Visual Arts
Dia Plans A Move The forward-thinking Dia Foundation plans to move from its current two spaces to a new location a few blocks north. The new neighborhood is primed to be New York's next hot location, at the entrance of a new park. "Plans call for possibly demolishing the existing structure, an old meatpacking facility now in disrepair, and building a simple two-story museum with 45,000 square feet of gallery space on two floors." The New York Times 05/09/05
Posted: 05/09/2005 6:42 am
A Stark Memorial Stands In Berlin Berlin's new "Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, designed by Peter Eisenman, is the apotheosis of soul-searching. A vast grid of 2,711 concrete pillars whose jostling forms seem to be sinking into the earth, it is able to convey the scope of the Holocaust's horrors without stooping to sentimentality - showing how abstraction can be the most powerful tool for conveying the complexities of human emotion."
The New York Times 05/09/05
Posted: 05/09/2005 6:39 am
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Is Vinyl Making A Comeback? "According to Neilsen Soundscan, about 1.2 million vinyl records were sold in 2004 -- not overwhelming considering total CD sales approached 767 million last year. But that number is skewed because most vinyl records are sold by small independent stores and labels, and their sales are not reflected in Soundscan data. And those uncounted sales, while still a drop in the bucket in the grand scheme of things, are significant, vinyl aficionados say. Together with the Soundscan numbers, they represent an uptick for serious collectors and audiophile purists." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 05/08/05
Posted: 05/09/2005 9:02 am
Could Strike Cripple Montreal Symphony? "The musicians of l'Orchestre symphonique de Montréal are on the picket line. Management insists, puzzlingly, that the strike "in no way changes the OSM's reality." Eighteen months of nearly static negotiations have produced a poisonous atmosphere. Players and management are united only in their belief that the other side doesn't have a clue about what a symphony orchestra really needs." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 05/09/05
Posted: 05/09/2005 6:30 am
Toni Morrison/Richard Danielpour Opera Gets Debut In Detroit "Here is "Margaret Garner" at its best: the sprawling calamity of slavery telescoped into an intimately scaled portrait of love underscored by Danielpour's melting lyricism and placed within the spare set designed by Marjorie Bradley Kellogg. The burden of such a broad and bewildering historical canvas as slavery sometimes overwhelms Danielpour and Morrison, but these shortcomings are redeemed by ruminative expressions of a mother's love and heartfelt song." Detroit Free Press 05/09/05
Posted: 05/09/2005 6:24 am
- "Garner" Wows The Crowd "Margaret Garner is a largely old-fashioned opera that nevertheless works. It works primarily because of the emotional resonances of Toni Morrison's story. It also works because the opera has been handsomely produced, with a strong cast, directed on stage by Kenny Leon and headed by that splendid mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves in the title role." Toronto Star 05/09/05
Posted: 05/09/2005 6:21 am
- An Honorable Achievement, But... "Margaret Garner turns out to be an honorable achievement, if one that is often reluctant to seize the story's tragic elements by the neck and render them shocking. Danielpour's relentlessly lyrical score, though marked by episodes of limpid beauty, lacks dramatic momentum and contrast, with long, lethargic stretches that stop the opera in its tracks. Morrison may be a stranger to the medium, but she is familiar with the story on which she has weaved operatic variations." The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) 05/09/05
Posted: 05/09/2005 6:20 am
Is Your iPod Making You Deaf? "Audiologists believe tens of thousands of young people are causing serious damage to themselves, and are likely to suffer tinnitus and loss of hearing in later life. The experts say MP3 players should be designed to prevent people playing music above 90 decibels, about two-thirds of the maximum volume of a typical device." Scotsman on Sunday 05/08/05
Posted: 05/08/2005 8:32 pm
Can A Baroque Choir Take On South Florida And Win? A 12-member chamber choir is a real success story in South Florida. So much so that the the ambitious choir's founder is expanding into a regional presence. "Some might say that Patrick Quigley's plans are more foolhardy than ambitious. In South Florida, where a symphony orchestra playing Beethoven couldn't stay in business, a 12-member choir performing Bach and Palestrina wouldn't seem to have wide populist appeal. Yet unlike many Cassandras who point to the demise of the Florida Philharmonic as a sign that classical music should be added to South Florida's endangered-species list, the optimistic Quigley sees vast potential for growth." The Sun-Sentinel (South Florida) 05/08/05
Posted: 05/08/2005 7:24 pm
Downloading - Where Are The Women? A new study says women are not downloading music over the internet. "This is the new digital divide, with a huge survey by market information company TNS revealing that the vast majority of downloading is done by men - a staggering 96% of market share. People in the UK buy more music per head of population than in any other country, and we already have the highest ownership rates of iPods and MP3 players in the world. So why aren't digital downloads bringing music to women's ears?" The Guardian (UK) 05/06/05
