Understanding Music From The Ground Up "To understand music, we have been taught, that room has to be unlocked, the windows opened and the world fully engaged. But now the emphasis may be changing. The appeal of a more abstract way of thinking about music may be growing. There is a search for timeless laws and principles; it may be that something can be learned from the listener in the locked room." The New York Times 06/19/04
Posted: 06/20/2004 10:25 am
Art's Rebirth In Haiti "In early March, a few days after armed rebels forced Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide from office, vandals ransacked a Port-au-Prince art museum and burned dozens of paintings along with 86 rare vodou dolls that were part of an exhibit marking the country's 200th anniversary of independence." But elsewhere in Haiti, new art is being created... Miami Herald 06/20/04
Posted: 06/20/2004 6:36 pm
A Case For Returning Marbles To Greece It's time for the Elgin Marbles to go home. For Britain's sake. "The marbles in the British Museum are performers, trained as actors in a ceremony. But this is not the Panathenaic Procession. It is a Great British ceremony, about an imperial splendour which thought of itself as universal rather than merely national. In the Duveen Gallery, within the British Museum, these figures no longer deliver Athens any more than the bagpipers who tramp round banquets at Windsor Castle deliver Scotland. They are guests from Greece who became so well known during the 19th century that they were adopted into the family." The Guardian (UK) 06/20/04
Posted: 06/20/2004 6:09 pm
Art Gallery of Ontario At A Crucial Spot The Art gallery of Ontario is into crunch time lining up resources to build its $196 million renovation/expansion. "The next five months are decidedly crucial, especially if the 93-year-old art museum in downtown Toronto, variously described as the eighth-, 11th- and 13th-largest art institution in North America, is to meet its objective of breaking ground on Gehry's design in March, 2005." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 06/19/04
Posted: 06/20/2004 6:04 pm
FBI Investigation Of Artist Accused Of Bioterror Widens FBI investigations of Buffalo artist Steve Kurtz for "bioterrorism" have stretched from Seattle to Pittsburgh, and involve anyone who has worked with the artist. What the feds don't seem to realize is that artists working in biological material is becoming popular. "All these artists are doing is investigating biology using the same parameters as pure science, It's a niche at the moment, and it's very, very alive and it's going to grow more so." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 06/20/04
Posted: 06/20/2004 4:52 pm
- Artists: No Testimony Against Kurtz Artists are refusing to testify in the grand jury bioterrorism investigation of Buffalo artist Steve Kurtz. "At least six people who were called to testify before the grand jury in the Kurtz case Tuesday refused to appear, invoking their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination." Buffalo News 06/18/04
Posted: 06/20/2004 4:45 pm
Marginalizing Mr. Libeskind A year ago, Daniel Libeskind was annointed star of the design of the World Trade Center redevelopment project. But his influence has declined dramatically since then. "People involved with the redevelopment of downtown say he has ample reason to be disappointed; in the year since he was anointed Architect on High, his influence, control and stature have steadily diminished. 'Where is Daniel at this point? Has he been marginalized? How many of his ideas remain'?" The New York Times 06/20/04
Posted: 06/20/2004 12:20 pm
Are Galleries Necessary For Art Dealers? Do art dealers really need expensive galleries to make their businesses work? "Given the hassles involved in maintaining a gallery space—paying rent, keeping the phones manned and the desk staffed, mounting shows, dealing with logistics such as security or utilities, and so forth," dealers with established artist rosters and reputations might be able to forgo the gallery grind. The Art Newspaper 06/20/04
Posted: 06/20/2004 12:12 pm
Watching The Whitney Grow The Whitney says it's finally going to move ahead with an expansion. Sensitive to resistance from neighbours and the Landmarks Commission to earlier proposed expansions, Whitney director Adam Weinberg vows to create a building that “fits comfortably within the fabric of the community and within the building envelope of the property next to the museum.” The Art Newspaper 06/20/04
Posted: 06/20/2004 12:10 pm
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Scottish Opera: Director Quits, Chorus Axed Scottish Opera's woes mount. The director of the company's "La Boheme" has quit over a dispute about scenery. And "the opera’s own tragedy reached a new low yesterday. After 34 chorus members singing in La Bohème were told minutes before the curtain went up on Thursday that they faced redundancy, the rest of the 88 staff facing the axe were formally informed by the company yesterday." The Scotsman 06/20/04
