Eakins Biography Gets Down 'n Dirty An exhaustive new biograophy of 19th-century Philadelphia artist Thomas Eakins contains enough bombshells to keep the art world arguing for some time. Author Henry Adams has crafted a portrait of "a severely troubled individual with a catalog of psychoses, including a castration complex, sexual inadequacy and trauma, and a propensity to drink more milk than perhaps is healthy." And as if that weren't enough, Adams is also taking some pointed shots at the Eakins scholars who came before him, accusing them of ignoring the seedier side of the artist's life. Philadelphia Inquirer 05/03/05
Posted: 05/03/2005 6:39 am
Art Chicago Bests Its Two Rivals "The Art Fair Wars have come and gone, and though there was something for everyone to enjoy this past weekend, the consensus in the art community is that the winner is: Art Chicago in the Park, hands down... perhaps the near-death of Art Chicago was exactly what it needed to come back to itself. Painting and drawing dominated the show, and about two dozen international galleries showed up. There were especially strong showings from Spain and Korea; one of the better booths was Spanish Galeria de Arte la Ribera, with big paintings of moody interiors by Rosa Martinez-Artero. Less space seemed to make for a friendlier neighborhood feeling." Chicago Sun-Times 05/03/05
Posted: 05/03/2005 5:59 am
Italian Police Recover Stolen Art Italian police have recovered seven stolen art works, including one by Picasso. "Among the 20th Century works retrieved were a sculpture by Italian Arnaldo Pomodoro and a piece by British modern artists Gilbert and George. Police have arrested one man in Nice, France, who they suspect of trafficking the art to Italy." BBC 05/02/05
Posted: 05/02/2005 11:25 pm
Click here for more Visual Arts stories...
Houston's Grand Operatic Secret (Pay Attention, San Francisco) Opera may be hot again, but precious few American cities can boast of having a truly world-class opera company. One of the lucky few is Houston, where the Grand Opera marked its 50th birthday last weekend, and Joshua Kosman says that you don't have to look very hard to see how the company has achieved its success. "To speak of the Houston Grand Opera is to speak of David Gockley, the visionary general director who has led the company since 1972 and made it what it is today." Gockley will shortly be leaving Houston to take up the reins of the San Francisco Opera, and Kosman says that the Bay Area can realistically hope for a newly reinvigorated company under his leadership. San Francisco Chronicle 05/03/05
Posted: 05/03/2005 6:49 am
Milwaukee Ticket Sales Jump It's been a while since the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra got any good news about its ticket sales, but this week, the orchestra announced that single ticket sales have jumped 20% in the current season, and credited the MSO's newly customer-driven marketing focus for the gain. The orchestra has also been playing a new series of "scaled-down performances of that weekend's concert programming combined with a video presentation designed to introduce the music and composers to a new audience," which have attracted large numbers of new ticket-buyers. Milwaukee Business Journal 05/03/05
Posted: 05/03/2005 5:42 am
Opera Embraces A Multi-ethnic Future Opera has enjoyed a distinct resurgence in the past decade, and for the first time in American musical history, operatic casting has begun to reflect the racial diversity of the country. But despite the visible strides in casting, "opera company executives say there is still plenty of room for improvement in diversifying casts. And, they add, there is even more room for improvement, when it comes to opera audiences, which are an average of 4 percent minority nationwide, though 31 percent of Americans are of an ethnic minority." Detroit News 05/03/05
Posted: 05/03/2005 5:27 am
Who Knew Stuffy Old Rich People Had Radios? In an effort to draw in new audiences, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra recently started running a tongue-in-cheek series of radio ads with the tagline "You'd be surprised who goes to the TSO." Each ad featured a humorous description of a supposed subscriber with decidedly offbeat personal habits meant to demonstrate that orchestra concerts are "not only for stuffy old rich people." As it turns out, though, the stuffy old rich people who listen to the city's classical music station were unamused, and the ads have been pulled from the air. The Globe & Mail (Canada) 05/03/05
Posted: 05/03/2005 5:15 am
Mostly Mozart Reconfigures This summer, the Mostly Mozart Festival will reconfigure its home at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall. "One goal of the new structure was to break down the formality of the concert hall and enhance the personal and musical connection between players and listeners. "We're eager to bring back the populist feeling of our origins," Lincoln Center executive Jane Moss said, citing the festival's early days, when all tickets sold for $3. The project is also intended to provide an acoustical setting more appropriate to the sound of an 18th-century orchestra." The New York Times 05/03/05
Posted: 05/03/2005 12:03 am
World Premieres - Why Bother? "The unique claim of a concert being the only one of its kind because it contains the first hearing of a piece of music is the one hook that has proven to grab the attention of orchestras, opera companies, and chamber music presenters. With that label firmly affixed, contemporary music can be tolerated. Whether the new work flops is now hardly the matter. The assembled audience can at least say to an acquaintance that they heard the world premiere of such and such piece, even if they didn't like it." But does the "world premiere" concept really serve music in the longer term? NewMusicBox 05/05
Posted: 05/02/2005 11:44 pm
Click here for more Music stories...
