The Art Of Libraries The announcement that the New York Public Library will sell off some of its art brings attention to the fact that New York's public libraries have a lot of art in them... The New York Times 04/29/05
Posted: 04/28/2005 11:08 pm
John Olsen Wins Archibald Prize Veteran Australian painter John Olsen has won the 2005 Archibald Prize for his painting Self Portrait Janus Faced. The Age (Melbourne) 04/29/05
Posted: 04/28/2005 10:45 pm
Was Munch's "Scream" Burned? A report says Edvard Munch's "The Scream", stolen from an Oslo museum last year, might have been burnt. "The newspaper Dagbladet, quoting a criminal source, reports that the paintings have been burnt, in order to destroy evidence. The police denies any knowledge of this, but the newspaper also quotes a confidential police report which allegedly confirms that the investigators also have the same information." Norway Post 04/28/05
Posted: 04/28/2005 10:41 pm
What Should The New Barnes Look Like? "If the Barnes Foundation is going to relocate and construct a new building, how should it interpret—or update—its founder's specific intentions about how the collection should be displayed? The best solution might be to not even try. Why not treat the galleries of the Barnes as an artistically significant artifact, and simply move them to the new location, burlap-covered walls and all? The result would resemble the transplanted historical interiors exhibited in many large museums." Slate 04/28/05
Posted: 04/28/2005 10:26 pm
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Danielpour's Margaret Garner Comes To Stage "Inspired by a true story, composer Richard Danielpour and Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison tell the tale of a fugitive slave who kills her children in order to save them from a return to bondage. The A-list creative team and cast, including mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves, has the opera world buzzing. But the opera is also galvanizing newcomers and financial supporters within Detroit's black community." Detroit Free Press 04/28/05
Posted: 04/29/2005 7:26 am
UK Music Ed Stabilises Music education in English schools is not well supported. But at least a long decline has been slowed, writes Julian Lloyd Webber. The Telegraph (UK) 04/29/05
Posted: 04/28/2005 11:03 pm
Maazel Takes On 1984 Composer/conductor Loren Maazel's first opera is about to debut. It's an adaptation of George Orwell's 1984. "Whether 1984 works or not depends, however, on Maazel's music. Few of his works have been performed in the UK, and as a composer he remains an unknown quantity." The score is described as "a mixture of atonal and lyrical, with dramatic crises." The Guardian (UK) 04/29/05
Posted: 04/28/2005 10:54 pm
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Clear Channel - Maybe Mega-Big Is Too Big? Clear Channel - the radio and entertainment giant, is spinning off its concert business. "Clear Channel said the IPO of the outdoor advertising unit and spinoff of the entertainment unit will result in greater financial muscle for future acquisitions, because the separately listed stocks will provide clear valuations of the two businesses. The company also said that the spinoff of the entertainment unit will allow it to operate as a largely unregulated public company, as opposed to the company's heavily regulated radio business." Yahoo! (Reuters) 04/29/05
Posted: 04/29/2005 7:09 am
A Tipping Point In A Culture Crisis? The announcement that the New York Public Library is selling off art to finance an endowment is a disgrace. "These are bad times for high culture at the cash register. Seats aren’t being filled, turnstiles aren’t whirling. Cultural institutions are having to scramble. That this is happening at a moment when there’s more wealth around than at any time, in any one single place, in history suggests that a tipping point has been reached, that the dumbing-down epitomized by the Styles section of The Times, or the failure of our great universities to educate, or what works and what doesn’t on Broadway or at your local multiplex, has finally achieved implosive velocity. It suggests that there’s more to what’s happening than a simple post-9/11 fall-off in tourism, that some kind of sea change is in the works." New York Observer 04/27/05
Posted: 04/28/2005 4:12 pm
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Oz Wins Goethe Israeli writer Amos Oz has been awarded Germany's top cultural prize, the Goethe Prize for culture. "Oz, a peace activist, was honoured for his literary work and impressive moral responsibility, according to Petra Roth, mayor of Frankfurt and president of the jury awarding the prize." Yahoo! (AFP) 04/27/05
Posted: 04/28/2005 11:15 pm
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Theatre's Great. But The Theatre Experience Sucks Going out to the theatre is a pain in the neck. Not the plays, mind you. But the experience. "The most recent Global Home Entertainment Survey finds that increasing numbers of people are turning their backs on going out for entertainment. Depending on the country, anything from 68% to 90% of respondents prefer to watch a DVD at home. The main reasons cited in favour of living room entertainment are eminently reasonable. It's more comfortable, less expensive, you can fast-forward and wind back. And if there is an idiot sitting next to you it's likely you'll know them well enough to be able to tell them to shut up." The Guardian (UK) 04/29/05
