The Prejudice You Don't Know You Have
A Harvard psychologist argues that people's prejudice can be measured even when they're not conciously aware of it. "Implicit prejudice, she argues, can affect our decisions and behaviors without our even knowing it, undermining our conscious ideas and best intentions about equality and justice. Social psychologists are divided on just what the Implicit Association Test measures, arguing that different response times may just reflect an awareness of cultural stereotypes and social inequality."
Boston Globe
12/19/04
Posted: 12/19/2004 1:40 pm
Dumbing Down? Don't Blame The Media
"Intellectuals have long expressed concern about the media's potential for diminishing the quality of our culture. Ever since the invention of the printing press, there have been periodic outbursts of anxiety about the destructive impact of the popular media." But "too often the blanket condemnation of the media pundit reflects the profound sense of insecurity that the professional academic experiences when confronted with having to engage with a wider audience."
spiked-online
12/17/04
Posted: 12/19/2004 11:07 am
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Workers Damage Old Master Painting
"Construction workers accidentally drilled a hole through a 17th-century painting worth €250,000 ($420,000 Canadian) while renovating the Dutch upper house of parliament, officials said Friday."
The Globe & Mail (AP)
12/18/04
Posted: 12/19/2004 1:29 pm
What The Barnes Decision Is Missing
A judge allowed the Barnes Foundation to move to Philadelphia. But not all of the foundation's requests were granted. "Not granted specifically, lawyers said yesterday, were changes to the indenture that would allow the Barnes to hold fund-raising events or special exhibitions at its proposed site on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, to be open any days and times it chooses, or to sell any of the artwork that it has in storage. It was unclear whether the judge left those requested changes out of his decree intentionally or unintentionally."
Philadelphia Inquirer
12/17/04
Posted: 12/19/2004 1:08 pm
Making The Sand Safe From Artists
Groups of artists creating elaborate sand sculptures on the beaches of Durbin, South Africa have become an attraction. "Foreign tourists, in particular, have been blown away by the beachfront artists who earn a humble living from the tips they get for shaping everything from sharks and mermaids to lounging lions." But the artists say some of them have been arrested by police. "The city bylaws view sand sculptors in the same way as they do beggars and loiterers - as law breakers."
The Independent (South Africa)
12/19/04
Posted: 12/19/2004 11:17 am
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A Singular History Of Classical Music
The new six-volume "Oxford History of Western Music" was 13 years in the making. Despite its bulk, it may seem to pale in comparison with, say, the 29-volume second edition of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, of 2001, but that represented the work of more than 2,500 writers. This is the work of one, Richard Taruskin, a music historian at the University of California at Berkeley, who has been an occasional contributor to Arts & Leisure and other publications.
The New York Times
12/19/04
Posted: 12/19/2004 1:52 pm
Boston Pops, Recording Mogul
When RCA decided to end its contract with the Boston Pops, the orchestra decided to go into the recording business itself. "That means there's no big record company to pick up the tab for studio time, promotion, and even pressing new CDs. Instead, the Pops have gone into the recording business, laying out money normally provided by a label. This is the new business model, and it's risky. It's why conductor Keith Lockhart is being trotted out for 18 signings this holiday season."
Boston Globe
12/19/04
Posted: 12/19/2004 1:33 pm
Australian Pops Orchestra To Close?
The Australian Pops Orchestra is going out of business after failing to find a sponsor. "The orchestra, which also performs as the Australian Philharmonic Orchestra, will play its final concert on New Year's Eve. It has a long line of credits, having played behind Jose Carreras, Luciano Pavarotti and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. Managing director Kel McMillan says it is a big disappointment ahead of the orchestra's 25th anniversary year."
ABCNews (Australia)
12/19/04
Posted: 12/19/2004 12:57 pm
Virtually Yours - Pit By Pit
Musicians protest the "virtual orchestra. "It produces sounds amazingly similar to orchestral voices. But is it an instrument or merely a fancy mechanical substitute? Musicians who claim to be put out of work by the thing sneeringly call it a machine." But the device's inventors call it an instrument, not a substitute for musicians. "You could say that a flute is a machine, because it is a device that must be operated by a person in order to do its job. But we call flutes - and violins and trombones - musical instruments."
Rocky Mountain News
12/19/04
Posted: 12/19/2004 12:39 pm
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Canadian Arts Minister Under Attack For Premature Funding
Canada's heritage minister is under attack for announcing $191 million in next year's arts funding instead of waiting until the government's general budget is presented to parliament. "The minister said she had to take the step to ensure arts and culture projects wouldn't be interrupted next year."
