Is There A Better Case To Be Made For The Arts?: Halfway There What do Bill Ivey, Midori, Robert L. Lynch, Glenn Lowry, Ben Cameron, Andrew Taylor, Joli Jensen, Jim Kelly, Adrian Ellis, Phil Kennicott and Russell Willis Taylor have in common? They're taking part in a week-long blog debate on ArtsJournal about the value of the arts: Anyone making a case for the arts to a public decision maker who ignores the full spectrum arguments necessary to reach the full spectrum of decision makers in todays environment of miniscule vote margins will lose. And the private sector decision makers are no less tough. There is no evidence that social good and economic arguments have begun to wear thin. To research this all anyone needs to do is look at the congressional record, state legislature and local city council and county commission voting records. It will be an eye opener." A Better Case For The Arts (AJBlogs) 03/08/05
Posted: 03/09/2005 9:35 pm
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Foster's To Sell Corporate Art Collection For years, the giant beverage company Foster's has collected art. But the company has decided to sell off its collection. "Yesterday, the firm announced that Sotheby's would auction the about 70 pictures in Melbourne on May 23. The sale is being promoted as the biggest corporate art sell-off in Australian history, with estimates of the likely proceeds ranging from $9 million to more than $13 million." The Age (Melbourne) 03/10/05
Posted: 03/09/2005 7:35 pm
Sellout: The Modern Museum, College James B. Twitchell argues that church, college, and museum have lately become "just one more thing that you shop for, one more thing you consume, one more story you tell and are told." No longer serving as "gatekeepers" to the worlds of spirituality, art, and higher learning, these institutions, Twitchell says, have collectively become mere "ticket- takers" peddling an experience of uplift and status-conferring affiliation, while individually laboring to project a distinctive brand "fiction." Seattle Weekly 03/09/05
Posted: 03/09/2005 6:41 pm
Court To Hear Barnes Appeal A Pennsylvania court will hear an appeal of a judge's decision to allow the Barnes Collection to move to Philadelphia. "The court ruled yesterday that an appeal of December's Montgomery County Orphans' Court ruling, which allowed the Barnes Foundation to move its gallery and change several other key governing rules, can proceed. In yesterday's decision, the Superior Court ruled against a request by the Barnes Foundation to quash the appeal by a Barnes Foundation student." Philadelphia Inquirer 03/09/05
Posted: 03/09/2005 4:20 pm
Art Fairs - The Game Of Getting In Early With the art market cranking at full speed, the competition to buy desirable work is fierce. And getting into art fairs early to see what's on offer has become a game. "From big machers on museum boards with millions to spend to relative nobodies with a few grand saved up, anyone who wants a leg up on the competition tries to see the merch first. Competition is so fierce because of a long-overheated art market in which nearly every gallery exhibition sells out and waiting lists are the norm. Since the Armory Show is arguably the most important contemporary art fair in North America, there’s a lot of work that collectors might not get a crack at otherwise." New York Observer 03/09/05
Posted: 03/09/2005 7:53 am
Is Philadelphia Museum's Thai Mask Stolen Art? Questions are being raised about a 22-karat gold, jewel-encrusted crown believed to have been made in Thailand in the 15th century, and owned for the past 23 years by the Philadelphia Museum. "The crown, which resembles a cylindrical helmet, is featured on the museum's Web site and in its collections handbook. Now, with the opening of an exhibition of Siamese art in San Francisco that includes the crown, questions have been raised in Thailand as to whether this regal object was removed from that country illegally nearly half a century ago." Philadelphia Inquirer 03/09/05
Posted: 03/09/2005 7:47 am
Does New American Indian Museum Make Too Many Compromises? Washington's new Museum of the American Museum tries for so much. But does it deliver? "Although architect Douglas Cardinal's building has powerful moments, and several of the exhibits are intriguing, the $220 million museum is mostly a disappointment, a casualty of political infighting, scholarly temporizing and curatorial confusion. But the exhibits are the bigger letdown, mainly because with 800,000 artifacts in its possession, including the fabulous Heye Collection, the museum is in a position to do something spectacular. Yet the exhibits are technology-rich and object-poor and so badly organized that it is difficult to know where you are or how one section or theme relates to another." Dallas Morning News 03/09/05
