Chicago Waits For The Great Northern 'Bean' "In three months, downtown Chicago will get one of the most significant additions to its outdoor gallery of public art in decades, yet while the abstract sculpture by British artist Anish Kapoor has been in the works for five years, few people in town know much about it beyond its lighthearted nickname -- 'The Bean.'" Chicago Tribune 04/25/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 10:41 am
Forgey: Long-Overdue Memorial Worth Waiting For The long-awaited World War II memorial being installed on the Mall in Washington, D.C. is nearly complete, and Benjamin Forgey is impressed with its solemn design and "abiding sense of place." The design may be a bit classically stiff, but it uses the massive space well, and "though the memorial does partially block a pedestrian's passage on the long walk between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, it is a pause with a big payoff: the memorial itself." Washington Post 04/25/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 10:22 am
Calder Gets A Cleaning "The National Gallery of Art has removed its overarching signature Calder mobile from the central court of the East Building this week for a top-to-bottom refurbishment. The gallery took down the 76-foot, 920-pound artwork before the building opened on Monday. A crew of 24 people, including engineers, curators and a film crew, started work at 5 a.m. and finished six hours later." Washington Post 04/24/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 8:34 am
Absolut Art When Andy Warhol first told the Absolut vodka company that he admired the design of their bottle, and wanted to paint it, no one suspected that a Swedish booze company would become the subject of one of the most widely-viewed pop art collections of all time. But 25 years and countless Absolut ads later, the collection is taken quite seriously not just as a successful ad campaign, but as a legitimate collaboration between commerce and art. Oh, and in case you ever wondered: yes, the campaign sold a heck of a lot of vodka over the years. Toronto Star 04/24/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 8:16 am
Enjoy the Art, But Please Don't Muss Up The Bed Visitors to a New York nightclub this season are getting an unexpected dose of art, and a bonus shot of the artist himself. Painter/photographer Peter Tunney spent nearly a month installing his work in the 1000-square-foot space provided by the Crobar club, and then installed his bed and himself in the middle of it all, creating a sort of living exhibition, open to the public. The stunt has been something of a celebrity draw for the club, and has done wonders for Tunney's work ethic: he is said to have created 100 new pieces since moving in. New York Post 04/24/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 7:49 am
Who Should Succeed Barenboim? John van Rhein has some very definite opinions on the subject whom the Chicago Symphony ought to select for its next music director. "Audience numbers have fallen during the Barenboim years, internal morale has sunk and the orchestra remains an orphan of the airwaves and recording studio. The CSO badly needs a music director who can restore the orchestra's luster in these and other areas. The eyes of the music world are upon Chicago." Chief among van Rhein's criteria: the new guy needs to be an American. Chicago Tribune 04/25/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 10:42 am
- CSO Needs Substance Over Stardom Alan Artner would like to see the Chicago Symphony abandon its decades-long fascination with "superstar" conductors in favor of a leader who truly understands the importance of engaging the community. "Absenteeism does nothing to encourage audience identification and involvement with an orchestra," but the biggest names in conducting invariably spend most of their time somewhere other than Chicago. "Musicianship, inquisitiveness and commitment to the city are what counts -- the three together. And if they're not all present, the CSO should not engage." Chicago Tribune 04/25/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 10:40 am
Two London Orchestras Facing Eviction The massive renovation of London's Royal Festival Hall is being billed as the city's last, best chance at gaining a truly world-class classical music facility. But in the short term, the one-year period (beginning summer 2005) when the hall will be completely closed is causing major headaches for the two London orchestras which make their home there. "Viable alternatives are thin on the ground. The only other full-scale classical concert hall in London is the Barbican hall, but that has a busy schedule with its own resident band, the London Symphony Orchestra, and a host of visiting ensembles." The Guardian (UK) 04/24/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 10:36 am
