"Hearing" A Building Before It's Built "Acoustics, in particular, are a crucial part of the experience of a building — concert halls and corporate offices alike. But as the long, sad history of acoustical missteps proves, perfecting a sound aesthetic is easier said than heard. Most architects are forced either to make an educated guess about the play of sound or begrudgingly consult acousticians, who have technical expertise but few practical ways to demonstrate their ideas." Now, a way to find out what a building will sound like before it's built... The New York Times 08/29/04
Posted: 08/29/2004 12:16 pm
Tate Janitor Accidentally Throws Away Artwork A janitor has thrown away a bag of trash that was "part of a Tate Britain work of art. The bag filled with discarded paper and cardboard was part of a work by Gustav Metzger, said to demonstrate the 'finite existence' of art." BBC 08/29/04
Posted: 08/29/2004 11:41 am
Myths Of Art-Theft-For-Order "Wherever The Scream is now, it is almost certainly not in a billionaire's study. Except in movies, thieves are seldom connoisseurs. In the eyes of a typical art thief, the most dazzling of paintings is simply a multi-million dollar bill hanging on a poorly guarded wall. Those who steal art are surprisingly casual about the details of how they might turn their newly acquired paintings into money. In my interviews with art thieves, they talked lightly about "Arab sheiks" or "South American drug lords" sure to want a bargain-price Van Gogh." Houston Chronicle 08/29/04
Posted: 08/29/2004 11:04 am
Understanding Bones Why is the care of Hawaiian ancestral remains such an emotional issue? Recent news of artifacts and remains being illegally sold on Hawaii's Big Island has reopened controversies. "This sanctity is violated, Native Hawaiians believe, when remains and artifacts are removed from the sacred caves, whether by grave robbers or archaeologists." Honolulu Advertiser 08/29/04
Posted: 08/29/2004 10:48 am
The Kennedy Years - Lots Of Heat, But... Brian Kennedy came to run the National Gallery of Australia in 1997, and filled the landscape with his controversial opinions. Now he's leaving and "colleagues and observers within the art world choose their words carefully to give a positive public summing-up of his time. Perhaps it was a cultural misunderstanding: humour in one national argot can be seen as brusqueness or querulousness in another. In any case, when he leaves his job tomorrow, after weeks of goodbyes, Kennedy will bequeath his successor an institution in need of artistic, political and social resuscitation." The Australian 08/30/04
Posted: 08/29/2004 10:15 am
Chicago Symphony Contract Talks Go To Wire The Chicago Symphony is running out of time in its contract negotiations with musicians. "With only two weeks remaining until the present labor agreement between the musicians and management of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is due to expire, both sides are bracing themselves for what is expected to be the most contentious cliffhanger in the orchestra's 113-year history." Chicago Tribune 08/29/04
Posted: 08/29/2004 1:11 pm
The Violin Scandals Two high-profile scandals in high-end violin appraisals and dealing reveal a shadowy world in which little is as it seems. "Authentication is slippery, essential and a near-contact sport among dealers, who regard one another like Yankees and Red Sox and certify the authenticity of their products themselves. And as both of the current dramas demonstrate, pricing tends to the notional, with no instrument quite like any other. Brokers and consultants flourish in the interstices." The New York Times 08/29/04
Posted: 08/29/2004 12:29 pm
Klezmer's German Inroads Klezmer has become a phenomenon in Germany. "National interest in this genre, broadly defined as Eastern European Jewish folk music, has surged, with experts counting more than 100 klezmer bands across the country. Record sales are strong, and festivals and workshops have multiplied. One label director called Germany the strongest klezmer market in the world. But with few exceptions, the klezmer scene in Germany is a non-Jewish phenomenon, a renaissance of Jewish culture without Jews, prompting a wide range of reactions here and abroad, from bewilderment and cautious approval to cynicism and reproach." The New York Times 08/29/04
Posted: 08/29/2004 12:06 pm
Old Record Shops Disappearing Second-hand record stores - the kind die-hard vinyl collectors love - are disappearing, as more and more customers turn to the internet to find rare recordings. "The switch has taken its toll on some specialist retailers and record dealers, prompting them to turn their attentions to sites such as eBay in search of profits without the overheads. And as the appetite for downloads hits new album sales, some observers are predicting the death knell for the bigger bricks-and-mortar multiple record stores, too." BBC 08/27/04
Posted: 08/29/2004 11:44 am
New Orleans Phil Looks For New Music Director Now that Klauspeter Seibel has left the job as music director of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra in New Orleans, the search is on for a replacement. This season is being given over to possible candidates for the job... The Times-Picayune (New Orleans) 08/29/04
Posted: 08/29/2004 10:57 am
