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Weekend, July 9-10




 

Visual Arts

American Gothic, Iowan To The Core For three-quarters of a century, the lonely farm couple depicted in Grant Wood's ubiquitous painting, "American Gothic," have called Chicago's downtown Loop home, an incongruous base of operations for such a distinctly rural pair. But this fall, in a rare case in which the Art Institute of Chicago has consented to lend out one of its prized works, the painting will be going "home" to Iowa for a special Wood retrospective at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art. It may be just another painting in Chicago, but Iowa is already abuzz with talk of the return. Chicago Tribune 07/10/05
Posted: 07/10/2005 5:41 am

Five Laid Off In D.C. Five long-tenured employees have been laid off from the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C., as a result of what the museum's director says are serious budget concerns. The firings came out of the blue, and the decision to go ahead with a staff reorganization was apparently that of the director alone, who says that belts have been tightening all over the Smithsonian. The museum has 32 remaining employees. Washington Post 07/09/05
Posted: 07/09/2005 1:19 pm

More Layoffs In Cleveland The Cleveland Museum of Art has laid off six employees, including a paintings curator with 18 years service time, as it prepares to close for several years during a $258 million expansion and renovation. "The number of employees at the museum now stands at 370, down from more than 500 before an earlier and more extensive round of layoffs in 2003 meant to bring the museum's budget in line... The museum complex will be largely closed during construction, but will start reopening in phases beginning in the fall of 2007. Special exhibitions and other programs will continue, with the exception of a complete shutdown in the first six months of 2006." The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) 07/09/05
Posted: 07/09/2005 1:08 pm

Is It Art? Or Is It Just Stupid? What are we to make of an artist who crafts a bar of soap from fat liposuctioned out of the Italian prime minister, sells it to a collector for $18,000, then claims that his work has no political overtones? "There is something vexing about Gianni Motti and his bar of soap. It could be a neat contemporary commentary on politics, the media, image-consciousness and postmodern portraiture - and therefore worthy of its plexiglass pedestal. Or it could just be a tasteless, overpriced idea that dissolves in seconds, like soap in a hot bath." Financial Times (UK) 07/08/05
Posted: 07/09/2005 12:17 pm

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Music

When Is A Symphony Orchestra Not The Answer? Can the demise of a symphony orchestra actually be good for the affected city's classical music scene? It seems counterintuitive, but Lawrence Johnson points out that, since the untimely end of the Florida Philharmonic, smaller chamber ensembles have begun to flourish in geographically disparate South Florida. "It's not what former Philharmonic musicians want to hear, nor what those who prefer to experience the rich glory and volume of a large symphony orchestra desire. But the fact is that these smaller, less expensive orchestras and chamber ensembles may be more effectively serving the needs of local audiences than the Florida Philharmonic." South Florida Sun-Sentinel 07/10/05
Posted: 07/10/2005 4:52 am

Competing For A Career Being a young conductor is no great shakes, what with everyone from critics to musicians to the public just waiting to pass judgment on your every move. So how do you manage to create great art, keep your orchestra happy, please the experts, and promote yourself all at the same time? Well, you could start by winning the Leeds Conductors Competition... The Guardian (UK) 07/08/05
Posted: 07/09/2005 12:38 pm

Austin S.O. Ticket Sales Go Through The Roof Orchestras across America are struggling to fill their concert halls, but in the indie-rock capital of Austin, Texas, residents are apparently devoted to music of all kinds, filling the local symphony's concerts to such an impressive capacity that some concerts even attracted ticket scalpers. In fact, the Austin Symphony registered a 43% ticket sales increase in 2004-05 over the previous season, a dramatic rise the ensemble attributes to programming decisions and strong community support. Austin Business Journal (TX) 07/08/05
Posted: 07/09/2005 11:27 am

  • Pop Sales Take A Dive Orchestras aren't the only ones with ticket woes: attendance at popular music performances in North America dropped 12% in the first half of 2005, despite lower average ticket prices. Revenue generated by the concerts - mainly touring rock, pop, and hip-hop shows - fell more than 17%. Philadelphia Inquirer (AP) 07/09/05
    Posted: 07/09/2005 11:25 am

