A Limit To "Free" Speech? The UK has had a number of recent incidents that challenge the idea of free speech. "The crux of the matter is that one person's attempt to shock, outrage and offend is another's legitimate form of creative expression. It's a murky area of discussion, one that is entirely subjective. But what about art at the very margins of popular acceptance; art that appears to almost everyone to serve no other purpose than to be offensive?" BBC 12/21/04
Posted: 12/21/2004 7:47 am
Danger, Warning! (The Study Says) Two studies indicate how we pick up danger signals from others. "One, in Science, found seeing the whites of the eyes triggered a danger message in the brain. A second, in Neuron, showed that, even if an image of a scared face is shown too briefly to be consciously recognised, the brain registers it." BBC 12/19/04
Posted: 12/20/2004 8:00 pm
Click here for more Ideas stories...
Guggenheim Cancels Major Cezanne Show The Guggenheim has canceled a major Cezanne show, due to open in Februarybecause it says it was unable to secure loans for some of the work. The show, Cézanne: The Dawn of Modern Art, explores the painter’s impact on artists like Matisse, Picasso and Braque. It is currently on tour in Europe. Crain's New York Business 12/21/04
Posted: 12/21/2004 7:34 am
Will China Rule The (Art) World? Chinese art has been a hot sell this year, with millions racked up at recent auctions. "But does all this mean that the new rich of mainland China are about to take the international art market by storm and that Sotheby's and Christie's will soon be holding sales in Beijing and Shanghai? The reality, as with most things in this vast, complex nation, is much more complicated.." The Telegraph (UK) 12/21/04
Posted: 12/20/2004 11:20 pm
Germany Demands Russian Rubens "Germany renewed its demand last night for the return from Moscow of a priceless Rubens oil painting that mysteriously vanished during the second world war. The Russian businessman who is refusing to give it back was threatened with legal action." The Guardian (UK) 12/21/04
Posted: 12/20/2004 11:05 pm
The New Gateshead Norman Foster's latest project opens. "The Sage Gateshead, a £70m performing arts centre on the banks of the Tyne, opened yesterday. Its three music venues are shrouded by a vast and billowing steel-and-glass roof that resembles either a bank of low-lying cumulus clouds hugging the river, or the gun-blisters of a second world war RAF bomber." The Guardian (UK) 12/18/04
Posted: 12/20/2004 8:40 pm
- Norman Foster's Garden (A Gallery) Norman Foster has had a great couple of years. Through a series of high profile public buildings, he has altered Britain'slandscape. Here's a gallery... The Guardian (UK) 12/18/04
Posted: 12/20/2004 8:27 pm
Berlin's Holocaust Memorial Close To Opening Peter Eisenman's Holocaust Memorial in Berlin is nearing completion. "Germany's largest memorial to the Holocaust into position, certainly had his problems. But despite everything, his design, spreading over nearly five acres of central Berlin, promises to be one of Europe's most extraordinary pieces of architecture. A spectacle that defies the spectacular." The Observer (UK) 12/19/04
Posted: 12/20/2004 6:43 pm
Bush Portrait Brings Notoriety To Artist Artist Chris Savido is pondering his new fame. Since his portrait of George W. Bush composed of monkeys offended a Bush supporter who shut down the New York show, the artist has become famous. "Bush Monkeys," a portrait of the president made up of dozens of primates swimming in a marsh, enraged the manager of a upscale market with gallery space in lower Manhattan, pushing him to shut down the entire 60-piece show last weekend. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 12/20/04
Posted: 12/20/2004 3:24 pm
Heritage Minister: Canadian Museums Need Help Canada's Heritiage Minister says Canadian museums are in need of major help. "Hundreds of buildings have not been renovated in 30 years. Their roofs are starting to leak and there are cracks in the foundations. Federal funding levels have been stalled since 1972. Ottawa offers about $200 million a year in direct funding for a handful of major sites in the capital region, compared to $9 million for 2,500 sites in the rest of the country." CNews 12/20/04
Posted: 12/20/2004 3:08 pm
Getty Land Sale Raises Questions "In 2002, the J. Paul Getty Trust sold Eli Broad a Brentwood property for $2 million. Two years earlier, an appraisal had said it was worth $2.7 million. Getty Chief Executive Barry Munitz, a close friend and professional associate of Broad, personally directed the early stages of the deal, Getty documents show. Experts say the deal raises legal and ethical questions." Los Angeles Times 12/20/04
Posted: 12/20/2004 2:48 pm
Barnes' Court Ordeal Affects School's Enrollment All the fuss about whether or not the Barnes Collection would be allowed to move to Philadelphia has affected the Barnes' school enrollment. If the number of applicants doesn't increase, three of the four new classes may have to be cancelled... Philadelphia Daily News 12/20/04
Posted: 12/20/2004 2:12 pm
Click here for more Visual Arts stories...
