Art School Grant Raises Eyebrows A new art school in Philadelphia has scored a major grant from the Delaware River Port Authority, and some officials are asking how a small-scale start-up operation could be awarded a quarter of a million dollars in bridge toll proceeds (nearly twice the school's entire annual operating budget) while other, more established arts groups go begging. The answer appears to be that school officials have friends in very high political places - friends who lobbied hard for Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell to approve the grant quickly and quietly. Philadelphia Inquirer 12/12/04
Posted: 12/12/2004 10:47 am
London's Royal Academy In Trouble "The Royal Academy of Arts, the body that has represented Britain's leading artists for more than 200 years, is facing a grave financial crisis. Its splendid corridors are riven with talk of plots and bad management, and unless it scores another blockbusting hit with the 'Turks' exhibition, to be staged next year, it may have to sell more of its assets. A new president will be elected on Tuesday, in Vatican-style seclusion, inside the academy's stately home, Burlington House in London's Piccadilly. But when the 80 academicians on the general assembly have made their decision, their newly anointed leader will become the figurehead of an organisation saddled with potentially crippling money problems." The Observer (UK) 12/12/04
Posted: 12/12/2004 10:16 am
Caravaggio Writ Large A historic exhibition of 18 works by Caravaggio is drawing crowds in Naples, further cementing the realist master's reputation as one of the greatest painters of all time. "The reason for the success of this magnificent show has less to do with numbers than with the quality of the works and the period that they document: the last four years of Caravaggio's life, spent peripatetically outside Rome, where he had made a name for himself before he died at 39 of malaria." The New York Times 12/12/04
Posted: 12/12/2004 9:47 am
Let Liverpool Be Liverpool Again A spectacular complex of museums, shops, and apartments known as the Fourth Grace was supposed to be the architectural cornerstone that would take the city of Liverpool out of its post-industrial doldrums and into a brave new future. "But when escalating costs killed the £325 million project off in the summer, the Fourth Grace became an icon for another kind of Liverpool, an inescapable reminder of the constant stream of failed projects and broken promises in the city." The real tragedy, though, may be that Liverpool is still trying to reinvent itself with expensive new buildings, when it already has all the raw ingredients of a beautiful city waiting to be highlighted. The Observer (UK) 12/12/04
Posted: 12/12/2004 9:18 am
Neighborhood Surrealism Looking at photographs of Toronto's surreal and gravity-defying new Sharp Centre, one wonders whether such a bizarre and whimsical structure could possibly exist in reality. But as Benjamin Forgey discovered, the building - a huge horizontal rectangle with a distinct crossword-puzzle motif, balanced precariously atop six pairs of stilts - is every bit as real as the photos suggest. "The marvel is threefold: that folks rather enthusiastically allowed this thing to be built, that it works so well as a practical matter, and that, quite simply, it is beautiful." Washington Post 12/11/04
Posted: 12/12/2004 9:07 am
If Only It Weren't Quite So, Well, Canadian "Situated between the lordly British and German digs [at the Venice Biennale], Canada's stage, designed by Milan-based architects for our best artists... is a curiously self-effacing structure, more likely to be found near Georgian Bay than near the Canale di San Marco. Overcoming its cramped, curved interior space has been as much a problem for the artists as their own pieces." Toronto Star 12/11/04
Posted: 12/12/2004 8:53 am
Coming Soon: Dali Kong A Canadian artist was gazing at a famous Mondrian painting some years back, when something told him that he'd seen a similar layout before, in his old 1980s-era Atari video game system. "Pac-Mondrian is the meeting ground in arcade-game format between Toru Iwantani's classic 1980s Atari game Pac-Man and Piet Mondrian's oil painting, Broadway Boogie Woogie (1942-43), the motionless but vibrant jangle of red, yellow and blue rectangles representing the expatriate Dutch painter's reaction to the hectic, well-travelled grid of New York in the early 1940s." The unauthorized mish-mash has become a legitimate Internet art smash, with tens of thousands of visitors playing the game and admiring the art. Toronto Star 12/11/04
Posted: 12/12/2004 8:45 am
Maybe Some Asterisks Would Have Helped When the Dallas-based Meadows Museum sent out invitations to its new exhibit featuring works from the extensive collection of Nona & Richard Barrett, the thinking was that the museum was celebrating a rich legacy of Texan art. But some artists attending the opening were stunned to discover that their Barrett-owned works were not in the show, despite the fact that the museum had listed their names in the brochure. It was all a big misunderstanding, of course, but the hurt feelings have remained. Dallas Morning News 12/11/04
Posted: 12/12/2004 8:22 am
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Juggling Rings A production of Wagner's complete Ring cycle is always the talk of whatever city is lucky enough to host it. But in London, the unthinkable is about to occur: two simultaneous Rings, being performed in two different opera houses by two different companies. It could be a rare chance to compare and contrast differing visions of arguably the greatest operatic accomplishment of all time. Or it could just be repetitive. The Guardian (UK) 12/11/04