Can Government Make The Arts Seem More Appealing? A new government agency has been formed in Northern Ireland to "broaden the appeal of the arts" and centralize performance information and online ticketing services for the province's arts groups. Belfast Telegraph (UK) 05/03/05
Posted: 05/03/2005 5:37 am
Birmingham Council To Audit City Arts Groups Arts organizations in Birmingham (UK) are being ordered to submit to a "funding review" by the city council, and have been told that their government grants could be cut or revoked if they refuse. "Birmingham Royal Ballet, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Midlands Art Centre and the Birmingham Repertory Theatre are among 12 companies that have been told they must open their books for inspection. The review will look at the impact of the council’s investment, the contribution of arts organisations to the life of the city and how the council works with each company... The move follows the council’s recent announcement that it plans to provide £5 million for the 12 organisations in 2005/6." The Stage (UK) 05/03/05
Posted: 05/03/2005 5:10 am
WTC Project Manager Resigns The man in charge of the troubled World Trade Center project has resigned. "Kevin Rampe's departure comes at a particularly sensitive moment for a rebuilding effort that has recently been plagued by bad news. The construction of the Freedom Tower, the site's most prominent structure, is months behind schedule, and faces even greater delays after the New York Police Department last month delivered a disturbing assessment of its security shortcomings. Larry Silverstein, the lead developer of the site, has signaled that he may need hundreds of millions of dollars from the government to address the security concerns." The New York Times 05/03/05
Posted: 05/02/2005 11:54 pm
Initiative: Arts To The "Culturally Deprived" An initiative in Scotland aims to bring the arts to people who don't have access to them. "The £1.4 million Partners project will see a host of accomplished artists open up residencies in areas with little experience of the arts and invite local people to participate. The project's aim is to inject both a creative and economic boost to the communities involved. Residencies will be established to enrich students, disabled people and other members of the general public. People can choose from a wide array of the arts, including writing, web design, dance, photography, electronic music - even circus skills." The Scotsman 05/02/05
Posted: 05/02/2005 11:22 pm
Click here for more Arts Issues stories...
Broadway Catering To The Under-12 Crowd "Young audiences are big business for Broadway. Last year the group accounted for 1.3 million tickets sold, 11.2% of all tickets. And 30% of those 1.3 million were sold to kids younger than 12, according to surveys... Young people are such a presence at Broadway shows that the League of American Theatres and Producers has launched a kid-targeted Web site, generationbroadway.com, for children age 8 to 12." New York Daily News 05/03/05
Posted: 05/03/2005 6:34 am
Minneapolis's Hensley Wins Primus Prize "Michelle Hensley, artistic director of Minneapolis-based Ten Thousand Things Theater Company, has won the 2005 Francesca Primus Prize, a national award recognizing outstanding accomplishments by female artists in theater... She is the first non-playwright to win the award... Hensley founded Ten Thousand Things in Los Angeles in 1990, and moved to the Twin Cities in 1993. The company's repertoire includes everything from Shakespeare to Brecht to its current production of the musical Ragtime. Using actors with credits on the Twin Cities' major stages, Ten Thousand Things' productions are a perennial part of local critics' annual best-of lists. Though the company does paid public performances of its work, its core patrons are those in prisons, urban community centers, senior high rises and other audiences not generally exposed to theater." St. Paul Pioneer Press 05/03/05
Posted: 05/03/2005 6:23 am
Click here for more Theatre stories...