For Fun And Success - Bypassing The Record Labels In a growing trend, artists are bypassing established recording labels and selling their music in non-traditional outlets. "Bypassing the record labels, James Taylor has sold 1 million copies of his new holiday album by offering it next to the greeting cards at Hallmark Gold Crown Stores." Rocky Mountain News 12/21/04
Posted: 12/21/2004 8:31 am
Who Should Run SF Opera? San Francisco Opera is getting close to naming a successor to general director Pamela Rosenberg. Who might that person be? "Ideally, the search committee will recognize the tremendous strides the company has taken under Rosenberg's leadership and select a general director who won't roll back those advances. The task, instead, is to retain the artistic and theatrical excitement of the curtailed Rosenberg era while expanding its appeal to a wider and more varied audience base." San Francisco Chronicle 12/21/04
Posted: 12/21/2004 8:28 am
The Death Of Good Christmas Music? What's happened to Christmas music? "The proliferation of novelty tunes such as Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer suggest that Christmas as a public event has become so thoroughly commercial as to defy attempts to treat it non-ironically. Those who try end up producing songs that sound like advertising jingles." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 12/21/04
Posted: 12/21/2004 8:27 am
Connections - What New Music Needs To Live What does new music need to win the hearts of listeners? "Decades ago, composer Pierre Boulez predicted that audiences would subscribe to music-generating computers much the way they now do to their favorite orchestra. Guess why that hasn't happened: no warm bodies. Instead, I hear current composers translating the shape and timbre of electronic sound to, say, the live acoustic string quartet." Philadelphia Inquirer 12/19/04
Posted: 12/20/2004 5:31 pm
Shankar: Indian Classical Music In Peril Sitar master Ravi Shankar says he's concerned for the future of Indian classical music. India's musicians should not expect support from the government, he says, but corporate and indivisual support is essential. “After some great performers in the field of Indian classical music we have had promising talents, however, the programmes which new talents get to perform are not good.” Navhind Times 12/20/04
Posted: 12/20/2004 2:07 pm
Click here for more Music stories...
Cleveland's Culture Crisis Cleveland arts groups have experienced a significant downturn in business, selling fewer tickets. "Some blame temporary causes, like the continuing bad economy. Other short-term explanations include lingering worries about terrorism and the war in Iraq, and distraction during and disappointment (in some quarters) with the presidential election. Others suggest paradigm shifts to which the performing arts may be hard-pressed to adapt." The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) 12/21/04
Posted: 12/21/2004 8:25 am
Irish Arts Council Gets Funding Boost The Irish Arts Council is getting a 16 percent increase in funding. "Some €61 million in funding has been allocated to the body for 2005. The council said the 16 per cent increase will be passed on directly to artists and arts organisations. The largest increases were for the film and traditional arts sectors, which received increases of 22 per cent and 18 per cent respectively." Eircom.net 12/20/04
Posted: 12/20/2004 3:03 pm
Click here for more Arts Issues stories...
Ode To Tebaldi Soprano Renata Tebaldi (who died last weekend) was a major influence on opera. "Tebaldi's use of tone as a primary expressive device dictated much of what opera singing is about today. While Callas' voice was the messenger of her character (often with a dark message, indeed), Tebaldi's rich, sumptuous soprano was an end in itself. Kiri Te Kanawa and Kathleen Battle are her descendants, as are, to a lesser extent, Jessye Norman and Renée Fleming." Philadelphia Inquirer 12/21/04
Posted: 12/21/2004 8:30 am
In Praise Of Renata Tebaldi "Cooler heads could fault her for what often seemed incomplete technique, some strident full-voiced top notes when the vocal line took her above high B-flat, and occasional lapses in pitch. But most opera buffs and critics found it impossible to have a cool head when listening to Renata Tebaldi." The New York Times 12/20/04
Posted: 12/20/2004 2:22 pm
Tim Page Remembers Renata Tebaldi "Tebaldi's voice -- impossibly smooth, florid and welling with poignancy -- touched people to their souls. In the late 1950s, there were more than 100 Renata Tebaldi Music Clubs throughout Europe and America, and she retained a following long after her best years were behind her." Washington Post 12/20/04
Posted: 12/20/2004 2:03 pm
Click here for more People stories...