Edmonton Sun
12/17/04
Posted: 12/19/2004 12:54 pm
Comparing Arts Spending In The UK And US (It's Not Pretty)
So the UK is holdings its arts budget steady for a couple of years. And the US is increasing its arts spending. Woo hoo US! Except when you see how far behind in spending on the arts the US, the situation is pretty bleak. "Divide by population, and it comes out that, in England, the government spends a little less than $16 for every man, woman and child on the arts. In the United States, per-capita federal spending on the arts works out to a measly 54 cents."
St. Pail Pioneer-Press
12/19/04
Posted: 12/19/2004 8:48 am
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Buy Updike's Library
John Updike's basement was full of books. So he called up a book store dealer and had him haul them away. The cache has turned out to be valuable. "In some of the books' margins are handwritten questions and analogies from the novelist and essayist — writings that Updike called his "scribblings." Those editions will go for between $200 and $1,000 (U.S.)."
The Globe & Mail (Canada)
12/19/04
Posted: 12/19/2004 1:26 pm
Renata Tebaldi, 82
The great opera singer, a rival of Maria Callas, died in San Marino. "Born in Pesaro, she made her debut in 1944 but her career took off after performing at a concert to mark the re-opening of La Scala, Milan, in 1946. She sang at the great opera houses of the world but retired in the 1970s due to problems with her vocal chords."
BBC
12/19/04
Posted: 12/19/2004 11:20 am
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Where Are The Stars?
Stars headlining Broadway productions sometimes don't make it to the performance. And the problem seems to be getting worse. "Anecdotal evidence does seem to suggest that regular absenteeism has become a more persistent, probably permanent feature of the Broadway landscape. And it may be a symptom - perhaps, too, a cause - of a much larger, more dispiriting phenomenon, the gradual extinction of the musical-theater star."
The New York Times
12/19/04
Posted: 12/19/2004 1:48 pm
Tacoma Actors Guild Shuts Down
Tacoma Actors Guild, that city's only professional theatre company, is shutting down. "The producing artistic director of eight years tendered his resignation at a board meeting Monday. The rest of the 24 full-time administrative and production staff members will be laid off indefinitely after this weekend. The theater owes between $300,000 and $350,000 to creditors, including at least $30,000 in rent payments to the Broadway Center for the Performing Arts for the use of Theatre on the Square. TAG has lost money in its last four seasons."
Tacoma News Tribune
12/17/04
Posted: 12/19/2004 1:19 pm
Punishment By Funding (Or Lack Thereof)
Is government funding for theatre being cut in the UK because of unflattering content? "The possibility has to be considered that the government has engaged in punishment funding in a different area: theatre. Consider one obvious difference between museums and theatres. Except for Hogarth exhibitions, the former rarely editorialise politically, while almost every major theatre has staged at least one play ridiculing the Blair administration over Iraq."
The Guardian (UK
12/18/04
Posted: 12/19/2004 11:30 am
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Merle Haggard For Poet Laureate
Deciding on a new poet laureate for California is an exercise fraught with complications. "On one side are lawmakers and constituents who want to honor a local poet - a man who writes rhymes for greeting cards, say, or a woman with a couple of self-published volumes to her credit. On the other side are writers and other intellectuals, urging the governor to name a serious poet, someone whose work is critically acclaimed but whose name is not widely known among ordinary people." So who to picK/ Why not Merle Haggard...
Sacramento Bee
12/19/04
Posted: 12/19/2004 10:18 am
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The Downloading Accomodations
It's clear that downloading music and movies (and whatever else) isn't going to go away. And it's clear that making enemies of downloaders probably isn't a good strategy for producers looking to sell their work. So slowly but surely accomodations are being worked out to create new business models for the online world. BBC
12/19/04
Posted: 12/19/2004 11:24 am
Playing Around - Video Games Lap Movies
The video game industry is already bigger than the movie business. Now its lead is widening significantly. "These are extraordinary times for video game fans. The $10 billion video game industry, which generates more revenue than Hollywood, has never released so many highly anticipated blockbuster titles in a single season." San Francisco Chronicle
12/18/04
Posted: 12/19/2004 9:50 am
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Is Denver Getting Its Own Joyce Theatre?
Colorado Ballet is building a new home. But it's looking for much more than a place to stage what it already does. "The ballet plans to use this new theater for experimental, small-scale works that might be financially risky in larger, costlier venues. It hopes to expand its lineup from five productions in 2005-06 to as many seven in future seasons. At the same time, the ballet will make the facility available to other arts groups at minimal cost."
Denver Post
12/19/04
Posted: 12/19/2004 1:05 pm
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