Sahara's Lush Pre-Desert Life Recorded In Rock Art - Now It's Endangered "Before the last Ice Age, the Sahara was even larger and more inhospitable than it is today. Then, some 10,000 years ago, a shift in climate brought rainfall. In the ensuing years of plenty, a pastoral way of life thrived. The desert came back with a vengeance about 3,000 years ago and, as the remaining surface water supplies dwindled, the inhabitants were forced to dig for it below the ground." The changes were recorded in rock art, but that art is in dancer of being destroyed by oil exploration in Libya... The Guardian (UK) 02/10/05
Posted: 02/13/2005 4:46 pm
Hey, Remember The '80s? Um, Yeah. They Sucked. Right on schedule, the 1980s are huge again, the way every decade seems to be once we're 20 years removed from it. But even as the national gurus of the zeitgeist hype the greatness of overwrought bands like The Cure; cheesy, predictable sitcoms "with a twist" (see Diff'rent Strokes); and screeching hair bands with their guitar pedals set permanently on stun, a remarkable reaction has been establishing itself in the wider population: near-complete indifference. In fact, it isn't going too far to suggest that consumers have realized that all the marketing in the world can't make the 1980s seems like a culturally important decade, when it was so clearly an era of materialistic greed and shallow, self-serving ear candy. The New York Times 02/13/05
Posted: 02/13/2005 11:58 am
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Calatrava Wina AIA Gold Medal Architect Santiago Calatrava, 53, wins the American Institute of Architects' highest honor, the Gold Medal. "Even at his age, Calatrava still deserves to be called a phenom. After all, at 53 most architects with strong personal visions are just beginning to make their presence felt. But Calatrava has accomplished so much in so short a period of time it is hard to comprehend. He has designed opera houses, museums, stadiums, civic centers, train stations, airports and other types of buildings throughout Europe and in the United States. And bridges. With Calatrava, you cannot forget bridges." Washington Post 02/14/05
Posted: 02/14/2005 7:47 am
Gopnik: Christo Gates "Unusually Slight" Christo and Jeanne-Claude's Central Park Gates "are charming bits of civic ornament," writes Blake Gopnik. "They're drawing New Yorkers out in crowds to stroll among and under them, and should continue to do so for the two weeks that they're up. But as a work of outdoor art, in competition with the best of Bernini or even Henry Moore -- and especially compared with some of the couple's earlier projects -- they're unusually slight. It's amazing how small the artistic return can be on a piece that fills 850 acres in the middle of one of the world's great cities and looks set to cost $21 million before it's done." Washington Post 02/13/05
Posted: 02/14/2005 7:40 am
Is Tampa Museum Up To A New Building? The Tampa Museum wants to build a signature $54 million building downtown to house its collections. But is the museum director described as "nice" up to the job of getting it done? St. Petersburg Times 02/14/05
Posted: 02/14/2005 6:54 am
A Wednesday Museum Strike Staff at three leading UK museums are planning to strike Wednesday. "Curators and other workers at the Science Museum in London will take part in the protest over a below-inflation wage offer and cost-cutting measures. The National Railway Museum in York and the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television in Bradford will also be hit by the action." BBC 02/14/05
Posted: 02/14/2005 6:47 am
Plundering Iraq "Tens of thousands of objects have just gone completely missing From Ira in the past two years. It's a cultural disaster of massive proportions. A senior counterterrorism official said the trade in illicit antiquities was increasingly run by organized rings of professional thieves, who use poor Iraqis in rural areas as diggers. Objects are funneled out of the country in concealed shipments along smuggling routes that have been plied for centuries, in a system in which artifacts are sold for cash or sometimes for weapons that wind up in the hands of insurgents in Iraq. Some archaeological experts estimate that the illegal antiquities trade may pump tens of millions of dollars into the underground economy in Iraq." The New York Times 02/14/05
Posted: 02/13/2005 11:17 pm
Business: Cheering For Christo New York businesses are cheering Christo and Jeanne Claude's The Gates. "City officials said they expected tens of thousands of people to show up for the exhibition, which is to be up for only 16 days, and whose $20 million cost is being borne exclusively by the artists. By the time the 7,500 gates are taken down in two weeks, the city expects to generate $80 million in business, with $2.5 million in city taxes alone, according to the city's Economic Development Corporation." The New York Times 02/14/05
Posted: 02/13/2005 10:54 pm