Wicked Breaks The Profit Barrier After 14 months, the Broadway show Wicked has earned back its $14 million capitalization and is now officially profitable. "Wicked was greatly helped by factors including an effective, broadbased marketing campaign, a bigger theater and a pair of splashy performances by its two original female leads." The New York Times 12/21/04
Posted: 12/20/2004 11:34 pm
Birmingham Theatre Cancels Play After Violence Threats A Birmingham theatre company canceled the remaining performances of a play depicting rape and murder in a Sikh temple after violent protests were threatened. "This is thought to be the first time a play in Britain has been halted during its run by violent religious protests and raises the question of freedom of speech." The Telegraph (UK) 12/21/04
Posted: 12/20/2004 11:23 pm
- Playwright Goes Into Hiding After Threats Playwright Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti went into hiding after threats of violence over her play caused a UK theatre to cancel. She said she had "fled her home and warned "mob rule" was endangering freedom of expression.Protesters say that her play Behzti - Dishonour - demeans Sikhism by showing rape and murder within a gurdwara, or temple. But the row took a new twist as a second Birmingham theatre company offered to stage the play, just hours after officials at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre scrapped it over public safety fears." The Guardian (UK) 12/21/04
Posted: 12/20/2004 10:59 pm
New Haven Schubert Needs A Reinvent New Haven's Schubert Theatre has a storied past as a Broadway out-of-town tryout venue. But "the insistence of the Shubert board to put most of its eggs in the Broadway basket in the '90s in either pre-Broadway or post-Broadway shows put it in difficult financial straits for what was viewed as the Fenway Park of theaters: charming, but with a limited box office." Now the theatre has fallen on hard times, needing a plan for how to reinvent itself. Hartford Courant 12/19/04
Posted: 12/20/2004 6:11 pm
Click here for more Theatre stories...
Publisher And Bookseller Get Into Spat Barnes & Noble's CEO has reacted angrily to a suggestion by publisher Random House that it might begin selling its books directly to readers online. "The announcement of the new plans comes as the book business is suffering through a second consecutive year of almost-flat sales. The average age of book consumers continues to climb, and except for children's and religious books, few areas of the business seem to be picking up new readers." The New York Times 12/21/04
Posted: 12/21/2004 8:40 am
New Harry Potter Due July 16 JK Rowling has completed the next installment of the adventures of Harry Potter. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will hit stores July 16 and be published simultaneously in the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. BBC 12/21/04
Posted: 12/21/2004 8:29 am
Well-Regarded Wellesley Review To Shut "After 21 years and more than 200 issues, the highly regarded Women's Review of Books, published at Wellesley College, will suspend publication after the December issue. Editor in chief Amy Hoffman, who took over the review in 2003, cited falling subscriptions and advertising, as well as increasing costs, for the demise of the literary monthly." Boston Globe 12/21/04
Posted: 12/21/2004 8:26 am
In The Tradition Of Saddam, We Give You Subcomandante Marcos, Novelist Mexican insurgent Subcomandante Marcos is collaborating on a novel - which is being serialized in a leading newspaper. Writing a whodunit may sound odd thing to do when you are running an insurgency, but Marcos has never fitted the traditional Latin American guerrilla mould." The Guardian (UK) 12/21/04
Posted: 12/20/2004 11:14 pm
Click here for more Publishing stories...
Digital Dreams - UK Promotes Theatres' Digital Conversion The UK Film Council wants to help promote digital conversion in movie theatres. "The program will disburse an estimated $25 million to install approximately 250 digital projectors in theaters throughout the United Kingdom. (By comparison, there are currently about 120 digital projectors in U.S. movie houses.)" Wired 12/19/04
Posted: 12/20/2004 8:19 pm
Land Before Time - The Prequel Sequels have a bad rep in Hollywood, where they're often little more than cheap rip-offs of a hit franchise. And then there are prequels - sequels that purport to tell the story before the original movie. "I think Hollywood is always looking for a new device to avoid original thought, and for a long time that was the sequel. But then I think the sequel got kind of strip-mined and depleted, so now we're into the prequel. So it's just another way of avoiding ever thinking of anything new, which is the ultimate goal of the Hollywood hit machine."
CBC 12/20/04
Posted: 12/20/2004 2:53 pm
Hollywood's Blockbuster Year (But Smaller Audiences) Hollywood is making more money than ever, but fewer people are going to the movies. "With nearly two weeks to go before the end of 2004, domestic box-office receipts appeared likely to top last year's total of $9.27 billion, nearing $9.4 billion. But an increase can be attributed to a rise in ticket prices, up 3.85 percent to an average of $6.25, while attendance fell by 2.25 percent this year after dropping 3.8 percent in 2003." The New York Times 12/20/04
Posted: 12/20/2004 2:24 pm
Click here for more Media stories...
