The Truly Independent Scholar To make a living as a scholar, you generally need to be associated with a college or university, and earn your keep by teaching. But there are a few professional scholars who prefer to be their own bosses, and work outside the constraints of academia. "Working from home offers advantages such as the freedom from papers to grade or departmental meetings to attend. The drawbacks tend to be financial." Indie scholars also can have a hard time getting access to libraries, and grants to pursue their research can be hard to come by as well. New York Sun 10/15/04
Posted: 10/18/2004 4:27 am
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It's Not A Failed Restaurant, It's Art! Buy Some! Glamorously controversial UK artist Damien Hirst has an auction all his own this week at Sotheby's in London. "This sale, which Sotheby's expects will net between £3 million and £7 million will also be an opportunity for Nigel Q. Public to buy an authentic Hirst, even if it's only an authentic eggcup." The pieces up for auction are actually the detritus from Hirst's now-defunct, clinic-themed Pharmacy Restaurant & Bar, which was conceived as part of the "Cool Brittania" movement a few years back. The Globe & Mail (Canada) 10/18/04
Posted: 10/18/2004 7:00 am
Making The MoMA List When New York's Museum of Modern Art unveils its new Manhattan home next month, a private party for the city's arts elite will kick off the festivities. Oh, sure, you can see the new MoMA ahead of time for a mere $75 membership contribution (and, truth be told, that's probably your best bet if you really care about the art,) but why visit with the plebes when, for $2 million, you can get invited to the most exclusive event of the year? The museum will tell you the guest list for that event is closed, but don't you believe it... The Observer (UK) 10/17/04
Posted: 10/18/2004 6:10 am
Koolhaas Reborn In many ways, Seattle is the perfect city for an architect looking to make his mark. Adventurous, forward-thinking, loaded with money, and possessed of a deep appreciation for the arts, the city has become known for its willingness to take chances with its public spaces and buildings. Of course, that kind of freedom can create the opportunity for spectacular failure as easily as great success, and many architects have fallen into the trap. But for Rem Koolhaas, Seattle may just be the city that revived his career. The Observer (UK) 10/17/04
Posted: 10/18/2004 5:39 am
Terra Museum Prepares For Shutdown "At 5 p.m. on Oct. 31, the Terra Museum of American Art, which has existed for almost a quarter century, will close its doors and Chicago will lose one of its cultural institutions... 50 paintings from the Terra collection and all 350 of its works on paper will go on long-term loan to the Art Institute of Chicago, where they will be shown in a new installation beginning next spring. The remaining 300 pieces will be placed in storage, shown in the Terra's sister museum in Giverny, France or be lent for exhibitions at other institutions." Chicago Tribune 10/17/04
Posted: 10/18/2004 5:35 am
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Living The Orchestral High Life In San Diego Don't lump the San Diego Symphony in with all those North American orchestras struggling to make ends meet. The ensemble, which recently received an unprecedented $120 million gift from a local couple, is flush with cash, and the financial security is starting to translate into measurable artistic gains as well. The average musician's salary will jump $14,600 this season, and the marketing budget has tripled. A $3 million office renovation has been completed, and the SDSO ended the 2003 fiscal year with a $600,000 surplus. So what's next? More fundraising, of course. San Diego Union-Tribune 10/17/04
Posted: 10/18/2004 6:37 am
Opera Of The People Opera North, the regional company based in Leeds, England, has reported a 25% jump in ticket sales, and a demographic breakdown shows that the company has succeeded in attracting an audience that goes well outside the wealthy elite crowd normally associated with the form. At a time when many UK opera companies are struggling to attract audience as well as funding, Opera North's success story is a major surprise, and other companies may begin to take a look at its programming strategies, which have included some unorthodox productions in recent years. The Observer (UK) 10/17/04
Posted: 10/18/2004 5:55 am
Music Looking For A Partner Composers are almost always happiest when they know for whom they are writing, and when they can tailor their latest work to a specific musician's talents, especially in the realm of vocal music, where the subtle discrepancies between voices of can make a world of difference in performance. In an effort to promote such collaborations, a new workshop has been launched by the composer John Harbison and the soprano Dawn Upshaw, bringing together young singers and composers who have never met, but who will be expected to make music together by the end of the session. The New York Times 10/17/04
Posted: 10/18/2004 4:56 am
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That Dirty, Dirty Museum Web sites are of great value to museums, with the potential to reach a far wider swath of the public for a smaller cash outlay than most forms of advertising. But what if the public can't find your site? It's a nightmare scenario being experienced by the UK's Horniman Museum, which has found its site blocked by automatic web filters and its e-mails discarded by spam blockers. Why the nasty treatment for a legitimate art museum? Try saying the name a few times, and you'll get the idea. The Guardian (UK) 10/16/04
Posted: 10/18/2004 6:01 am
Ignoring The Arts In The Halls Of Power The man charged with relaunching London's South Bank Arts Centre is furious with the city's political establishment, declaring "I don't know any other country in the world where politicians don't actually want to come along to arts events." According to Michael Lynch, the long-overdue overhaul of South Bank has been an example of the disengagement of UK politicians from the arts. "He suspects that politicians fear they will be categorised by the public as highbrow, but he is concerned because when those in positions of power do not see arts events for themselves, securing funding becomes more difficult." The Observer (UK) 10/17/04
Posted: 10/18/2004 5:50 am
