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Monday, February 7




Ideas

Bubble Culture - Inside Your Own Personal Tech World As our electronics shrink, we more and more insulate ourselves from the outside world. "Each of us populates a personal tech-bubble of one. Solo-tech-travelers often are unaware that others occupy the same dimensions as them -- that's why they often bump into others, in their cars or on foot. If you don't jump out of the way, they'll jostle you with the outer edges of their bubble while text-messaging someone about something urgent -- like, 'wnt pzza 4 dnnr?' " Seattle Post-Intelligencer 02/07/05
Posted: 02/07/2005 7:43 am

The Great Big Music Debate Last week, composer James MacMillan and alternative rocker Alex Kapranos got into something of a public slapfight over the relatve merits of popular music and modern classical works. Unfortunately, what could have been a serious debate wound up being little more than the usual name-calling between artists on opposite sides of the populist divide. "At the end of the day, we’re left with no more than a difference in taste. And that matters, because these disputes feed into a very serious dispute about public funding for the arts." Sunday Herald (Glasgow) 02/06/05
Posted: 02/06/2005 10:55 am

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Visual Arts

Frozen Conflict - A (Messy) Story About Replacing The World Trade Center A new book by Philip Nobel chronicles the messy process of coming up with a design for something at the World Trade Center site. "A decade or two from now, New York City will have gotten what it wants and deserves - not a magnificent citadel but a patchwork of pragmatism, profitability and symbols. One day the World Trade Center site will bear the traces of its history - not just the epochal events, but also the pettier chronicle of craven compromises, showdowns and power plays." Newsday 02/06/05
Posted: 02/07/2005 7:29 am

Indian Art Market Soars "Over the past 18 months, prices for modern Indian art have been rocketing. In New York, auctions of modern Indian art which were making less than $700,000 four years ago are now making more than $2.5 million. Saffronart's last sale made $2.8 million." The Telegraph (UK) 02/07/05
Posted: 02/07/2005 7:14 am

Workers Vote To Strike UK Museums Workers at three UK museums have voted to go on strike. "Hundreds of staff are set to walk out on a one-day strike during the week beginning 14 February, to coincide with the school half-term holidays. London's Science Museum, the National Railway Museum in York and the National Museum of Photography Film and Television, Bradford, will all be hit. Staff have rejected a 2.5% pay offer, which unions say was below inflation and derisory." BBC 02/06/05
Posted: 02/07/2005 7:11 am

China Asks US For Art Import Restrictions The Chinese government has asked the US to restrict import of Chinese art predating 1912. "The request, made last September under the 1970 Unesco Convention, seeks assistance in protecting Chinese cultural heritage, which China says is increasingly subject to pillage and smuggling. It has elicited objections from both the US market and scholars, and faces an uphill battle to gain approval." The Art Newspaper 02/04/05
Posted: 02/06/2005 11:20 pm

Hirst's Shark Deteriorating Damien Hirst’s shark floating in a tank of formaldehyde was recently sold for $12 million. But "the shark has deteriorated noticeably to the naked eye since it was first unveiled at the Saatchi Gallery in 1992. The formaldehyde solution in which it is suspended is murky while the skin of the animal is showing signs of wear and tear." The Art Newspaper 02/04/05
Posted: 02/06/2005 11:17 pm

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Music

Hit Factory Closes - Victim Of Digital Recording) "The Hit Factory, which opened 37 years ago, has played host to some of the biggest stars in music, including Paul Simon, Madonna and David Bowie. However, the rise in digital recording has affected business at the studio, which is relocating to smaller premises in Miami." BBC 02/07/05
Posted: 02/07/2005 7:56 am

The Baltimore Symphony's DC Gambit The Baltimore Symphony establishes a second home in the backyard of Washington DC's National Symphony. "The orchestra is taking on additional costs to play at Strathmore. It is also establishing a second acoustical home, which risks compromising its sound, a characteristic shaped by the hall in which an ensemble performs night after night. And there is that fascinating subplot: will the center draw audiences away from the National Symphony?" The New York Times 02/07/05
Posted: 02/06/2005 11:57 pm