Posted: 05/08/2005 7:21 pm
Rock Looks For Alternatives To Radio Rock music is fading from the radio airwaves. So "record companies are attempting to adapt to modern rock's recent marginalization on the airways in major markets like Philadelphia, Miami, New York and Washington, D.C. by emphasizing other options for building buzz. In lieu of airplay, touring, blogs, ringtones, downloads, Internet and satellite radio, videogame tie-ins, alliances with brand marketers, film and TV exposure, sponsorships and placements in commercials all are growing in value." Yahoo! (Billboard) 05/08/05
Posted: 05/08/2005 7:00 pm
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BC - A Place Where The Arts Don't Matter? Why do British Columbia politicians ignore the arts? None of the major parties has much helpful to say to the arts. "Is it any wonder that arts organizations are screaming? The B.C. government spends the least on arts—$1.98 per person—of any province, according to Statistics Canada research cited by local umbrella group the Alliance for Arts and Culture. Quebec spends $19.32 per person. Alberta spends $5.69. 'We look like idiots when we go to national conferences. They’re like, ‘What’s with your province?’ It’s embarrassing!" Gioria Straight (Vancouver) 05/08/05
Posted: 05/08/2005 7:29 pm
"National" Obsession - What Does It Mean? "What is the purpose of a national theatre, a national opera or ballet company, a national orchestra, or a national gallery? What is the meaning of the word 'national' in those famous organisations? Is it simply a matter of pride and funding, an indication that those particular institutions have the backing of an entire nation, its hopes and dreams of excellence? Or is it more complicated than that: do we expect these arts organisations, above all others, to embody in their work something essential about the nation?" The Telegraph (UK) 05/08/05
Posted: 05/08/2005 10:26 am
Of Critics, Friends, And Conflicts Critic Dominic Pappatola finds himself uncomfortable about descriptions of Mel Gussow in obituaries last week. "If my obituary happens to focus on my career as a critic, I guess I'd much rather be known as a Champion of Audiences than a Champion of Playwrights. As a journalist, if you begin writing for your sources instead of your readers, you enter an echo chamber. Inside of that chamber, your voice might be resonant. Outside, it's irrelevant." St. Paul Pioneer-Press 05/08/05
Posted: 05/08/2005 10:23 am
What Is Art And Why Does It Matter? Ah, the age old question, now so endlessly debated it has become one of the great cliches. A new book is about to take up the question once again, and the Observer asks some artists who ought to have some interesting answers... The Observer (UK) 05/08/05
Posted: 05/08/2005 7:44 am
The Art Of Routine Routine is the foundation for many things in life. "The myth is that artists are somehow different. That they leap from one peak of inspiration to another. That they reject limits - that this is precisely what makes them artists. But of course that's not true. Most artists work as the rest of us do, incrementally, day by day, according to their own habits. That most art does not rise above the level of routine has nothing necessarily to do with the value of having a ritual." The New York Times 05/08/05
Posted: 05/08/2005 6:29 am
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Spamalot Cleans Up At Awards "Monty Python's Spamalot," based on the cheeky British troupe's film "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," won four Outer Critics Circle Awards on Sunday, including the prize for best Broadway musical. Backstage (AP) 05/09/05
Posted: 05/09/2005 9:16 am
What Happened To The Broadway Showstopper? "Broadway musicals have long proved they can tell important stories without losing entertainment value. But as that idea has evolved, theatrically credible plot lines don't accommodate the kind of consolidation of music, character and star presence that is the showstopper. Modern, linear storytelling instead dictates that resources be spread around the show's landscape of personalities." Philadelphia Inquirer 05/08/05
Posted: 05/08/2005 7:33 pm
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Some Poetic Advice From Walt Whitman An interview with the poet has been found in which Whitman gives aspiring poets some advice: "First, don't write poetry; second ditto; third ditto. You may be surprised to hear me say so, but there is no particular need of poetic expression. We are utilitarian, and the current cannot be stopped." CBC 05/09/05
Posted: 05/09/2005 8:48 am
From A Room Descends A Novel? In A Month? This week, three novelists will seal themselves in a small room and write for a month. "The goal is for each to complete a novel by June 4. The purpose is to consider the private and public aspects of writing. No cameras will record this voyeuristic experiment, though visitors can peep occasionally (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.; and Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m). The potential for public humiliation comes not from the perils of constant surveillance, but from the more familiar writers' problem of failing to meet a deadline. Make that deadlines. They will give weekly readings of their works in progress." The New York Times 05/09/05
Posted: 05/09/2005 6:48 am