Posted: 03/09/2005 6:56 am
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Backstage Chaos Hurting La Scala "This week, the culture commission of the Italian Senate in Rome began taking testimony from those involved in a long-brewing management crisis that led to the ousting last month of La Scala's general manager, Carlo Fontana, who had a strained relationship with the theater's music director and conductor, Riccardo Muti." Muti is accused of banning other prominent conductors from La Scala's podium, and he and other managers are reported to have kept their employees in the dark about important backstage changes. The controversy has grown so large that it threatens to eclipse the company's season. The New York Times 03/10/05
Posted: 03/10/2005 6:18 am
ENO's Chairman Puts His Foot In It Again When the English National Opera performed before 10,000 rock fans at last summer's Glastonbury Festival, it seemed to be that rarest of occasions: a coming together of high art and popular culture with no one getting so much as their feelings hurt. But ENO chairman Martin Smith may have rolled back much of the good will the performance built up with his recent comment that the concertgoers 'hardly knew how to spell opera'. "Mr Smith has made a number of gaffes during his tenure. He has often been regarded as the source of ENO's travails, accused of importing to the company a high-handed, bullish approach imported from banking, and appointing an artistic director too weak to stand up to him. The Guardian (UK) 03/10/05
Posted: 03/10/2005 5:34 am
- Or Does He? The English National Opera is claiming that The Guardian has created a controversy out of nothing by taking Martin Smith's words out of context in a deliberate attempt to smear him. BBC 03/10/05
Posted: 03/10/2005 5:30 am
Has New Music Made Itself Irrelevant? Classical music devotees tend to be sharply split over the issue of contemporary music, to the extent that a conductor devoted to the work of, say, Elliott Carter may quickly find himself with a very small core audience. "The problem isn't just a decline in musical literacy. You don't have to be able to read a score to 'get' a piece by R. Murray Schafer or Einojuhani Rautavaara, just as you don't need a thorough basis in colour theory and composition to respond to a painting by Frank Stella or Joanne Tod. Without really thinking about it, the broad arts public has decided that the truth of our times is not to be found in contemporary music, or at least not to a degree to make the search worth while." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 03/10/05
Posted: 03/10/2005 5:09 am
Government Report To Recommend Downsizing Tasmanian Orchestra? A forthcoming Australian government report on orchestras is said to recommend downsizing the Tasmanian Symphony from a full orchestra to a chamber orchestra with just 38 full-time equivalent musicians.
"It further recommends that governments provide $1.1 million in one-off funding to assist the TSO to meet redundancy costs. The shock recommendations are contained in a national review of orchestras headed by former Qantas boss James Strong. The final report is due to be handed down in Canberra in two weeks." The Mercury (Australia) 03/09/05
Posted: 03/09/2005 7:34 pm
The New Jazz Labels (Musician-Led) More and more jazz artists are taking the recording business into their own hands. "Artist-run independent labels are nothing new, especially in jazz. (Decades ago, bassist Charles Mingus and drummer Max Roach formed Debut Records; singer Betty Carter once founded her own BetCar imprint.) But established jazz musicians are going their own way in surprising numbers today, touching on age-old and new business issues." Wall Street Journal 03/09/05
Posted: 03/09/2005 9:25 am
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Dallas Expands Arts District After months of wrangling over zoning codes and property rights, the Dallas city council has voted to expand the city's downtown arts district. The move is largely an effort to bring several "weed-choked lots and run-down gas stations" into line with what has become one of Dallas's most elegant and well-designed neighborhoods. Dallas Morning News 03/10/05
Posted: 03/10/2005 5:27 am
A Foundation That's Quick On Its Feet Getting money from foundations and government is usually a log complicated process. by contrast, the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, a charitable trust established by the banking family that owned M&G takes a simple approach. "The foundation spends more than £5.5 million a year on the arts and heritage. It shows how money can be delivered quickly and productively to places where it can stimulate and support good art without socio-political agendas getting in the way." The Telegraph (UK) 03/10/05
