of member stations were present and not hear talk about how 'Morning Edition' could be improved. I think management has done due diligence on the whole thing." Los Angeles Times 03/29/04
Posted: 03/29/2004 7:48 pm
NPR Stations Wanted Edwards Out? National Public Radio has been feeling the brunt of listener unhappiness over the announcement that Bob Edwartds would be leaving as host of Morning Edition. "NPR, based in Washington, has received more than 17,000 calls and e-mail messages from angry listeners, its officials said." So why was the move made? "In recent years, several station managers confirmed, some member stations have voiced concerns to NPR management that Mr. Edwards, who has served as host of Morning Edition from its beginnings in 1979, often seemed less engaged on the air." The New York Times 03/30/04
Posted: 03/29/2004 5:09 pm
Missing Men - Abandoning TV For Online "The television industry was shaken last October when the ratings from Nielsen Media Research showed that a huge part of a highly prized slice of the American population was watching less television. As the fall TV season began, viewership among men from 18 to 34 fell 12 percent compared with the year before, Nielsen reported. And for the youngest group of adult men, those 18 to 24, the decline was a steeper 20 percent." And where did they go? They're having fun with other technology. The New York Times 03/29/04
Posted: 03/29/2004 4:19 pm
Judge Allows "Passion" To Be Shown In France A French judge has declined to ban the showing of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ in France. Opponents of showing the film argued that the movie would incite anti-Semitism. "However Judge Florence Lagemi ruled on Monday that the film, due to be released in France on Wednesday, was not a threat to public order." BBC 03/29/04
Posted: 03/29/2004 4:10 pm
Lynch Revives Choreographers Initiative Molly Lynch, whyo resigned as artistic director of LA's Ballet Pacifica after a dispute with the company's board, has revived one of her best ideas while with the company - a choreography project. Her new program - the National Choreographers Initiative - will take place in July and culminate in a series of works created by four choreographers to be presented at the Irvine theater. "An amazing confluence of necessary resources came together in a very short period of time." And Ballet Pacifica? The director who replaced Lynch resigned after two months, and the rest of the company's season was cancelled.
Los Angeles Times 03/30/04
Posted: 03/30/2004 8:09 am
