The New Criticism (Or Not)
"Critics today, it is claimed, are too cozy behind the ivied walls of academe, content to employ a prose style that is decipherable only to a handful of the cognoscenti. The deadly dive of university critics into the shallow depths of popular culture, moreover, reveals the unwillingness of these critics to uphold standards. Even if the reasons offered are contradictory, these Jeremiahs huddle around their sad conclusion that serious cultural criticism has fallen into a morass of petty bickering and bloated reputations. Such narratives of declension, a staple of American intellectual life since the time of the Puritans, are misplaced, self-serving, and historically inaccurate. And difficult to prove. Has the level of criticism declined in the last 50 years?"
Chronicle of Higher Education
07/02/04
Posted: 06/29/2004 1:18 pm
The Coming Art Market Crash?
Depending on who you ask, the number of contemporary art collectors has doubled, tripled or even quintupled in the past decade, and many are betting on unknown artists, hoping to cash in on the next big thing. The market is being bid up as collectors try to guess who will be hot in the future. But with ten times the players there were during the art bubble of the 80s, are we in for even a bigger crash this time around?
Art & Auction (pdf)
06/29/04
Posted: 06/29/2004 11:28 am
Corcoran To Ask DC For $40 Million
The Corcoran Museum is asking the District of Columbia city council for $40 million towards the museum's $200 million Frank Gehry-designed expansion. "Some will see the TIF package as a creative financing vehicle to promote the arts and deliver a jolt to the city's tourism industry. Others no doubt will consider it a $40 million gift to a solidly backed institution at the expense of D.C. taxpayers."
Washington Business Journal
06/28/04
Posted: 06/29/2004 12:15 am
Giant Chinese Buddha Is Copy Of Destroyed Bamiyan
The largest Buddha sculpture in the world is going on display outside Qongqing, China. "The sculpture is a copy of Afghanistan's 1,500-year-old Bamiyan Buddha that was destroyed by the Taliban in 2001. China's Ai Duo Group Company spent 16 months making the sculpture out of a giant piece of jade found in Myanmar. The 7-ton jade Buddha is nearly 2.6 metres high and 1.3 metres wide."
China View
06/28/04
Posted: 06/28/2004 11:55 pm
And This Week's No. 1 Download Is...
Demonstrating the impact downloaded music has had, a new chart of best-selling downloaded music is being launched. "The new chart will register the sale of tracks from websites run by HMV, Coca-Cola and Microsoft's MSN and will be broadcast on BBC Radio 1. Separately, mobile phone operator T-Mobile announced plans to turn handsets into personal stereos, downloading songs at about £1.50 each."
The Guardian (UK)
06/29/04
Posted: 06/29/2004 2:05 am
Scottish Opera Performers Stage Closing Night Protest
On the last night of Scottish Opera's production of La Boheme, the company's performers staged a protest at the end, unveiling "T-shirts bearing the words: 'No Chorus? No Opera? No way!' The protest, which involved the 34 members of the chorus whose jobs are to be axed, as well as technical staff, principal singers, and the orchestra, was then greeted with a lengthy standing ovation."
The Scotsman
06/27/04
Posted: 06/29/2004 1:53 am
Wagner Is A Hit At Pop Festival
An abridged version of Wagner's "Ring" cycle has been a hit at the Glastonbury Festival. "It was the first time opera had been performed at the festival, with thousands of fascinated revellers gathering in front of the main Pyramid stage for the event. The 75-minute long extract opened with the section of the opera familiar to fans of the film Apocalypse Now, its lyrics sung in English and subtitled at the side of the stage to make it widely accessible. The Valkyries were played with relish by the ENO singers, flame-haired and dressed in black, as members of the orchestra behind them were clearly enjoying the unique experience."
BBC
06/28/04
Posted: 06/28/2004 1:00 pm
Miami PAC Manager Abruptly Quits
Gail Thompson, who was demoted last week from project manager of the troubled Mimai-Dade Performing Arts Center project, suddenly quit her new job Monday. "Building of the center, touted as Miami's cultural centerpiece, is 20 months behind schedule and $67 million over budget. Thompson, hired in 1999 after successfully overseeing the construction of Newark, New Jersey's Performing Arts Center, was pushed aside last week by Miami-Dade County Manager George Burgess in an attempt to get the project back on track."
Miami Herald
06/29/04
Posted: 06/29/2004 2:10 pm
The Arts In America - Taking A Measure
"There are about 548,000 creative businesses in the U.S., ranging from nonprofits like museums, symphonies and theaters, to film production, architecture and advertising companies. They account for about 2.2 percent of the workforce tracked in Dun & Bradstreet's business database, or about 3 million jobs."
Denver Post
06/29/04
Posted: 06/29/2004 1:50 pm
Massachusetts Increases Arts Budget
The Massachusetts Legislature has approved a $1 million increase in the Massachusetts Cultural Council's budget to $8.3 million in the 2005. This follows a $12 million cut in arts funding made in 2002.
Boston Globe
06/29/04
Posted: 06/29/2004 12:06 pm
The SF Arts Shuffle - Unintended Consequences
San Francisco is facing a $300 million budget deficit, and its mayor, "in an effort to achieve greater efficiency, has proposed merging San Francisco's nationally recognized Grants for the Arts with the San Francisco Arts Commission. Managerially, the merger might seem to make sense, but the unintended consequences could be dramatic."
San Francisco Chronicle
06/29/04
Posted: 06/29/2004 11:46 am
Gioia To Silicon Valley: Where's The Art?