Baltimore Deficit Grows "The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra expects to increase its projected deficit for the 2003-2004 season from $1.6 million to $2 million, administrative officials said yesterday. The $400,000 increase would push the orchestra's accumulated debt to about $3.2 million. Driving the red ink are shortfalls in ticket sales for the BSO's own concerts and presentations of other performers at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, and a shortfall in contributions to the annual fund." Baltimore Sun 04/24/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 10:04 am
The First Nation of Classical Music? In Finland, music is practically the national language. Children are frequently taught to read notes before they can read words, and the government pours money into national music and arts education at a rate which would cause U.S. lawmakers to choke on their tax cuts. The result of all this national emphasis on music is clear: Finland, with a population comparable to the state of Minnesota, is dominating the international music scene, and "classical music has little of the elitist aura that tends to be the case in the United States." Minneapolis Star-Tribune 04/25/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 9:46 am
The Ultimate Narrowcast "It was the quietest concert of the year and perhaps the noisiest. For long stretches of the Tune(In))) the Kitchen, a four-hour electronic music gathering on Thursday night that was as conceptual as its title, the only sounds in the Kitchen came from people strolling around and sporadic conversations. But the airwaves in the room were alive with abstract sounds. Four simultaneous performances and a channel of video soundtracks were broadcast to the FM radios and headphones of the audience. The musicians worked at tabletop setups, never knowing who was listening." The New York Times 04/24/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 7:59 am
Brampton: Canada's Home for Weird Art Small cities often find themselves with a hard row to hoe when they attempt to reinvent themselves as arts destinations, but the much-maligned town of Brampton, Ontario, is determined to give it a try. But Brampton isn't just looking for artists - it's embracing all the avant-garde, taboo-defying "weirdo" artists it can get. "Brampton is, after all, the home of Scott Thompson, weirdest and wildest of the Kids in the Hall. This sprawling commuter conglomerate of 400,000 — expected to grow to 700,000 this decade — might just be the Canadian centre for strange, experimental art." Toronto Star 04/24/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 8:09 am
The Museum Kingmaker "What do museums do when they lose an old master? If it's a painting they call the police. If it's an esteemed leader, they call Malcolm MacKay." MacKay is an executive headhunter specializing in museums, and has become arguably the most powerful man in the business in recent years. Last year alone, he led five searches for major American museum executives, and he was the first person the Art Institute of Chicago called last year when longtime director James Wood announced his retirement. Not a bad track record for a Harvard lawyer with no academic experience in art. The New York Times 04/25/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 10:14 am
Billionaire On The Lam: The Axelrod Myth Unravels In the days since New Jersey philanthropist Herbert Axelrod fled to Cuba to avoid indictment on tax evasion charges, details have begun to emerge about the man who had been called New Jersey's greatest arts benefactor. "It has become clear that myth and reality were always hard to separate in the life of Herbert Axelrod, whether the subject be tropical fish, charity or musical instruments... A review of lawsuits, public documents and interviews with those who were once close to Axelrod suggest he was never quite what people thought. Court papers filed in a pending lawsuit against him depict him as a liar and a womanizer who funneled cash in the form of author's payments to a woman with whom he had a years-long affair." Newark Star-Ledger 04/25/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 9:35 am
- Previously: Where Is Fleeing Arts Patron? Where is arts benefactor Herbert Axelrod? He reportedly fled to Cuba to avoid tax charges. But "Cuba's foreign minister yesterday denied knowing anything about multimillionaire Herbert Axelrod, who fled here to avoid tax fraud charges. 'Cuba has never been a refuge for those fleeing justice'." NJOnline.com (AP) 04/23/04
Filmmaker Jose Giovanni Dead at Age 80 "The Corsican-born director, author and screenwriter was well-known in France for his crime movies. He began his career as a scriptwriter in the late 1950s and began directing movies such as The Hitman in the 1970s. Giovanni also won several awards in France for his crime novels. He died of a brain haemorrhage at a clinic in his adopted homeland of Switzerland." BBC 04/25/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 8:39 am
The Hampshire Don Gets His Due Hampshire College, a small, liberal arts school in western Massachusetts, is one of America's leading producers of photographers and documentarians, to the extent that the collection of award-winning camera operators who make up the school's alumni base have come to be known as the 'Hampshire mafia.' The school's reputation has come about largely due to the efforts of one man, Jerome Liebling, who taught at Hampshire for a quarter-century. This weekend, Liebling earns an honor usually reserved for high-rolling donors: the school's film and photography building is being renamed for him. Boston Globe 04/24/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 7:33 am