Posted: 03/09/2005 7:39 pm
Where UK Arts Funding Goes The UK government spends 412 million on arts and culture this year. Here's how it's spent... The Guardian (UK) 03/10/05
Posted: 03/09/2005 7:39 pm
Arts Funding? Why Not An Endowment? Philadelphia is in need of some major new arts funding. But where to get it? Tom Ferrick Jr. has an idea: how about a three-year increase of one percent in the sales tax? It would generate about $600 million, which could be invested in an endowment for arts and culture over the next 20 years... Philadelphia Inquirer 03/09/05
Posted: 03/09/2005 9:31 am
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Just Don't Put 'Em In Your Bicycle Spokes Two Philadelphia bloggers have created a serious presence for themselves within the city's art world, reviewing exhibitions and commenting on the scene with the incisiveness of devotees and the fervor of investigative journalists. But navel-gazing doesn't satisfy them, which is why they could be found this week on a frigid Philadelphia street corner, handing out free art (in the form of collectible trading cards) to confused passers-by. Philadelphia Inquirer 03/10/05
Posted: 03/10/2005 6:23 am
The Jansons Philosophy Ask a musician who the greatest conductor currently working the international scene is, and it's likely that the name you'll hear will be Mariss Jansons. The 62-year-old Latvian has risen to the top of his profession in the last decade, and has done so without any of the maestro's traditional pomp and showboating. For Jansons, music is all about the emotional connection, and he goes to great lengths to instill this idea in the musicians he conducts. "My philosophy is that I can conduct if I have a relationship with a piece. If I don't, what's the point?" The New York Times 03/10/05
Posted: 03/10/2005 5:17 am
Journalist To Lead Institute of Contemporary Arts London's Institute of Contemporary Arts has chosen journalist and broadcaster Ekow Eshun as its new artistic director. "Aged only 28 he was appointed as editor of men's style magazine Arena. Today he writes regularly for publications including the Guardian, the Observer, the New Statesman and Wallpaper*. He is a founding director of Bug Consultancy and, as a broadcaster, is a regular contributor to Newsnight Review and Radio 4's Front Row."
The Guardian (UK) 03/10/05
Posted: 03/09/2005 7:37 pm
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Everything's New In Chicago Chicago's 2005-06 theatre season is shaping up to be a strong one for new dramatic works. "After the recent announcement from the Steppenwolf Theatre Company that its 2005-06 season will consist entirely of new plays, Lookingglass Theatre also has announced that its 2005-06 season will consist of five world premieres. In addition, the Goodman Theatre has announced that it will add to its current season a world-premiere production of David Cale's Floyd and Clea Under the Western Sky, opening April 19 in the Owen Theatre... Meanwhile, Chicago's Court Theatre has announced plans to present Mabou Mines DollHouse, a new take on Henrik Ibsen's drama of marital strife." Chicago Tribune 03/10/05
Posted: 03/10/2005 6:05 am
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Major Prize For Author Who Can't Read "Writer Howard Engel, who has serialized soft-boiled Jewish-Canadian gumshoe Benny Cooperman in 10 mystery novels, took home the top prize last night when [Canada's] Writers Trust handed out its annual awards... The white-haired author, 74, won the $20,000 Matt Cohen award 'in celebration of the writing life' for the body of his work, though the judges' citation made it clear the prize was also given for the gallant way Engel has faced a difficult personal situation. A widower raising a teenage son, he suffered a stroke four years ago in the occipital lobe of his brain that deprived him of the ability to read, though he is still able to write." Toronto Star 03/10/05
Posted: 03/10/2005 6:34 am
The Competitive World Of Academic Archiving "The recent death of Hunter S. Thompson has triggered speculation over where the gonzo journalist's papers will end up. In the final few weeks of Thompson's life, he was adamant about placing his papers at a single institution... For authors, artists and social figures, the allure of placing their private papers in an academic library is threefold: It's a chance to clean out the basement; it's an assurance that their legacy on paper will be professionally cataloged and preserved; and it can be profitable. There's a market for the best collections, and libraries are willing to invest." Chicago Tribune 03/10/05
Posted: 03/10/2005 6:01 am