Melbourne's Opera Options Should Melbourne get a new state opera company? The government commissioned a study to find out. "The consultant's final report, handed to the Government shortly after Christmas, outlines five options. They range from increasing Opera Australia's state government funding and asking it to perform 10 to 11 operas at the Arts Centre (up from the current seven) to setting up a new state opera company that would also perform at the Arts Centre. It is estimated the latter would cost $5 million to $7 million a year. Neither of these options is expected to be taken up by the Government. The option emerging as the most favoured is to fund a new smaller-scale company whose primary focus would be to create innovative new work pitched at a youngish audience. It is believed this would cost the Government up to $3 million a year." The Australian 02/07/05
Posted: 02/06/2005 11:29 pm

Montreal - The Next Big Thing? "The American pop music scene has frequently depended on cities at the edges of the cultural map to provide a much-needed shot of originality. Seattle, Minneapolis, Austin, Tex., and Athens, Ga., have all served as temporary pivot points, churning out bands and defining the sound of the moment. Even Omaha had its 15 minutes not so long ago. The momentary consensus seems to come out of nowhere - as if someone blows a whistle only those in the know can hear, and suddenly record executives and journalists are crawling all over what had previously been an obscure locale. So which American city is the next stop on this fickle, itinerant history? It's a trick question for the time being, because the answer seems to be Montreal." The New York Times 02/06/05
Posted: 02/06/2005 11:08 pm

The New Christian Bands "Within the last several years, there have been a number of very popular bands - including P.O.D., Evanescence, Switchfoot, Sixpence None the Richer and Mercy Me - that got their start by signing with Christian record labels or by playing at Christian music festivals. These bands have succeeded in large part because, unlike Petra and the other successful Christian rock bands of the 80's and early 90's, they have avoided being too preachy and yet found a way to keep God between the lines." The New York Times 02/06/05
Posted: 02/06/2005 8:25 pm

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Arts Issues

Nakedness And The Collapse Of American Civilization Where is the trauma in anything having to do with the naked human form, asks Susan Paynter. "In a culture that glorifies violence, why are human penises, bums and breasts so threatening? Why did the foundations of American civilization quake when, for 1.5 seconds, Janet Jackson's partially nude breast popped out at last year's Super Bowl?" Seattle Post-Intelligencer 02/07/05
Posted: 02/07/2005 7:16 am

Heating Up The Copyright Wars The stakes in the copyright wars are escalating. "With the Supreme Court scheduled next month to hear a pivotal case pitting copyright holders (represented by MGM Studios) against the makers of file-sharing software (Grokster and StreamCast Networks), some participants are putting their message machines into high gear. But winning hearts and minds - of teenagers, consumers and lawmakers - has never been a simple matter." The New York Times 02/07/05
Posted: 02/07/2005 12:01 am

Locking Up Culture (And Why?) "It would be nice if everyone agreed that somebody who creates a speech, composes a piece of music or writes a book has the right not to be ripped off. But it's not that simple. Every work of art builds on what has gone before, using ideas and images that entered the public domain long ago. David Bollier argues that those who plunder it and lock up the loot with copyrights and trademarks are robbing humanity of its ability to create new works of art. What's worse, many corporations copyright things they obviously oughtn't, simply because they can get away with it. Who can afford to fight armies of well-paid corporate lawyers? Not the impoverished poet in a garret who borrows a small image from, say, a popular song and transforms it into a huge new one." Chicago Sun-Times 02/06/05
Posted: 02/06/2005 10:33 pm

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Theatre

Brooklyn Gets A New Theatre The $38 million building "will be the first permanent home for the Theater for a New Audience, a troupe known for its productions of Shakespeare and classical drama. The theater is the first linchpin of the new BAM Cultural District, a $650 million effort to convert vacant and underused properties in the area into space for arts organizations." The New York Times 02/04/05
Posted: 02/07/2005 7:35 am

Kevin Spacey Theatre, Act II Kevin Spacey's debut running London's Old Vic Theatre wasn't exactly a smash with the critics. This season, though, he's taking to the stage doing what he's best-known for: acting. The Observer (UK) 02/06/05
Posted: 02/06/2005 9:24 pm

Full Court Press - Chicago Stages Pick On Reporters The press is in for a rough time on Chicago stages these days. "Maybe newspapers had it coming. All those egos running around in fedoras the first half of the 20th Century. Then, more grimly toward the end of that century and in this one, all that unattractive insecurity and self-loathing and corporatespeak. All that nervous-nelly focus-grouping. All those scandals. The stereotypes of reporter-as-scum are legion." Chicago Tribune 02/06/05
Posted: 02/06/2005 8:14 pm