Swed: Tindall's Tales Miss The Point Blair Tindall's now-infamous stories of sexual favors traded for career advancement in New York's freelance scene are less troubling than her characterization of the music business as a whole, writes Mark Swed. "Classical music doesn't mean much to the average American's life, and she condemns the major orchestras, opera companies and performing arts centers for acting as if it does. They can't sustain their high budgets, and they get by, in part, by taking advantage of the little guy, the musician... There are serious inequities in the system and a lot of jerks who manipulate musicians and the public for their own profit. But there are musicians who engage in the world in a meaningful way — and not just the Rattles, Tilson Thomases and Salonens — who get out and make music that matters, who change lives." Los Angeles Times 07/09/05
Posted: 07/09/2005 11:17 am

Branching Out In La-La Land There aren't a lot of career options for classically trained musicians - for most, either you win an orchestra job or two, or you don't, in which case you spend your life freelancing and teaching to make ends meet. But in Los Angeles, a paradigm shift is underway, in the form of "a small but growing and spirited subculture of young, classically trained female L.A. musicians who have skirted the symphony audition path to play 'alternative' musical genres and enjoy eclectic entertainment-industry work now that the Hollywood studios are no longer boys' clubs... The impressive range of styles they play provides them with a level of excitement and performance satisfaction that more traditional musicians cannot claim — and they wouldn't have it any other way." Los Angeles Times 07/10/05
Posted: 07/09/2005 11:12 am

Arizona Opera Stays In The Black Arizona Opera has balanced its budget for the second straight year, despite a difficult season that required serious cutbacks to keep the company in the black. The group, which performs in both Phoenix and Tucson, had a $5.5 million budget in 2004-05, but was forced to improvise for venues when Phoenix's Symphony Hall closed for renovations. Tucson Citizen (AZ) 07/09/05
Posted: 07/09/2005 10:59 am

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People

Placido's Fire For Luciano Pavarotti, the Three Tenors phenomenon was the beginning of the end for a career that went from spectacular to parody. But for Pavarotti's 3T counterpart, Placido Domingo, the crossover blockbuster was little more than a curious way-station in the midst of a breathless marathon that never seems to slow down. At Domingo's core appears to be a burning desire to prove himself again and again, and to earn the love of everyone around him. "That sense of obligation, rare in performers (especially among the flighty narcissists who sing opera), is the essence of his character and accounts for the esteem in which he is held. He always justifies the price of the ticket, because he sets out to earn his reputation all over again every time he sings." The Observer (UK) 07/10/05
Posted: 07/10/2005 5:25 am

"Ed McBain", 78 The author of a legendary and long-running series of police novels centered on the fictional 87th Precinct has died. Ed McBain, whose real name was Evan Hunter, wrote his first crime novel in 1956, and never looked back, amassing a huge following over the subsequent half-century of work. "How long the Ed McBain books will hold their huge audience is anyone's guess. Mystery writers go out of style... James Ellroy's intense, dark stories of Los Angeles have nothing in common with the formulaic Ed McBain stories. But there you are in the airport, and your flight has been delayed. You've read the papers and had a drink. Luckily, there on the newsstand shelf are half a dozen Ed McBains. Relax: Detective Carella will take good care of you for the next three hours." The New York Times 07/09/05
Posted: 07/09/2005 12:55 pm

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Theatre

The Plays That Wouldn't End Apparently, things just aren't worth enjoying anymore unless they're "extreme." The tag gets put on everything from skateboarding to soft drinks, so why not theatre? "Marathons (as savvy marketers have called them since the running boom of the 1970's) defy conventional ideas about how long full-length plays are. These productions can run 20 hours or more." The New York Times 07/10/05
Posted: 07/10/2005 5:13 am