Posted: 06/21/2004 9:22 am
The Top 100 Albums Of All Time (Sure!) The Observer polls critics to compile a list of the 100 greatest English albums of all time. The Beatles came out No. 2. And No. 1? The honour goes to the Stone Roses. The Guardian (UK) 06/20/04
Posted: 06/20/2004 6:12 pm
UK To Investigate Ticket Rip-Offs The UK is launching an investigation into ticket agency fees for concerts and West End theatre. "The consumer affairs watchdog has launched a fact-finding study to discover if agents are distorting the market and overcharging customers following a series of complaints." The Guardian (UK) 06/18/04
Posted: 06/20/2004 6:17 pm
Culture Clash: When Opera Shares A Home With Ballet In Toronto, a new hall meant to house the Canadian Opera Company and the National Ballet has turned up some cultural differences between the two groups and how they'd like to use the building. "A good deal of horse-trading went on as to who would use the 12 less desirable weeks, particular those in the hot summer months. In the end, both companies accepted some of them. But the ballet, being a tenant rather than a partner in the project, had the weaker bargaining position. Its season will now push into July." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 06/19/04
Posted: 06/20/2004 6:00 pm
(Under)Funding The Humanities "According to the report by the Foundation Center and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, funding for the humanities by a sample group of some 1,000 large U.S. foundations more than doubled, from $134.1 million in 1992 to $335 million in 2002. But total foundation giving tripled in that period, to $15.9 billion in 2002, and the humanities' share of the pie crumbled from 2.5 percent in 1992 to 2.1 percent in 2002. In 2002, education ($4.2 billion) and health ($2.9 billion) were the prime recipients of the sample group's dollars, according to the Foundation Center." Chicago Tribune 06/20/04
Posted: 06/20/2004 5:47 pm
Sorting Out The Politics Of Artists "For years, many conservatives have railed against the political leanings of the arts world and opposed the use of public money in arts funding. It's a world that has taken as its official motto Andy Warhol's observation that art is whatever you can get away with. . . . It shovels you between ennui and disgust. It's axiomatic that much of the mainstream discourse in arts circles would be regarded as the language of the fringes in other fields. 'It's very lonely,' says Don Schwartz, a sculptor based in Connecticut who argues that the liberal dominance of the arts world is a result of liberals disliking economics and thus drifting to jobs in culture. 'It's very intimidating to be a conservative in the arts. A lot of conservative artists give up'." Chicago Tribune 06/20/04
Posted: 06/20/2004 5:42 pm
Are Arts Groups Losing The Financial Puzzle? The strain of trying to keep arts organizations afloat financially is beginning to show. "While theaters, ballets, museums and operas perpetually live hand to mouth, as do most nonprofit groups, fundamental changes in the nature of arts financing suggest that they will continue to struggle even as the economy and capital markets recover." The New York Times 06/20/04
Posted: 06/20/2004 10:00 am
I Trillin, Poet "Calvin Trillin is one of America's most productive and frequently published poets. When he's in a pithy mood, he is also, word for word, one of our most highly remunerated. But neither he, nor anyone else, would claim that he is one of our best, and in terms of quality, his verse falls somewhere between that of Alexander Pope and the bathroom wall, generally tending to the latter. He works in what might be called a middle-world of American political journalism." Washington Post 06/20/04
Posted: 06/20/2004 12:31 pm
Painting Presidentially Simmie Knox is the first African-American artist to paint a presidential portrait. Knox is 68, and "describes his professional journey as a series of fortuitous setbacks and discoveries. 'It has happened many times for me. Things that I thought were liabilities turned out to be assets'." The New York Times 06/15/04
Posted: 06/20/2004 10:34 am
- Knox: Attention Deficit As his official portrait of Bill Clinton was unveiled last week, painter Simmie Knox was amused by the blaze of media attention. "I mean, I've been here all this time. I've just been 'under the radar,' so to speak, some sort of a secret -- that's what my friends say." Washington Post 06/15/04
Posted: 06/20/2004 10:10 am
State Largesse For Long Wharf New Haven Connecticut's Long Wharf Theatre got a stunning surprise from the state, in the form of major capital funding for a new home. The "$30 million to Long Wharf on the day of its 40th anniversary gala stunned even the most seasoned arts leader. It's not just that the figure is the largest singular grant to a capital arts project in state history (as best that anyone can determine anyway). It's that the state subsidy is expected to make up about two-thirds of the capital project. Estimates for the new theater has it costing anywhere from $35 million to $45 million, depending on the year the question was asked. The final price is yet to be determined." Hartford Courant 06/20/04