NEA chairman Dana Gioia goes to Silicon Valley and says the area has been a miracle of creativity but that that inspiration has yet to be translated into art. "You've had an economic renaissance but haven't created the visual legacies of that. Florence at the height of the renaissance was smaller than Palo Alto but look what it left behind."
San Jose Business Journal
06/28/04
Posted: 06/29/2004 3:47 am
Beverly Hills To Get New Arts Center
The Annenberg Foundation has announced plans for a cultural center for Beverly Hills. Wallis Annenberg, the "daughter of Walter H. Annenberg, the philanthropist, art collector and communications mogul, who died in 2002, said the center would include a 500-seat theater, a 150-seat studio theater, a rehearsal hall, classrooms and a sculpture garden. The overall project, costing $30 million, is expected to be completed in late 2007."
The New York Times
06/29/04
Posted: 06/29/2004 3:38 am
The Artists Move In, The Artists Move Out
Artists in the Brooklyn neighborhood known as DUMBO are relocating as they get priced out of their lofts. Nothing new about this kind of gentrification - except the speed at which it's happening. "Five years ago, when I first came here, there were no city services, no trash pickup, and it was completely dark and desolate."
The New York Times
06/29/04
Posted: 06/29/2004 2:26 am
A Measure Of The Arts In America
An Americans for the Arts study reports that "arts-related businesses make up 4.3 percent of all the companies in the United States, and employ almost 3 million people, according to the most detailed account yet of their economic impact. The New York metropolitan area ranks No. 1 nationally in arts-related businesses, with nearly 55,000."
Newsday
06/29/04
Posted: 06/29/2004 12:02 am
The Fall Of Mr. DVD
Warren Lieberfarb is known in Hollywood as the "father of the DVD." DVD's of course, have earned movie studios billions of dollars of revenue, eclipsing what movies make in the theatres. So why did such an important guy get bounced out of his job?
MSNBC
07/05/04
Posted: 06/28/2004 12:20 pm
Ott Resignation Surprises Theatre World
The sudden resignation of Sharon Ott from Seattle Repertory Theatre has shocked many in the theatre community. "Any time something like this happens, everybody in the field quivers," adds Berkeley Rep managing director Susan Medak, who worked with Ott for seven years. Drawing parallels to Pamela Rosenberg's resignation at the San Francisco Opera, Medak cites the increased difficulties in "running an arts institution now. There's not the general level of support that makes the job easy. The anxiety level has shot up, because you can't afford to make mistakes. "
San Francisco Chronicle
06/29/04
Posted: 06/29/2004 2:38 pm
Broadway Union Talks Break Off
The Actors Equity union and Broadway producers have broken off talks on a new contract. "The two sides couldn't even agree on who ended the talks. Equity said bargaining stalled at 11 pm "when negotiators for producers walked out." The League of American Theatres and Producers issued a statement just after midnight that began, 'Actors' Equity broke off negotiations..."
Backstage
06/28/04
Posted: 06/29/2004 12:08 am
Canadians Go To Movies In Record Numbers
"Canadians flocked to the movies in record numbers last year, with the lure of big-money blockbusters outweighing the impact of higher admission prices and a decline in the number of screens in this country. According to the government agency, attendance at theatres and drive-ins rose to 125.7 million in 2002-03, the highest level on record." The Globe & Mail (Canada)
06/29/04
Posted: 06/29/2004 2:02 pm
Toronto To Get Giant Film Studio
A huge "media film village" is to be built in Toronto. The state-of-the-art facility will include 14 soundstages and cost more than $100-million. "It's been a truism in Toronto film circles for the last decade that while the city has sufficiently talented crews to host 'runaway productions,' it's been bypassed by Titanic-sized Hollywood films -- movies with budgets in excess of $150-million involving support staff of as many as 2,000 persons -- because it has lacked an appropriately huge, purpose-built, state-of-the-art facility." The Globe & Mail (Canada)
06/29/04
Posted: 06/29/2004 1:58 pm
Should The BBC Be Privatized?
As the BBC begins the process of applying to have its charter renewed, critics go on the attack, suggesting the public broadcaster be privatized. "I can't see any justification for what the BBC does which can't be equally well done in the commercial world. Why force anybody to pay £121? What you are forcing people to do is to pay - by threat of jail - for a view of life that people can get in the commercial world." The Guardian (UK)
06/29/04
Posted: 06/29/2004 11:40 am
In Praise Of Internet Radio
Internet radio is "the best thing to happen to radio" in some time. "The best part about these services is that they don't confine you to one genre. On broadcast radio, you tune in to a country station on the radio dial for country tunes, and that's pretty much all you'll get. But with some of the webcasting services, you can specify your musical taste and favorite artists, and the software will automatically mix up playlists for you." Wired
06/28/04
Posted: 06/29/2004 12:34 am
PNB Job Attracts Mob
Fifty applicants have applied to succeed Kent Stowell and Francia Russell as director of Seattle's Pacific Northwest Ballet.
Seattle Times
06/29/04
Posted: 06/29/2004 2:43 pm
Acocella: NYCB's Legend Out Of Focus
Joan Acocella sizes up New York City Ballet's Balanchine celebration: "Once the smoke cleared from the altars, it was obvious that the one tribute City Ballet owes Balanchine, that of dancing his ballets competently, is not being paid. What was true at the company’s previous Balanchine festival, in 1993 (the tenth anniversary of his death), is no less true today. The company can still perform well, at times brilliantly, in Balanchine’s story ballets and character ballets, pieces where the dancers have a drama or at least a theme to latch onto. What they cannot manage is his pure-dance ballets—that is, the ballets that were the focus of his career and his chief contribution to twentieth-century art."
The New Yorker
06/28/04
Posted: 06/29/2004 1:07 am