Wasserman Quits LA Times Book Review Steve Wasserman has resigned as editor of the LA Times Book Review. "Wasserman has been instrumental in building the prestige of the Times Book Prizes and Festival of Books, and at last month's festival he was treated by many visiting authors and publishing industry figures as something of a celebrity. At USC, he is co-founder of the Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities, which gathers local intellectuals, literati and journalists twice each month for discussions." LA Observed 05/03/05
Posted: 05/03/2005 12:31 am
Buy My Book At The Safeway Larry Baker couldn't get a publisher interested in his book. Then, when he couldn't get the local book chains in Iowa to give him shelf space, he struck on an inspired idea - sell it in the grocery store, where it sells beyond all expectations... MobyLives 05/03/05
Posted: 05/02/2005 11:16 pm
Click here for more Publishing stories...
Rock Band Blasts Pared-Down Warner Music Ahead Of IPO "Days before an expected public stock offering from the Warner Music Group, the rap-rock band Linkin Park demanded yesterday to be released from its recording contract with the company, saying internal cost cuts may have left the music giant 'unable to compete in today's global music marketplace'... The spat comes as a team of private investors, who purchased Warner Music from Time Warner last year for $2.6 billion, is preparing for an initial offering of shares that is expected to raise $750 million and is expected to take place in mid-May. Since taking charge last year, the investment team has restructured the company and cut about $250 million in costs through layoffs, cuts to the artist roster and consolidation of its international operations." The New York Times 05/03/05
Posted: 05/03/2005 5:55 am
Study: Asian Actors Underrepresented on American TV "A study of Asian Americans in prime-time television, released Monday, shows that Asians, who make up 5 percent of the U.S. population, play 2.7 percent of regular characters. It also shows virtually no Asian actors are on situation comedies, and the characters they play in dramas tend to have less depth than most regulars, with minimal on-screen time and few romantic roles." Back Stage 05/03/05
Posted: 05/02/2005 11:31 pm
Study: Film Ratings Aren't Accurate "A study released on Monday shows that one in five films rated PG, or "parental guidance suggested" -- with some material that may not be suitable for children -- actually have more violent actions than the average for those listed as PG-13, or inappropriate for children under 13. It also found that one in 10 PG films had more violent acts than the average for those in the study that were rated R, or "Restricted" -- meaning any viewer under 17 should be accompanied by an adult." Back Stage 05/02/05
Posted: 05/02/2005 11:28 pm
Click here for more Media stories...
Plenty Of Hard Feelings After D.C. Tour Cancellation When Washington Ballet cancelled its planned tour of Italian summer festivals over a pay dispute with its dancers, it left a slew of Italian promoters and festival organizers in the lurch, having promoted the company as their centerpiece. Most of the festivals will not be able to secure comparable replacement companies, since most ballets are booked well in advance. The dispute between the company and its dancers centered around the amount of meal money to be paid during the tour. Washington Post 05/03/05
Posted: 05/03/2005 6:57 am
Colorado Ballet: How Did It Come To This? Colorado Ballet seems to be in freefall, cancelling a major world premiere for lack of funds to pay choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, and attempting to dig out from under the weight of some major upper management resignations. And yet, only recently, the company was thought to be at the top of its artistic and financial game, and was looking forward to moving into Denver's new opera house. So what happened? No one outside the company is entirely sure, but botched negotiations with Wheeldon seem to have been the catalyst for nearly all the subsequent problems, and its likely that more resignations are yet to come. Denver Post 05/03/05
Posted: 05/03/2005 6:11 am
Click here for more Dance stories...