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Publishing

God: No Longer A Niche Market The religious book phenomenon is looking like it has more staying power than many in the publishing industry believed. "The growth of Christian books outpaced the adult trade category in 2004, with sales expected to soar in coming years... Precise reasons for this jump in interest are hard to pin down, although the phenomenon coincides with the rise of evangelical Christianity and general anxiety over terrorism and the economy... Beyond that, Christian bookstores enjoy a special relationship with customers. The stores tend to blend a bit of ministry with retailing." Denver Post 07/10/05
Posted: 07/10/2005 5:48 am

Harry Potter & The Dubious Legacy The Harry Potter craze has been hailed by parents and educators on both sides of the Atlantic as a sign that children of the information age can still be engaged by good, old-fashioned books. But are the books really the classics of children's literature that they are constantly made out to be? Robert McCrum thinks not. "When the current generation of Harry Potter readers has grown up, it will look back on the Harry Potter phenomenon with a mixed thrill of intense nostalgia, embarrassment and dismay. Our children's children will certainly read these books, but as curiosities, bizarre literary relics from a lost world." The Observer (UK) 07/10/05
Posted: 07/10/2005 5:31 am

Really, Really Bad Timing "[UK] bookselling giant Waterstone's yesterday pulled advertising for a new novel about suicide bombers creating mayhem in London. The book, called Incendiary, was published on Thursday, the day all-too real bombs hit London. Pictures promoting the novel show plumes of smoke curling above London's skyline. The wording reads 'a massive terrorist attack ... launches this unique, twisted powerhouse of a novel'. Waterstone's has removed all advertising for the book from today's newspapers - except for the Guardian's Guide, which went to press before the advert could be pulled." The Guardian (UK) 07/09/05
Posted: 07/09/2005 12:33 pm

America's Poet It's been 150 years since Walt Whitman published Leaves of Grass, widely considered to be America's greatest contribution to the world of poetry. Over the years, sales of the opus have stayed strong as Whitman's legend has grown, and scholars and public alike have come to view Leaves as something of a definitive poetic statement on American life. Baltimore Sun 07/09/05
Posted: 07/09/2005 12:08 pm

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Media

Is Hollywood Finally Becoming Color-Blind? It may be a bum year at the box office, but this year's crop of summer blockbusters suggests that Hollywood may finally be getting over a hump that has plagued it for decades: racial inequality both in front of the cameras and behind the scenes. "Black filmmakers and actors and those who work with them echoed that sense of progress, pointing especially to evidence that white audiences - spurred by the 20-year-old hip-hop revolution - are going to films that might once have been seen as an African-American preserve." The New York Times 07/10/05
Posted: 07/10/2005 5:09 am

9/11: The Movie It had to happen eventually: Paramount Pictures has announced plans to make a big-budget film focusing on the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The director will be Oliver Stone, and the film will star Nicholas Cage. Several smaller films and documentaries have dealt with the attacks and/or their aftermath, but until now, the major Hollywood studios have shied away from what they rightly guess to be a sensitive topic. Washington Post 07/09/05
Posted: 07/09/2005 1:16 pm

Maybe Their Movies Don't Suck Hollywood may be having a rough year, but the French Canadian film industry is raking in the dough. "While box-office receipts across the continent were down more than 8 per cent in the first half of 2005 compared with a year earlier, they fell less than 3 per cent in Canada's French-speaking heartland. There's nothing bewitching about the trend. While this year's crop of Hollywood films is leaving Quebeckers just as indifferent as other North Americans, homegrown movies continue to build their audience, making the province's film industry the envy of its English-Canadian counterpart." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 07/09/05
Posted: 07/09/2005 12:21 pm

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Dance

Russia's Legendary Beanpole "From unpromising beginnings as a gawky young dancer, Uliana Lopatkina has become the greatest ballerina in Russia today, and a national legend... Russian ballet had been known for its small, delicate women, but the then Kirov director Oleg Vinogradov was mad about Sylvie Guillem and eagerly started unearthing tall new girls in her image - his 'basketball team', as they were known." A decade on, Lopatkina is changing the face - and the body type - of classical ballet in Russia and beyond, but she remains quite conservative in her choice of roles, as well as in her assessment of what a dancer with her body can (or should) attempt. The Telegraph (UK) 07/09/05
Posted: 07/09/2005 12:42 pm

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