Cultural Cross-Purposes - What Binds Europe? As Europe's countries tie themselves closer, one wonders about what ties them together culturally. "The union's old and new members alike know surprisingly little about one another's artistic inventiveness today. Creative life may be flourishing in widely different ways across Europe, but the most common cultural link across the region now is a devotion to American popular culture in the form of movies, television and music. In a Europe committed to seeking 'ever closer union,' where a dozen countries already share a currency, culture seems to have fallen out of step. Even as Europeans visit one another's cities and beaches more than ever, national self-obsessions prevail in the visual arts, new plays, literature, contemporary classical music, pop music and movies." The New York Times 04/26/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 10:27 pm
Rinder Leaves Whitney... More To Leave? awrence R. Rinder, curator of contemporary art at the Whitney Museum of American Art for four years, has resigned to become dean of graduate studies at the California College of the Arts in San Francisco." It looks like there may be further curatorial changes to come at the Whitney. The New York Times 04/26/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 10:34 pm
Auction Sales Fall In 2003 Sales of art at auction in 2003 were down by as much as 17 percent. Of course, the figures aren't nearly so clear cut as that... The Art Newspaper 04/23/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 10:07 pm
MoMA's Art Sale The Museum of Modern Art could raise almost $30 million when it sells nine works of art from its collection at auction. "The museum is ostensibly raising funds for new acquisitions to display when it moves back into its expanded, midtown building next year. But the decision to sell paintings by artists whose works fit squarely within the museum’s collection will meet with some controversy." The Art Newspaper 04/23/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 10:01 pm
What Happened To The Philadelphia Orchestra? Norman Lebrecht checks in on Philadelphia and finds an historic orchestra in disrepair. Could it be music director Christophe Eschenbach? "While it only takes one conductor to make a great orchestra, one misjudged transfer is enough to secure relegation. Philadelphia, like many football teams at this time of year, finds itself facing a very long drop. The testimony of my CD shelves suggests that there is no return from orchestral oblivion." La Scena Musicale 04/21/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 10:16 pm
How To Encounter The Contemporary Composer Columbia University's Miller Theatre has found a successful format. "In most classical concerts, if listeners hear any music by contemporary composers, it's in small doses, which may be for the best. In a mixed program, a composer's style must quickly declare itself, both on its own terms and in relation to the styles of the other composers on the bill. The problem is that a composer discovered in a mixed program may not turn up again for months or even years. Single-composer concerts allow for a better assessment, but they are risky. A composer can be like a cat with a spool of yarn. Having found an intriguing idea, he or she may explore it from different perspectives through a dozen works or a dozen years. How well a handful of pieces based on the same notion — a rhythmic device, say, or a way of changing harmony — will work depends on the composer's inventiveness." The New York Times 04/25/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 9:52 pm
Florida City Bets Future On Arts The city of Sarasota, Florida has decided that its future is with the arts. "A consultant's proposal would add up to 375,000 square feet of new cultural space and 300,000 to 600,000 square feet for shops, restaurants, galleries, offices and residences. There's also a planned three-acre public park, a 10th Street pier and marina, and a baywalk path along the water." Sarasota Herald-Tribune 04/25/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 9:57 pm
What Does Scotland's Commitment To Arts Mean? So Scotland is undertaking a cultural review. But what's that mean? "A scan down the Cultural Policy Statement was enough to send readers cross-eyed trying to find meaning in the too-polished sentences. I have little idea what an 'effective, sustainable infrastructure for our arts, heritage, screen and creative industries' is. Nor do I like the suggestion that creativity is 'the edge we need in a competitive world'. It’s wrong to evaluate the arts as a pounds-shillings-and-pence tool of business. We should enjoy and pursue them for their own sake." The Scotsman 04/25/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 9:55 pm