Posted: 06/20/2004 6:27 pm
In Praise Of Intermission "Theatre is a social contract between actors and audience, the interval an essential point of meltdown in the stalls, a respite from the artistic effort where those addressed shuffle about among themselves and consider the effect. This process, unconsciously undertaken, surely completes the essential circle of the theatre experience. We get to know each other." The Guardian (UK) 06/19/04
Posted: 06/20/2004 6:21 pm
Always A Workshop, Never A Bride Workshop Hell is "an all-too-crowded netherworld where shows are not quite produced but also not quite forgotten. Pretty much any playwright or composer trying to make a living in the American theater knows about the labyrinthine system of table readings, staged readings and fully rehearsed workshops by which scripts can bounce from theater to theater, spending years being rewritten and pruned and focus-grouped and test-marketed and audience-critiqued — all without ever getting performed as they were meant to be." The New York Times 06/20/04
Posted: 06/20/2004 12:27 pm
Ott Resigns Seattle Rep Seattle Repertory Theatre director Sharon Ott surprised the Seattle theatre world this week by resigning. "She said it's been difficult running a theater in the current economy and that the past theater season has been entirely draining, both emotionally and physically." Seattle Times 06/15/04
Posted: 06/20/2004 10:51 am
Puppet Regime Puppetry is getting a lot of fresh attention. "For decades puppetry was learned by way of most traditional crafts through master and apprenticeship. Now, there are a handful of university programs offering degrees in puppet arts. Meanwhile, the industry has continued to garner more attention from high-profile productions." The New York Times 06/19/04
Posted: 06/20/2004 10:22 am
Pissing Off Peck Literary critic Dale Peck is "not just out to piss people off. He's on a one-man crusade to save fiction writers from their worst tendencies, and to save readers from believing the lionized postmodern likes of Don DeLillo and Thomas Pynchon are worth the paper they're printed on, either." Chicago Sun-Times 06/20/04
Posted: 06/20/2004 5:35 pm
Conservatives Mount Campaign Against Michael Moore Conservatives protesting Michael Moore's "Farenheit 9/11" have mounted a protest campaign. "Since we are the customers of the American movie theaters, it is important for us to speak up loudly and tell the industry executives that we don't want this misleading and grotesque movie being shown at our local cinema." Baltimore Sun (AP) 06/20/04
Posted: 06/20/2004 5:25 pm
People Meter: We Know What You're Listening To "The Portable People Meter is the next big thing in ratings. For the past few years, about 1,500 people in the Philadelphia area have worn small electronic devices that keep track of every bit of radio programming they might hear in the car, at the office, as they walk to lunch, when they drop by a friend's house or when they hit happy hour after work." Washington Post 06/20/04
Posted: 06/20/2004 12:35 pm
Bhutan To Ban TV Programs The kingdom of Bhutan is considering removing certain TV shows from the air five years after TV came to the country. What shows? Wrestling, for one. It's because of "a wave of children performing copycat wrestling moves. The students are becoming more and more violent when they are at school. The elder boys are trying to imitate the wrestling styles on the younger ones, so that is creating a lot of problems in schools." BBC 06/20/04
Posted: 06/20/2004 12:05 pm
Up And Down On The Library Steps Dancing in the Streets brings a program to the steps of the New York City Library. ""The thing about a staircase, though, is that, once you’ve gone down, there’s no place to go but up, and so the dancers stood and did so, which was something of an anti-climax. Apart from a repeat of the lava-pouring-down-the-mountainside roll (compelling even the second time around), the balance of the dance consisted largely of the figures’ grouping and regrouping in formal clusters and making semaphoring sorts of gestures with their arms." Seeing Things (AJBlogs) 06/20/04
Posted: 06/20/2004 6:46 pm
A New Choreography Program In California "This is the first National Choreographers Initiative and it's unclear if it will continue beyond this year. The initiative is a duplicate of Ballet Pacifica's Pacifica Choreographic Project, founded by former director Molly Lynch, who resigned last October. When Ballet Pacifica's Board of Directors canceled the project for this July, a number of local dance lovers approached Lynch about running the initiative as an independent entity for one year. They got the go-ahead from Ballet Pacifica's board president, and Lynch invited choreographers whom she knew and respected. The project has a $100,000 budget, and the community members have raised almost the full amount." Orange County Register 06/20/04
Posted: 06/20/2004 6:43 pm