Are Google's Digitization Plans A Threat To World Culture? Google's plans to digitize books from important libraries has many cheering. But in some European countries, there are big concerns. "For Europeans, the fear is that the continent's contribution to the pillars of recorded knowledge will be crushed by the profit-oriented California company — and may end up presenting a U.S.-centric version of the world's literary legacy." The Globe & Mail (AP) 05/08/05
Posted: 05/08/2005 7:50 pm
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Are PBS's Days Numbered? Michael Booth is angry at PBS. "Public-TV programming, in Colorado and around the nation, has become a parody of itself. Reading the program guide alone is enough to put one sound asleep, let alone watching the actual shows themselves - nearly every one stuck in a 1970s time warp of blandly earnest irrelevance. A lineup this dull and out of touch no longer deserves our federal tax money." Denver Post 05/08/05
Posted: 05/08/2005 7:45 pm
- But We Need A PBS... "PBS is a special resource, valuable in a democracy that depends on well-informed citizens ... well, you know the rap. That said, public TV needs an extreme makeover. PBS has bungled at every turn. The system still can't decide whether to embrace commercials ("enhanced underwriting" is the euphemism). The convoluted bureaucracy doesn't work. While preaching "localism," the service has kept a few strong stations in charge (Boston, New York, Los Angeles) while others idle." Denver Post 05/08/05
Posted: 05/08/2005 7:43 pm
Court Blocks FCC-Imposed "Broadcast Flag" "The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia reversed a Federal Communications Commission order that required makers of consumer-electronics devices capable of receiving broadcast digital TV signals to recognize a "broadcast flag," which is code that allows content owners to place limits on redistribution of digital content streams. The rule was to apply to devices manufactured on or after July 1, 2005. Specifically, the court admonished the FCC for exceeding what's known as its "ancillary authority" over some reception devices (consumer-electronics products) by trying to regulate a function not directly related to the actual transmissions themselves." Wired 05/06/05
Posted: 05/08/2005 7:16 pm
Pakistan's Massive Indian Film Piracy Business Piracy of Indian films in Pakistan is woven deeply into the country's culture. "To crack down on pirated Indian DVDs now would be a massive undertaking. Pakistani cinema houses lost their clientele years ago. The decade of the 1980s saw the video rental business mushroom into one of the largest retail businesses in the country, employing an estimated half-a-million people. Not just that: Pakistan's fashion and modelling industry has come to be deeply dependent on the Indian film culture." BBC 05/08/05
Posted: 05/08/2005 10:05 am
£400 Film Chosen For Cannes The Cannes Festival has chosen a film made by a British civil servant with no formal training and cost only £400 for this year's competition. It is the only British film included in this year's festival. "This is just a fairytale for us. None of us have ever been to film school. We just decided to make it when Ben sold his mandolin to raise money to buy his camera. It's about the doppelganger myth, what happens when a person comes across their own doppelganger." BBC 05/08/05
Posted: 05/08/2005 10:00 am
Who Should Decide What We Get To Watch On TV? There's a growing perception that pressure groups advocating censorship are having a disproportionate impact on what TV broadcasters are willing to program. So a new group, TV Watch, is coming out swinging in opposition to the suppressionists... Seattle Post-Intelligencer 05/06/05
Posted: 05/08/2005 9:51 am
How The Movie Theatre Biz Works "On opening weekend - and perhaps the second weekend of a big picture - the split is 70 percent to the distributor and 30 percent to the exhibitor. The studio's share declines by 10 percent each week: first to 60 percent, then to 50 and 40, until it levels out at 30 to 35 percent for as long as the theater keeps the film. The studio wants a film to open huge, even if it doesn't last long. Theaters, which earn much of their revenue from concession sales, prefer movies that will run all summer to full houses, with the theater ultimately taking 65 percent of ticket sales." The New York Times 05/08/05
Posted: 05/08/2005 6:39 am
Superheros Take The Movies Comic book superheros are everywhere in the movies today. "The cachet of comics - and I mean the old, cheap, pulpy kind, not "comix" or "graphic novels" - is all the more remarkable given that for most of their history, they could count on provoking the disdain of literary intellectuals, the panic of moralists and the condescension of mainstream show business, which saw them as fodder for cartoons and campy kid shows. The days when a film critic could wish that comic books would just go away - as Robert Warshow did in a brilliantly ambivalent 1954 essay on his young son's fandom - are long gone. The superheroes demand to be taken as seriously as they have always taken themselves." The New York Times 05/08/05
Posted: 05/08/2005 6:33 am
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What To Make Of Colorado Ballet's Woes? "What started the recent exodus of administrators and board members was the company's shelving of Christopher Wheeldon's Alice in Wonderland as the season-opener at the new Ellie Caulkins Opera House. A flurry of finger-pointing followed and soon Executive Director Rick Tallman was gone, along with his ticket-manager wife Angela, prominent board members and others on the payroll or board." Rocky Mountain News 05/08/05
Posted: 05/09/2005 8:52 am
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