Dismantling A Revered Publisher What's happened to Random House? "The flagship imprint of the world's largest publishing company is suffering an identity crisis. Staff turnover and a difficult marketplace for literary books are pushing Random House away from its highbrow heritage and toward the lowbrow commercialism that marks most of its competitors. And at the same time that it's shedding its literary distinctiveness, it has yet to enlist the sort of blockbuster author, such as John Grisham, who can be relied on to keep a commercial publisher in the black." New York Business 03/07/05
Posted: 03/09/2005 7:40 pm
What Is It About "The Da Vinci Code"? "If the "Harry Potter" books stand as the essential popular read for young people, then "The Da Vinci Code" has captured the crown for grown-ups. A word-of-mouth sensation from the moment it came out, Brown's controversial mix of storytelling and speculation remains high on best-seller lists even as it begins its third year since publication. Twenty-five million books, in 44 languages, are in print worldwide and no end is in sight. Booksellers expect "The Da Vinci Code" to remain a best-seller well into 2005." CNN.com 03/09/05
Posted: 03/09/2005 4:32 pm
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Feds Consider A Narrower Focus For PBS Grant Program "Ten years ago, the federal government created a program to harness the teaching power of public television... to help preschoolers get ready for elementary school. But Ready to Learn remained a largely unknown federal program until recently, when a flap over a lesbian-headed household shown in a Postcards From Buster episode sparked a political backlash from conservatives." The controversy has caused lawmakers to take another look at the funding program, and to suggest that the dollars flowing from Ready to Learn ought to be applied to programming that teaches academic skills, rather than social skills. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 03/10/05
Posted: 03/10/2005 6:28 am
Accusations, Lawsuits Fly In Montreal The vitriolic battle over which film festival will rule Montreal has escalated to a new level in the last week, with the supporters of one festival taking out an ad to attack the organizer of another. The head of yet a third festival has begun filing lawsuits against "everyone in sight," and nobody seems to have any idea how it will all end. Montreal Gazette 03/10/05
Posted: 03/10/2005 6:12 am
Because They Could Not Stop For Death... Video game designers come in for a great deal of criticism for the ultra-violent games they seem devoted to creating. But an annual challenge put to programmers at the Game Developers Conference has yielded an unexpected trio of games based on the life and work of poet Emily Dickinson. Wired 03/10/05
Posted: 03/10/2005 5:51 am
Culture Reporter Taken Off Air By NPR? Veteran art-news reporter David D'Arcy has been taken off the air by National Public Radio (NPR) after the Museum of Modern Art complained about his report on the long-running controversy over the ownership of Egon Schiele's painting, Portrait of Wally. Though the painting was stolen by the Nazis from Viennese dealer Lea Bondi in 1939, its present owner, the Leopold Foundation in Vienna, refuses to return it to Bondi's heirs, and a contentious court battle has raged ever since the painting turned up in a 1997 MoMA exhibition. ArtNet 03/08/05
Posted: 03/09/2005 1:14 pm
- Lining Up To Support D'Arcy "David D'Arcy is one of only a few reporters who understand and have been covering the complex Nazi era art restitution story and he is a respected arts reporter. No print media have yet reported the story that appears below; Artnet News is the first to report publicly. You can read who has rallied in support of David, and it's stunning that NPR has refused to reconsider its very weak and unsupportable position." Straight Up (AJBlogs) 03/09/05
Posted: 03/09/2005 12:21 pm
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Oakland Ballet Back On Its Feet The Oakland Ballet hasn't danced in nearly a year, as administrators struggled to balance the company's books during a planned dark year. But those who feared the demise of the troupe can now breath a sigh of relief with the announcement that the red ink has been eliminated, the 2005-06 season has been unveiled, and a new "fiscally conservative" business model has been adopted. Oakland Tribune (CA) 03/10/05
Posted: 03/10/2005 4:58 am
Dissing The Diana Ballet The reviews are in on a new ballet based on the life of Diana, Princess of Wales. They're not kind: "While Diana the Princess, created by Danish dance impresario Peter Schaufuss, is indeed pretty bad, it does have moments of comic genius. The problem is it's hard to tell whether they're intentional or not." BBC 03/09/05
Posted: 03/09/2005 7:36 pm
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