- What Does Scotland's Arts Community Want? Is the Scottish Executive's plan for the arts just an exercise in delaying a policy? The culture minister says not: "I’m asking the sector to come up with some solutions for itself. I’m tired with the passivity. The system of decision-making suggests we know best all the time. Well, if the arts sector genuinely believes in the contribution it can make, here’s an opportunity for the commission to interrogate that.” Glasgow Herald 04/25/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 9:52 pm
Big Increase For Florida Arts Funding "Florida lawmakers agreed Saturday to boost spending on arts and cultural programs by millions of dollars in the coming year -- but killed a plan that would guarantee future funding." The increase cheers arts supporters, but leaves the arts vulnerable in future budgets. The News-Journal (Florida) 04/25/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 9:46 pm
Bombay Dreams Goes For An Asian Broadway Audience The $14 million Bombay Dreams is about to hit Broadway, and producers have been out wooing the Asian community. "Bombay Dreams, after all, is essentially a staged version of a Bollywood film, the immensely popular kind of musical melodramas, produced in Mumbai (as Bombay is now called), that draws huge audiences from all across the Indian subcontinent. And the best estimates say that there are more than 500,000 South Asians living in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut." The New York Times 04/25/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 11:08 pm
Making Actors Out Of Stars "Personal acting coaches are common in Hollywood, where rehearsal time is scarce and money is not. But on Broadway, though stars of musical theater often work with voice coaches, very few experienced theater actors hire an expert to help them prepare for a play. As more film and television stars moonlight in the theater, however, coaches are increasingly in demand."
The New York Times 04/25/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 9:54 pm
Timbuktu: City Of Letters Timbuktu is legendarily at the ends of the earth. "But it is here that some of the most astonishing developments in African intellectual history have been occurring. In recent years, thousands of medieval manuscripts that include poetry by women, legal reflections and innovative scientific treatises have come to light, reshaping ideas about African and Islamic civilizations. Yet even as this cache is being discovered, it is in danger of disappearing, as sand and other grit are abrading many of the aging texts, causing them to disintegrate." The New York Times 04/26/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 10:55 pm
The Poets Die Young Why is it that poets die younger than most other artists? A new study is revealing: "Overall, poets lived an average of 62.2 years, compared with nonfiction writers, who lived the longest at 67.9 years. Playwrights lived an average of 63.4 years; novelists, 66 years. The differences between poetry and prose were pronounced among Americans, where poets lived an average of 66.2 years, and nonfiction writers lived an average of 72.7 years." The New York Times 04/24/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 10:44 pm
The Business Of Banff TV The Banff Television Festival never got much respect. It was about TV, for goodness sake, so the cinema people didn't find it glamorous. It didn't offer up many stars either, so it didn't get a lot of press. But it was about the business of quality TV. So when the festival almost died for lack of funding, a benefactor was found to save it. And it's business back as usual. But shouldn't there be some attempt to glamor-up? Toronto Star 04/25/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 9:51 pm
Inside Organized Piracy Last week international police seized computers and arrested 100 digital pirates, who were part of a highly organized efficient international piracy operation. It's a sophisticated business designed to copy thousands of movies and video games and distribute them. Busting the operation has given police new insight on how pirates work. The Observer (UK) 04/25/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 9:49 pm
The Future Of Movies On Display A faded historic LA movie theatre is a testing lab for the future of movies. "On the roof is the future: a battery of satellite dishes. And along the back wall of the Hollywood's projection booth, a bank of 12 powerful computer servers blink furiously. Peering out at the five-story screen are three projectors: A high-end model by Kinoton able to handle 35-millimeter and 70-millimeter film and two high-resolution digital projectors, all cooled with a dedicated air conditioning system. The $1 million worth of equipment represents a fraction of the $1 billion the seven major studios believe they can save annually by embracing a future without film, when movies shown in theaters will be the result of streams of 0s and 1s flowing either from a high-speed Internet connection or from optical discs." Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Times 04/25/04
Posted: 04/25/2004 9:48 pm