Posted: 12/12/2004 10:11 am
- The Wagner Conundrum Richard Wagner was, by all accounts, a horrible human being, a vicious anti-Semite, and an extremist ideologue. That legacy hasn't exactly tarnished his musical reputation, but it does give many musicians pause when asked to perform his works. "So, why bother with Wagner at all? Why grant him four long evenings, as in the case of The Ring? ... One question is: can we live without it?" The Guardian (UK) 12/11/04
Posted: 12/12/2004 10:10 am
Could Slatkin Fill Barenboim's Shoes? True, Leonard Slatkin has recently lost two high-profile music directorships amid rumors of his increasing unpopularity amongst musicians in London and Washington. But John von Rhein says that the time is right for the Chicago Symphony to appoint its first American music director, and Slatkin, with his famous enthusiasm and 30-year history of good relations with the CSO musicians, might be just the man for the job. Chicago Tribune 12/11/04
Posted: 12/12/2004 8:11 am
Forget The Scandal, Those Are Some Nice Fiddles Ever since philanthropist Herbert Axelrod was indicted for tax fraud, his sale of two dozen valuable violins to the New Jersey Symphony has been spoken of mainly in terms of the scandal surrounding the seller. But questions of authenticity aside, the NJSO musicians are thrilled with the chance to play on some of the finest instruments ever crafted, and while they are certainly unhappy to be at the center of a controversy they had no part in creating, many are still amazed that "people who could never hope to play such instruments now have regular access to them. Superstar violinists, of course, can buy, or are lent, famous instruments, but they are out of reach for back-benchers in a midsize orchestra." The New York Times 12/11/04
Posted: 12/12/2004 7:51 am
- Previously: Axelrod Pleads Guilty In Tax Case Herbert Axelrod, the New Jersey businessman famous for selling a collection of rare violins to the New Jersey Symphony, "pleaded guilty to a federal tax fraud count yesterday in a deal that spares the elderly millionaire from the threat of prosecution on a panoply of other dubious acts... The count, aiding and abetting the filing of a false tax return, carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison, but prosecutors have agreed to seek a term of 12 to 18 months." Newark Star-Ledger 12/09/04
News Flash: Diplomas Don't Win Auditions New York's Juilliard School might be the world's most famous training ground for young musicians. But even armed with a Juilliard degree, the highly competitive world of classical music is a tough place to make a living, and no one on an orchestral audition committee will give a rip where you went to school if you can't nail that fast run in Don Juan four times in a row. A look at Juilliard's graduating class of 1994 reveals that, ten years removed from the school's rigorous teachings, some have gone on to great success as soloists or orchestral musicians; others have become teachers themselves; and still others have given up the dream of playing music professionally altogether. The New York Times 12/11/04
Posted: 12/12/2004 7:39 am
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Philly's Christmas Glut The end-of-the-year holiday season is make-or-break time for many performing arts groups, and in large cities like Philadelphia, where dozens of groups are competing for audience, getting a big enough slice of the ticket revenue pie becomes crucial, and difficult. "In the last three years, the Philadelphia Orchestra has added eight holiday concerts, supplementing its traditional two performances of Handel's Messiah and its yearly New Year's Eve concert. The Philly Pops, which in 2000 gave its first holiday-themed concert, now offers six. The Kimmel Center itself also has added holiday shows such as the Vienna Boys Choir. Smaller arts groups also are relying ever more heavily on holiday receipts." Philadelphia Inquirer 12/12/04
Posted: 12/12/2004 10:38 am
Supreme Court To Hear File-Sharing Arguments "The Supreme Court agreed Friday to consider whether two internet file-sharing services may be held responsible for their customers' online swapping of copyright songs and movies. Justices will review a lower ruling in favor of Grokster and StreamCast Networks that came as a blow to recording companies and movie studios seeking to stop the illegal distribution of their works... The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled in August that file-sharing services were not responsible because they don't have central servers pointing users to copyright material." Wired (AP) 12/11/04
Posted: 12/12/2004 9:24 am
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Breslin & Pavarotti: The End of The Affair Herbert Breslin's tell-all biography of Luciano Pavarotti has been the talk of the opera world this year for its catty and bitter tone and mind-boggling revelations concerning the superstar tenor. But the book also represents the final public split between Pavarotti and the author, who spent decades managing the singer's affairs, completely in the thrall of his stunning voice and outsized personality. "As Pavarotti got bigger in every way, Breslin's adoration shrank. By the time of the Three Tenors, a pop phenomenon engineered not by Breslin but by the impresario Tibor Rudas, Breslin was miserable." The New York Times 12/12/04
Posted: 12/12/2004 10:00 am
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A Place At The Architectural Table Washington, D.C. is experiencing a theatre building boom, and the designs reflect not only an impressive devotion to audience comfort, but a revolutionary new way of looking at the building process. "For the first time, many theater artists are sitting at the design table, shaping the spaces in which they'll practice their craft." Washington Post 12/12/04