Sozanski On Christo: Ribbon Of Color? I Don't See It Ed Sozanski was in New York's Central Park as Christo and Jeanne Claude's banners were unfurled. "Despite the enormous number of gates, their spacing is such that they never coalesce into a memorable visual force. One perceives hundreds of individual elements instead of an ensemble. Even from a distance - looking across the spacious lawn of the Sheep Meadow, for instance - the effect is fragmented, even slightly chaotic. Only when one is sighting down a curve and the panels elide one into another does The Gates achieve coherence, but those impressions last only a few seconds." Philadelphia Inquirer 02/13/05
Posted: 02/13/2005 5:35 pm
Workers Destroy Section Of China's Great Wall Construction workers destroyed a large section of the Great Wall of China recently. "Almost 100m of the wall in northern Ningxia autonomous region was levelled in two overnight raids by construction workers who used the material to pave a road. The destroyed area near Zhongwei city was constructed during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in an region known as "the Great Wall Museum" because of the profusion of rammed earth sections of the wall." News.com.au 02/12/05
Posted: 02/13/2005 4:15 pm
UK Museums Trapped In Vicious Cycle UK museums are facing a funding crisis with no end in sight. "The reality is that a decade of expansion has left many British museums struggling to pay for running all those shiny new buildings they have only just opened. At the same time, the abolition of admission charges two years ago raised expectations about visitor numbers. The British Museum and the National Gallery both get close to five million a year; the Science Museum has more than two million. Even if these vast numbers remain static, they will be seen as a sign of failure... But to keep the audience coming back each year requires continuous investment." The Guardian (UK) 02/12/05
Posted: 02/13/2005 12:32 pm
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South Florida's New Music Glut Since the collapse of the Florida Philharmonic, an interesting thing has happened in South Florida: a proliferation of small music groups. New ensembles are forming everywhere. "But with the upturn comes irony: There's now a player shortage. It's common for a musician to perform in several groups, creating a scheduling headache for the organizations. Conductors complain that they aren't sure who'll be playing, say, second violin from concert to concert." Palm Beach Post 02/13/05
Posted: 02/14/2005 8:40 am
Classical Music As Bug Spray? Why are some cities using classical music to ward off hoodlums? "There's something very poignant about the idea of classical music as bug spray, as pest control. This is one of those many stories about what happens to classical music after it's 'classical.' Even as public understanding of the style has hit an all-time low, the music retains some residual prestige, whether it's played to children in the womb or hoodlums in the park. They're choosing it because the music is still in some ways exalted. It's now 'magical': We'll spray it around like some kind of incense." Los Angeles Times 02/14/05
Posted: 02/14/2005 7:31 am
Welsh National Opera Ups The Stakes With New Home The Welsh National Opera is moving into a big new home - the Welsh Millennium Center. Hopes are high the move will help restore the company's fortunes. WNO has "endured a number of setbacks in recent seasons: several flops, the unpopular organisational overhaul and the "sudden departure" last summer of the inexperienced young music director Tugan Sokhiev among them. Is the long-serving general director Anthony Freud thinking of moving on? Can the magnificent facilities of the WMC restore the company's fortunes?" The Telegraph (UK) 02/14/05
Posted: 02/13/2005 10:21 pm
The Classical Grammys The New York Philharmonic's recording of John Adams' On the Transmigration of Souls won Classical Album of the Year, Best Orchestral Performance, and Best Classical Contemporary Composition at the 47th Grammy Awards... PlaybillArts 02/13/05
Posted: 02/13/2005 9:58 pm
The Jazz Grammys Pianist McCoy Tyner, vocalist Nancy Wilson, and pianist Herbie Hancock were among the jazz musicians winning Grammy Awards... PlaybillArts 02/13/05
Posted: 02/13/2005 9:55 pm
The Orchestra Ritual "From dress to choreographed movements and the courtly interplay between conductor and musicians, the classical music stage is rich in etiquette and sometimes hijinks that are not always obvious to the audience. Chronicling this tradition goes back to Hector Berlioz and his classic "Evenings With an Orchestra," a collection of essays dissecting the world of 19th-century orchestras and musical culture." The New York Times 02/13/05
Posted: 02/13/2005 9:35 pm
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Georgia's Cultural Rebirth "Georgian artists who headed west before and during the civil strife of the early 90s have begun to reconnect with their homeland, bringing know-how, money, contacts and leadership. Georgian troupes are starting to travel abroad again. Across the entire spectrum of the performing arts, Georgians are getting to grips with the freedoms and responsibilities that a fragile democracy confers. A new culture of autonomy and self-help is being implanted - but no one expects it to flower overnight." Financial Times 02/11/05
Posted: 02/13/2005 10:05 pm