Posted: 04/28/2005 10:51 pm
Fans Mob To Get Free "Scoundrel" Cast Albums Thousands of fans lined up outside the Broadway home of "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" to get free copies of the cast recording. "Fans appeared at the Imperial Theatre as early as 6 AM to be assured of a free album. The discs were distributed 11:30 AM-1 PM. The show's cast, including stars John Lithgow, Norbert Leo Butz, Sherie Rene Scott and Joanna Gleason, and composer David Yazbek, were on hand to sign discs before their Wednesday matinee performance. By noon, the line was blocks-long, stretching across the theatre district." Yahoo! (Playbill) 04/28/05
Posted: 04/28/2005 8:49 pm
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Are Newspapers Dying? Hmnn - Depends On How You Define It) "Yes, it's true that newspapers are steadily losing readers and that younger people will undoubtedly choose the web. Ultimately, the printed word will die off. Not tomorrow or the next day, but in the coming decades. It's inevitable since it will be more cost-effective (not to mention better for the environment) to distribute news over the web and via cell phones and PDAs than by printing it on paper and relying on trucks to deliver it to newsstands and subscribers' doorsteps. What is not true, however, is the notion that newspapers are dying. They aren't. In fact, more people read traditional news outlets today than ever before. But they are doing it on a screen." Wired 04/28/05
Posted: 04/28/2005 10:10 pm
Litblogging Into Relevance Literary blogs can be addictive for those interested in the written word. And there are so many litblogs to catch up on. "Reading other writers’ writing about writing is hardly what most people would consider “connecting with others.” In fact, maybe I’m even more isolated when I carry around this illusory notion that I’m interacting with people simply because we’re reading the same blog. It’s like celebrity stalkers who think being slapped with a restraining order is as fine and true a connection to fabulousness as being invited to stay in the guesthouse for the weekend." CBC 04/28/05
Posted: 04/28/2005 8:38 pm
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CBC To Invest In Programming The CBC says it will invest $33 million to add 100 more hours of Canadian drama and entertainment programming. "Everything from high-impact drama — the miniseries we do now — traditional series, comedies, soap operas, movies of the week, the lot. We would like CBC Television to be overwhelmingly the place that you go for Canadian entertainment programming." CBC 04/29/05
Posted: 04/29/2005 7:39 am
NBC Gives In, Will Start Rating Its Shows NBC, which has refused to rate its programs for content, says it will now do so. "The ratings system was developed in 1997 in response to the V-chip section of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, but NBC refused to run the descriptors -- V for violence, S for sexual content, L for vulgar language, D for suggestive dialogue and FV for fantasy violence -- because of First Amendment concerns and the fear that the onscreen clutter would confuse viewers." Yahoo! (Reuters) 04/29/05
Posted: 04/29/2005 7:02 am
Why Does Turning Off TV Make You Smart? What's so smart about turning off your TV? "What does that solve? "Here I am, cutting myself off from the world in the name of ..." What? "Spending more quality time with my family?" "Reading a book?" "Getting outside for some exercise and fresh air?" "Contributing to my community in some meaningful way?" ... instead of sitting like a lump on the couch, brain in neutral, pallid features bathed in flickering cathode radiation ... TV does not prevent you from doing these things. You prevent you from doing these things. It's called a sense of proportion." Toronto Star 04/28/05
Posted: 04/28/2005 11:12 pm
Ratings Show TV Viewers Turn Off Election Coverage British TV viewers are tuning out of election coverage on television. "For the three weeks before the election was called BBC One's Six O'Clock News had an average of 4.7 million viewers, which has since slipped to 4.5 million. Broadcast editor Conor Dignam said this showed viewers see the election campaign as "a bore"." BBC 04/28/05
Posted: 04/28/2005 8:21 pm
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Which Martha Graham Do You Go For? "One of the great challenges faced by the present curators is the way Graham’s work changed over the decades. Schooled in the show-biz exotica that was Denishawn, she launched her own career with stark abstractions, moved through patriotic flourish and nostalgic romance, ensconced herself in Greek tragedy, and slid into histrionic decadence during her last years. The technique developed, grew harsh, grew soft; costumes and sets were remade; music was recorded, amplified, scaled down. What we see as Graham repertory today is a composite vision drawn from co-artistic directors Terese Capucilli and Christine Dakin, the exemplars who survive from earlier generations, and a contemporary sensibility suited to today’s dancers and audiences." Boston Phoenix 04/28/05
Posted: 04/28/2005 11:18 pm
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