Posted: 12/12/2004 11:26 am
What's Happening To Toronto Theatre? "Just at the moment when Hollywood North has moved into meltdown mode, with deep-pocketed U.S. movie and TV producers running away from Toronto instead of to Toronto, Broadway North also has become a vanishing act. With the early closing of The Producers and Hairspray, open-ended, long running $8-million or $10-million musicals have become an endangered species in this town... For now, Toronto has reverted to taking limited runs of big touring shows. Where there used to be four long-run musicals in town, now there is only one." Toronto Star 12/12/04
Posted: 12/12/2004 11:22 am
Is There Still A Need For Gay Theatre? The Twin Cities-based theatre company known as Outward Spiral has called a "town meeting" to discuss its future. At issue is not so much the cost of doing business - Spiral has always been a low-budget company - but whether there is still a place for a gay-themed troupe in an age when mainstream theatre regularly features gay characters and issue-themed plays. "It sounds scary and foreboding, but it's a healthy conversation. Just as none of us is immortal, so does not every arts organization need to live forever. Art, like life, has cycles, and people who claim to have the perception and insight to produce art should be able to use those same skills to ascertain when an arts group has reached the end of its useful life." St. Paul Pioneer Press 12/12/04
Posted: 12/12/2004 11:16 am
The Broadway Play Is Dead, Long Live The Br... oh, never mind. So the Broadway play is becoming an endangered species. Is this evolution of the Great White Way into a musical-dominated tourist trap really worth getting all worked up about? "What's striking is the recent inability of the Broadway drama to stir the passions of anyone except the most dedicated theatergoers. TV, films, books and music all create waves of discussion about the way we live or run our government... When a play does tap into a hot issue these days, it tends not to happen on Broadway." The New York Times 12/12/04
Posted: 12/12/2004 9:54 am
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FCC: The Olympics May Be Hazardous To Your Moral Compass The FCC has asked the NBC television network to turn over tape of the opening ceremonies of last summer's Olympic Games, so that the agency can investigate viewer complaints about its content. No one seems to know exactly what portion of the Athens ceremony raised hackles with American viewers, but it may have something to do with the partially unclothed state of some of the traditional Olympic poses adopted by actors in the show. Or maybe it was the woman wading in a puddle who "appeared to have been impregnated by someone who was radioactive, but we cannot say with certainty whether that was Greek or just weird." Washington Post 12/11/04
Posted: 12/12/2004 9:13 am
Forget Direct-To-Video, How About Direct-To-Phone? The evolution of cell phone technology is looking an awful lot like the early days of television, when no one was quite sure what direction the new medium would take. At the moment, the strategy of most companies seems to be to throw every available technology at the consumer wall, and see what sticks. "The increasing power of cellphones is shaping innovative forms of compact culture: micro-lit, phone soap operas and made-for-mobile dramas that can be absorbed in a few glances." Toronto Star 12/11/04
Posted: 12/12/2004 8:59 am
The Great Big FCC Road Show Some FCC commissioners have been taking the broadcast regulation biz on the road lately, hosting public forums in cities across the country. A stop in St. Paul revealed a growing public discontent with corporate consolidation of American mass media, but little consensus over what should be done about it. In Minnesota, where the biggest media presence is actually a public radio network, some activists are stressing the importance of diverse community involvement, while others lament the decline of programming that serves rural residents, such as farm news. St. Paul Pioneer Press 12/11/04
Posted: 12/12/2004 8:37 am
St. Louis Joins The Megaplex Age "Just three years removed from a rash of bankruptcies and cinema closings, [St. Louis's movie] theater business is growing again. By early 2006, a building binge will add at least 56 new screens to the region's western edge... In a transition that's been far from painless, theater operators are continuing to move to these newer, larger cinemas. The trend takes amenities that debuted in the 1990s, such as stadium seating, and makes them standard theater fixtures. As a result, modern megaplexes are replacing smaller theaters from the 1970s and '80s." St. Louis Post-Dispatch 12/11/04
Posted: 12/12/2004 8:28 am
Banning The S-Word In a sane world, the new biopic of sex researcher Alfred Kinsey would have become a minor hit with a small moviegoing demographic, might have picked up a few Oscar nominations, and would have been basically ignored by everyone else. But the U.S. is no longer a sane world when it comes to sex, says Frank Rich, and the newly emboldened "moral values" crowd is chomping at the bit to impose their repressive views on anyone who dares to defy their will. Kinsey is the right's newest target, but this battle isn't about a movie or a long-dead scientist. It's about a segment of the population that wants to take the country back to the bad old days when no one talked about sex, for any reason, ever, consequences be damned. The New York Times 11/12/04
Posted: 12/12/2004 8:02 am
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