Scottish Arts Council Chief: Football Is Art Too "Foortball should be regarded as an equal art form to opera and ballet, according to the newly appointed chairman of the Scottish Arts Council. In his first statement since taking the helm of the SAC, Dr Richard Holloway, 71, criticised the "snobbish" associations that surround the Scottish art scene and insisted sports such as football and shinty deserve recognition by the nation's cultural community." Glasgow Herald 02/14/05
Posted: 02/13/2005 9:27 pm
Is Philly Ready For A Permanent Arts Fund? While some American cities have created dedicated arts funds to insure a steady flow of capital to cash-starved cultural groups, Philadelphia's arts scene has remained largely pay-as-you-go. Now, the mayor is making it clear that he supports the idea of a $50-$100 million fund dedicated to the arts, and the business and political communities may be ready to back the plan. Philadelphia Inquirer 02/13/05
Posted: 02/13/2005 11:08 am
NYC Comedians To Get A Hard-Fought Raise Cable TV has made stand-up comedy into something of a glamorous profession in recent years. But for those struggling comics without development deals and HBO specials, stand-up is a tough way to make a living, with many New York clubs paying only $20 to $75 a set. So earlier this winter, the Big Apple's comedians banded together to demand better pay from club owners, and to threaten retaliation if their demands weren't met. And the funny thing is, they actually won. Washington Post 02/12/05
Posted: 02/13/2005 10:33 am
The Museum Of 20th Century Kitchenware? Toronto is planning a major new museum for its Harbourfront district to celebrate the city's cultural history. "Its core collection will be the more than 100,000 items ranging from 18th-century military uniforms to 20th-century industrial moulds, kitchenware and advertising signs amassed by the City of Toronto and currently stored in an unmarked building near the CNE. For the museum to open by its target date of 2010, council has to budget about $200,000 over two years for the formation of a governing board, determination of a site, and the planning of a Humanitas festival showcasing the creative energy of the city in 2006 that will move the consultant's plan forward." Toronto Star 02/12/05
Posted: 02/13/2005 10:20 am
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Iran Guard Reaffirms Rushdie Death Threat Sixteen years after Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini called on Muslims to kill writer Salman Rushdie, Iran's Revolutionary Guard reaffirmed the death call. "The day will come when they will punish the apostate Rushdie for his scandalous acts and insults against the Koran and the Prophet. The imam's historic fatwa, issued in the days when the infidel leaders who champion liberal democracy and Zionism devoted all their energies to fighting Islam, is testament to Muslim greatness and the revolutionary dynamism of Koranic and Islamic thought." Yahoo! (AFP) 02/14/05
Posted: 02/14/2005 7:07 am
Defying Category: Meredith Monk "At age 62, Meredith Monk has 40 years of category-defying works that combine film, choreography, and voice-based tapestries that traffic in life-defining experiences. Her simplicity of musical means suggests, in the words of one critic, folk music for a civilization that hasn't been invented yet. (Her detractors compare her music to high-toned commercials for Meow Mix.)" Philadelphia Daily News 02/13/05
Posted: 02/13/2005 9:52 pm
Arthur Miller's Legacy Arthur Miller had such an influence on the world that it doesn't matter whether or not you've seen his plays. "That's the thing about great works of art: We can't imagine a time before they existed, before certain phrases and ideas were part of the very air we breathed. And thus even if you've never seen "Death of a Salesman" or haven't read "The Crucible" since high school -- you're still influenced by Arthur Miller, who died Thursday at age 89. The world is so suffused with the wisdom of those plays, with their indispensability, that we can't envision somebody actually sitting down and writing them, line by line, and cursing and wadding up sheets of paper and trying again." Chicago Tribune 02/13/05
Posted: 02/13/2005 9:39 pm
Doonesbury Derailed By Ski Instructor Garry Trudeau, creator of the popular and controversial Doonesbury comic, suffered a broken drawing arm this past week when he was tackled by a ski instructor to prevent him from skiing into a tree. Trudeau was in Aspen to accept the Freedom of Speech award at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival. He could be unable to draw the strip for six to eight weeks. Denver Post 02/12/05
Posted: 02/13/2005 4:30 pm
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Broadway Goes Jukebox Mining Broadway shows made up of pop songs seem to be getting more popular. "The rise of the jukebox musical comes at a time when Broadway producers seem increasingly unable to consistently strike gold with either overtly campy new work ("Taboo," "Bombay Dreams"), high-minded, chamber-opera fare ("Caroline, or Change") or movie-inspired shows ("Never Gonna Dance," "Footloose"). Add to that the near-complete inability of contemporary Broadway songs to crack the Top 40 list, and the appeal of the jukebox musical becomes even more apparent: here, it seems, is a prepackaged score guaranteed to be hummable and requiring no expensive stars." The New York Times 02/14/05