Mrs. Schwarzenegger Takes On California Museum California's State History Museum is nearly broke, and could close in the next few months if a sudden influx of cash is not found. The state's first lady, former journalist Maria Shriver, is proposing to convert the institution into a museum celebrating the contribution of women to California's history, but a backlash began the moment Shriver stepped into the fray, with detractors accusing her of strong-arming the museum board. Shriver insists that the board approached her, and that she is "happy to help." Sacramento Bee 10/16/04
Posted: 10/18/2004 4:40 am
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Major Upheaval At Adelaide Fringe The entire board of Australia's Adelaide Fringe Festival has been replaced, following a legal dispute with the organization's members. The board had called off its annual general meeting, but "29 of the Fringe's 41 members still turned up, decided there was insufficient reason to cancel the AGM and voted to appoint a new board. The former board disputed the constitutional legitimacy of the election and sought legal advice. However, it announced its resignation yesterday through its lawyer" Adelaide Advertiser 10/16/04
Posted: 10/18/2004 6:48 am
Is Theater Finally Embracing Diversity? Historically, plays focusing on racial themes or African-American issues have been a tough sell with the largely white, largely affluent theater-going public. But the tide may be turning: "The biggest nonmusical hit of last Broadway season was the revival of the 45-year-old play A Raisin in the Sun... And it's not the only production dealing with black themes resonating in theaters around the country." Hartford Courant 10/17/04
Posted: 10/18/2004 6:26 am
New York Gets Current The best theater in New York these days isn't on Broadway, says Barbara Stewart. And it isn't exactly traditional fare, either. Think less Shakespeare, and more Rumsfeld. "Everybody I spoke to - with the exception of agents pushing their Broadway clients - agreed that the interesting new shows are on off-Broadway or off-off-Broadway. Forget musicals, almost. And gird yourself for stories apparently spun directly from World News Tonight." The Observer (UK) 10/17/04
Posted: 10/18/2004 6:07 am
What, No Tote Bags? No Mugs? Minneapolis's Guthrie Theater is in the final stages of its fundraising push to finance its huge new home on the banks of the Mississippi River, and that means that it's time to involve the general public. Of course, the general public doesn't like to shell out its hard-earned cash without getting a trinket in return, so the Guthrie is offering a range of options for lower-end givers. $100 will get you a refrigerator magnet, $1000 equals a set of new Guthrie notecards, and for $5000, your name gets nailed to a seat in the new $125 million theater. St. Paul Pioneer Press 10/18/04
Posted: 10/18/2004 5:16 am
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More Trouble For Eisner "Just when it appeared that Michael D. Eisner, the chief executive of the Walt Disney Company, could begin enjoying the company's turnaround and his final years in charge, a shareholder lawsuit threatens to dredge up some of the most embarrassing details of his two-decade reign and complicate his planned exit. On Wednesday, the Court of Chancery in Delaware will begin hearing a lawsuit filed by Disney shareholders contending that the board breached its fiduciary responsibility when Mr. Eisner hired his friend, Michael S. Ovitz, as president in 1995 and then signed off on Mr. Ovitz's $140 million severance package 14 months later." The New York Times 10/18/04
Posted: 10/18/2004 7:15 am
Netflix, Blockbuster Battle Over DVD Prices A price war is developing in the DVD rental market, as relative newcomer NetFlix and traditional chain Blockbuster square off in the battle for online customers. The price cuts on both sides are delighting consumers, but investors in both companies are not happy. The New York Times (AP) 10/18/04
Posted: 10/18/2004 7:11 am
Colorization, Take Two (And Get It Right This Time) "Few technological changes have been so contentious as the colourizing of movies originally released in black-and-white. Moviegoers are willing to tolerate all sorts of things, including Hilary Duff movies and orange goo on nachos, but many of them are ready to man the barricades against any meddling to monochrome." But new digital technology has raised the quality of colorization to such an extent that some in the film industry believe it can truly enhance old pictures. The key is in choosing films which would actually benefit from a splash of color. Toronto Star 10/17/04
Posted: 10/18/2004 6:29 am
So It's Not Really A 'Film', Is It? "In a first of its kind move, independent movie distributor Lions Gate Films, based in Vancouver, will make its first release of a movie... on new digital systems in AMC theatres that offer a low-cost way to reach mass audiences. The move tests a nascent process for distributing films via digital systems linking theatres on high-speed networks, and it could offer low-budget films a more effective way to compete with Hollywood." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 10/16/04
Posted: 10/18/2004 5:37 am
Wait, It's Not Harassment! I'm A Writer! Comedy is a dirty business, and for comedy writers working on a sitcom, ordinary workplace rules simply don't apply. Or do they? A lawsuit filed by a former assistant on the TV show Friends "contends that while doing her job, which was to record anything any of the writers said, [the assistant] was subjected to her bosses' dirty, personal and just plain weird banter, so much so that it constituted sexual harassment." The defense being mounted is a novel one, and it could have far-reaching ramifications for the joke-writing business: the studio insists that comedy writers can't possibly do their jobs without such inappropriate chatter. The New York Times 10/17/04
Posted: 10/18/2004 4:48 am
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Dumbing Down Dance Movies Dance has a long history in Hollywood, and dance movies have frequently been huge hits with the public. But the new wave of dance flicks represents a major step backward, both for serious dance and serious moviemaking, says Sarah Kaufman. "When the dancing feels as essential as breathing: that's the hallmark of the best dance movies... Over the last several decades, Hollywood seems to have lost the ability to capture dance on the big screen with any degree of skill and expressiveness. Perhaps it's the box office power of celebrity faces over gifted gams. Whatever the reason, it's bad for dance fans." Washington Post 10/17/04
Posted: 10/18/2004 6:34 am
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