Slatkin At 60 Condustor Leonard Slatkin has transformed Washington DC's National Symphony, which he has led since 1996. "He is probably the best public "explainer" of music since Leonard Bernstein, able to prepare a dubious audience for even the most recondite new composition; he speaks in full paragraphs, with wit and incision. In short, Slatkin is what the trade calls a "good citizen" -- and in a time when classical music is struggling on almost every level, his steady, friendly advocacy takes on renewed importance." Washington Post 08/29/04
Posted: 08/29/2004 2:13 pm
Chicago's Next Big Director "Dexter Bullard, 38, is an anomaly in Chicago: a major director, steeped in improv, who has yet to work with Steppenwolf (beyond a couple of workshops) or the Goodman, the Court, Writers' Theatre, Victory Gardens or Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Nor has he really tried to work at any of those places, keeping busy at other venues, including A Red Orchid, Famous Door, Next Lab, American Theatre Company and other low-paying, high-freedom outposts." Chicago Tribune 08/29/04
Posted: 08/29/2004 1:05 pm
Political Charge - Chicago Theatre Gets Active Chicago stages are filling up with political commentary. "Not since the Vietnam War has the local artistic community been able to galvanize its forces to produce such a wide array of politically charged programming. In the decades that followed Vietnam, much of the local theater community was slow in creating memorable responses to current events. Now it seems things have reached a political boiling point once again, with playwrights and theaters intent on sending a message." Chicago Sun-Times 08/29/04
Posted: 08/29/2004 12:58 pm
The World's A Clown Slava Polunin is one of the world's busiest clowns, although, he protests, 'There are no competitors among clowns'." The New York Times 08/29/04
Posted: 08/29/2004 12:41 pm
Of Playwrights And Politics In the UK, playwrights have been energized by politics. "It is a remarkable moment for political theatre. Not only have 9/11, the Iraq war and the Bush administration energised playwrights, the acoustic has never been so good. People want from political theatre a clarity they are not getting from politicians. Harold Pinter claims: 'We live in a country the government of which is totally discredited, in a poisonous atmosphere in which everyone is under the weather'." The Guardian (UK) 08/28/04
Posted: 08/29/2004 11:12 am
A Look At Who Made The Booker List "The longlist is conventional enough in many ways - there are no obviously attention-seeking moves, such as the inclusion of sci-fi, crime, thrillers or overtly comic novels, which will add fuel to the usual criticisms that the prize's definition of 'literary fiction' is too narrow. But it is, at least, far from being a list of predictable literary London insiders." The Observer (UK) 08/29/04
Posted: 08/29/2004 2:02 pm
Non-Fiction - The New Rock Stars What's happened to fiction? "Until recently, fiction was the more dashing, glamorous side, where arguments broke out and fortunes could be made. Those who wrote and published factual books would never have expected stardom, glamour or fame; rather, they were more like craftsmen. Things have greatly changed. Although fiction still sells in great quantities and continues to produce stars, the attention of publishers and booksellers has moved elsewhere. Everyone in publishing agrees it is getting harder to sell a new novel, even by a distinguished name, in this country; book buyers seem interested only in non-fiction." The Observer (UK) 08/29/04
Posted: 08/29/2004 1:26 pm
Stereo-Type Once, designing new typefaces was a difficult proposition. But "computer programs like FontLab and Fontographer have allowed neophytes, as well as veterans, to create a new generation of digital type. During the ensuing digital typographic revolution of the 90's, a slew of designers and illustrators who had never designed an alphabet before flooded Internet sites with bizarrely named, peculiarly styled and sometimes illegible faces. Typeface design became something of an expressive art." The New york Times 08/29/04
Posted: 08/29/2004 12:33 pm
Comcast Joins The Digital Recorder Revolution American cable-TV giant Comcast is offering a new digital video recorder. "About 5 percent of US households now own digital video recording systems, a figure that is expected to rise to 22 percent by 2008. Even though the numbers are small, industry executives expect growing DVR usage to roil the $58 billion US television advertising market, as increasing numbers of consumers, particularly the most affluent who are most likely to rent the devices, get the power to program their own television viewing, and ignore the traditional 30-second television spot." Boston Globe 08/29/04
Posted: 08/29/2004 12:50 pm
The 'Ol Bump 'n Grind Makes A Comeback "You thought burlesque was a thing of the past? It ain't so. That old bump-and-grind -- tasseled pasties, unsubtle comedy and all -- has made a comeback in the past few years. A growing number of restaurants and bars in downtown Manhattan and Brooklyn regularly feature late-night performers reviving and reinventing the genre, which had its heyday in the 1930s and '40s. A new generation of audiences, from 20- something singles to couples marking their two-digit anniversaries, are discovering its comic and risque appeal." Newsday 08/29/04
Posted: 08/29/2004 3:00 pm