The City Saved By Theater It might be hard to remember these days, but not so very long ago, the city of Chicago was a study in urban blight, rampant crime, and classic big-city stagnation. So what changed in the Second City between the bad old days of the 1980s and today, when Chicago is held up as a shining example of the Great American Metropolis? Much of the city's turnaround can be traced to the arrival in office of a mayor who was determined to rebuild the city as a cultural destination, and more specifically, as the theater capital of America. Toronto Star 04/24/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 8:03 am
Premium Onion Comes With A Price Readers of online newspapers are used to their favorite publications suddenly deciding to charge for access to certain stories. But The Onion? The satirical newsweekly launches a new subscription-based site this week, offering readers more content and no ads in exchange for $7 per month. In addition to the standard content that appears in the paper's print edition, the premium site will allow staffers to be more experimental, and to develop animations, slide shows, and other web-based projects that wouldn't necessarily work on paper. Wired 04/24/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 8:41 am
The Airplay Conundrum Why is it that some musicians who are undeniably popular with the public can't seem to get any airplay on radio? From Josh Groban to Harry Connick, Jr. to a young Norah Jones, artists are discovering that there is no longer much of a connection between album sales and inclusion on corporate radio playlists. Radio stations claim that most of their listeners don't buy many albums, but some musicians blame Arbitron's method of measuring radio ratings for the disconnect. Washington Post 04/25/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 10:28 am
If You Can't Beat The Pop Culture, Join It The TriBeCa Film Festival has gone from new kid on the block to major player on the New York scene in a startlingly short amount of time. The secret to TriBeCa's success seems to be a willingness to embrace Hollywood glitz and defer to pop culture trends, even as other festivals hold fast to ideals of independence and "artistic integrity." Also distinguishing the fest is a perceived lack of overall focus, which may actually be "its strongest suit, giving it a popular appeal that more-established institutions lack." The New York Times 04/25/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 10:06 am
What's In A Name? For TiVo, Not A Lot. In only a few years on the market, TiVo has become one of those brand names, like Scotch tape or Kleenex tissues, that consumers use to refer to an entire industry, regardless of actual brand. But even as its name continues to be the industry gloss for digital video recorders (DVRs), TiVo is in danger of being pushed out of the top spot among DVR producers by a raft of competitors, including cable companies which can package their DVRs with attractive channel packages. Wired 04/24/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 8:48 am
Are We Cloning Kids or Selling Tickets? A new wave of marketing-driven web sites masquerading as actual businesses is causing consternation and confusion among consumers, but businesses insist that, with traditional advertising techniques losing their impact, the fake sites are nothing more than a new and savvy method for generating "buzz," that all-important but difficult to quantify measure of cultural worth. From a fake genetic research company offering to clone your dead children (actually an ad for the new movie Godsend), to a guy in a chicken suit on a webcam who will do whatever you ask him to (brought to you by Burger King), it's harder than ever to distinguish web reality from marketing fantasy. Washington Post 04/24/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 8:23 am
FCC Crackdown Sends Stern's Ratings Soaring Howard Stern, who has been at the center of the recent controversy over the FCC's crackdown on broadcast obscenity, apparently isn't hurting for listeners. The New York-based 'shock jock,' who has been dropped from several stations in the past few months, shot to the top of the Big Apple's morning radio ratings in the latest Arbitron book. New York Daily News 04/24/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 7:42 am
Does Oakland Need A Ballet? As the Oakland Ballet struggles to reestablish itself financially, an old Oakland refrain is rearing its head: why does Oakland need a ballet/symphony/arts scene, anyway, with San Francisco's glittering cultural landscape just across the bay? Such talk has always been a thorn in the side of East Bay artists, and the Ballet is at a crossroads that Oakland's symphony and theater professionals have seen before. Contra Costa Times 04/25/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 9:22 am