Beyond Politics - British Theatre Moves On Far from being risky, conscience has proved lucrative for impresarios. Last year's hit political plays were mostly built on verbatim evidence with a bit of spin and make-believe thrown in. This year, the formula has changed. Donald Rumsfeld look-alikes are out. The arts have stopped grumbling about the results of bad political decisions and moved towards driving the agenda. Still, two can play at that game. As artistic directors wrestle with the great social issues of the day, Tony Blair has, in a modest way, been dabbling in culture. The Observer (UK) 02/06/05
Posted: 02/06/2005 8:07 pm

Broadway Tools What's with all the mechanical special effects in Broadway theatres? "It's an odd irony. The performing arts, by their nature, are handmade and transient. But on Broadway, the temptation to reach for the power tools is almost overwhelming. Why, the logic too often goes here, hone your concept with fine-grit sandpaper when a chainsaw will do the job so much more efficiently? There may be some ragged edges here and there, but everyone will get the general idea, and, these days, who wants more than a rough outline?" St. Paul Pioneer-Press 02/06/05
Posted: 02/06/2005 7:57 pm

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Publishing

Rich Parents = Smarter Kids A new study in the UK says that the wealthier a child's parents are, the more advanced a reader that child will be. "A government-funded study reveals that the gap occurs irrespective of natural ability, parents' education or how often mothers and fathers read to their child." The Observer (UK) 02/06/05
Posted: 02/07/2005 8:05 am

Milan Bans Leonardo-Inspired Billboard Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code was based on Leonardo's Last Supper fresco. Now "authorities in Milan have banned a billboard featuring an all-female version of the 15th Century fresco, which the fashion house itself says was inspired by the hotly debated book. The campaign has run without controversy in both Paris and New York. But its use of religious symbols could offend Milan, the town hall ruled." BBC 02/06/05
Posted: 02/06/2005 11:45 pm

The Words Of Reality "For literary theoreticians, it is axiomatic that language is unequal to the task of encompassing reality. Its failure is inevitable, a given." But this is patently not true, writes Craig Raine. Just look at Kipling... The Guardian (UK) 02/05/05
Posted: 02/06/2005 11:35 pm

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Media

From Wardrobe Malfunction To An Old Guy Singing Last year, Janet Jackson's wardrobe "malfunction" at the Superbowl sparked months of "morality" debates and crackdowns. "This year an old guy sang at halftime and a cheap dot-com ad -- now there's a Super Bowl chestnut -- tried to send up the whole affair and failed. Does this mean we're a more civilized, less sex-obsessed, fully cultured country? Nah, it was still mostly beer, boobs, cars and head-crunching football all day long." San Francisco Chronicle 02/07/05
Posted: 02/07/2005 9:20 am

Thou Shalt Not Reveal The Surprise Ending Critics are torn when it comes to writing about the surprise ending of Million Dollar Baby. "Plot twists are sacred in entertainment culture, as lovingly protected as slumbering infants. And people who give away surprise endings are shunned and ostracized, treated as if they've raffled off nuclear secrets to terrorists. Apparently, the worst sin a critic can commit -- judging from the zealous care with which many critics announce that they are tiptoeing delicately around certain plot points or earnestly warn that they're about to spill the beans -- is to mistakenly give away a surprise ending." Chicago Tribune 02/06/05
Posted: 02/06/2005 9:09 pm

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Dance

Study: Fewer Kids Taking Up Ballet In UK "New research from the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) has found fewer children over the age of 10 are attending ballet classes and taking exams in the discipline. The organisation blames the growing popularity of computer games and other changes in lifestyle. And there are fears that if the trend is not reversed, there could be fewer British ballet stars in the future." BBC 02/04/05
Posted: 02/07/2005 7:59 am

Do You Have To Be Beautiful To Be A Dance Star? "Woman is the goddess, the poetess, the muse," Balanchine once said. "That is why I have a company of beautiful girl dancers." Would he have been happy, in that regard, with the current company? There are some very attractive women (and men, but Balanchine cared less about them) in today's City Ballet. Yes, when he came to the United States he sought to make a company of all-American dancers, fresh-faced and perky. But some of the company's biggest female stars now are spectacular dancers without being spectacular beauties. Is it merely sexist to lament that the current roster is not "a company of beautiful girl dancers?" The New York Times 02/06/05
Posted: 02/07/2005 7:23 am

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