Posted: 02/13/2005 10:50 pm
Can A Playwright Save Musical Theatre? "David Lindsay-Abaire is a much-admired young playwright whose credentials include two years at the Juilliard Playwrights Program and an early stint staging absurdist dramas in the East Village and SoHo. His big career break came five years ago when Ben Brantley, the chief theater critic for The New York Times, raved over the Manhattan Theater Club production of his quirky dark comedy 'Fuddy Meers." Now, Lindsay-Abaire has improbably emerged as Broadway's best hope of reviving the musical with his acerbic wit, willingness to push an audience's buttons, and aversion to predictable form. New York Times Magazine 02/13/05
Posted: 02/13/2005 12:12 pm
Courting The Obsessives "The commercial theater increasingly relies on repeat visitors. Surveys conducted by the producers of 'Les Misérables,' 'Miss Saigon' and 'Phantom of the Opera' suggest that 40 percent of the audiences for those long-running musicals had seen the show before. For most, that probably meant returning one or two times, to take a friend or to see a new performer in a familiar role. But among repeat customers there is a repeat elite - 'Rentheads' at 'Rent,' 'Q-Tips' at 'Avenue Q'- who demonstrate an extraordinary level of commitment to their favored entertainments." The New York Times 02/13/05
Posted: 02/13/2005 11:32 am
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Where Is The Canadian Literary Sex? Where is the sex in Canadian literature? Even when there is sex, it "is rarely a pleasurable event. Instead, it is often used as a metaphor for politics, identity, globalization, consumerism – almost everything but sex itself." CBC 02/14/05
Posted: 02/14/2005 6:59 am
The Most Romantic Novel Ever? It's Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, published in 1813, which "beat Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre in a survey of members of the 700-strong Romantic Novelists' Association. Gone With the Wind, Wuthering Heights and Rebecca were also in the top five." BBC 02/13/05
Posted: 02/13/2005 4:37 pm
How About A Little Politics With Your Candy? (The Role Of Art) Steve Almond writes a book about candy and throws in a few political opinions for good measure. Then he gets trashed by readers. "What really bummed me out about the Amazon haters wasn't that they disagreed with my politics, but that they immediately summoned such genuine outrage at me for deigning to express a political opinion at all." MobyLives 02/13/05
Posted: 02/13/2005 4:26 pm
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Are Canadian Content Laws "Orwellian" In Canada TV programs getting funding and air time must pass Canadian content rules that promote homegrown talent. But critics charge that the "process for determining whether projects are distinctively Canadian is "Orwellian," and are incensed by what they call the subjective assessment of what Canadian audiences will watch. For example, a proposed film on Modigliani by acclaimed filmmaker Harry Rasky was rejected by the CTF on the grounds that it was insufficiently contextualized for Canadians." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 02/14/05
Posted: 02/14/2005 8:45 am
Is PBS In Decline? Critics are accusing PBS of becoming more politically driven and timid about what it programs. "We're standing on the edge of a chasm. We are leaving what we have been and staring at a very different digital future. No one knows what that future is. We are trying to put the pieces of a strategy together that we believe will lead to the rebirth of public television in the U.S." Los Angeles Times 02/14/05
Posted: 02/14/2005 7:26 am
Is It Time To Free Uncle Remus? Disney movies are an American mainstay, and since the advent of VCRs, collectors and fans have snapped up countless copies of Disney classics like Cinderella and Snow White. But there is one Disney film that has never made it to video: Song of the South, the lighthearted but supremely controversial story of Uncle Remus, Brer Rabbit, and life in America's Deep South in the slave days of the 19th century. There's very little question that the movie's tone, which seems to portray slave life as an easygoing partnership between blacks and whites, is inaccurate at best and intentionally racist at worst. But still, there's an argument to be made that the movie deserves to be made available with all its warts. Chicago Tribune 02/13/05
Posted: 02/13/2005 12:22 pm
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Alvin Ailey's Children One of the measures of greatness is how much an artist influences those who come after him. By that measure Alvin Ailey has ensured his place in dance history: he's "spawned at least five major companies built in the Ailey image -- Philadanco, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble in Denver, Lula Washington Dance Theatre in Los Angeles and Dayton Contemporary Dance Company -- and many small groups, inspired by Ailey's success." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 02/13/05
Posted: 02/13/2005 10:32 pm
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