Newfoundland Gallery Director Firing Roils Community Newfoundland's arts community has been shocked by the sudden dismissal of Gordon Laurin as director of the provincial art gallery just two weeks after the gallery officially opened the doors of its new home. "Speculation is rampant that Laurin's departure is linked to disagreements over what art the new gallery should show. Said one observer of the local scene: "One of the problems the art gallery has had in general is a lack of understanding by the government and others about the nature of contemporary art spaces, which are by definition vibrant, vocal, ever-changing places." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 07/19/05
Posted: 07/19/2005 7:21 am
Italy's Plan To Protect Art From Terrorists Italy has announced heightened plans to protect cultural sites from terrorist attack. "Measures will include placing metal detectors in museums, a complete ban on backpacks and bags, the cordoning-off of areas adjacent to monuments, and monitoring of queues. Florence, Venice, Rome and Palermo, as well as Assisi and Pompei are likely to top of the list of cities where the anti-terror measures will be deployed." AKI (Italy) 07/18/05
Posted: 07/19/2005 7:02 am
Where Are Britain's Great New Buildings? "Disgracefully, Britain can boast no buildings by most of the great modern architects. Where are the UK masterpieces by Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe? Not on our mean-minded little islands, that's for sure. London was once offered a distinguished late work by Mies, and Peter Palumbo struggled hard for permission to build it. But eventually, after an epic battle, the city fathers turned it down." New Statesman 07/18/05
Posted: 07/18/2005 11:05 pm
Beecroft Accuses Italy's "Most Successful" Artist Of Stealing Ideas "Maurizio Cattelan is Italy's most successful contemporary artist. In 2004 after his sculpture of a hanging horse, The Ballad of Trotsky, was auctioned for $1.2m (now £686,000), ArtReview magazine put him at number four on a list of the art world's VIPs. It was the highest ranking for any artist. But the Genoa-born artist Vanessa Beecroft - best known for her disturbing installations of living, almost nude, models - said she had had an affair with Cattelan before either became famous and that she was the source for many of his ideas." The Guardian (UK) 07/19/05
Posted: 07/18/2005 8:08 pm
Click here for more Visual Arts stories...
A Decision For The Baltimore Symphony Today? The mess surrounding the appointment of a new music director for the Baltimore Symphony comes to a head today as the orchestra's board meets to decide whether to hire Marin Alsop. "The hard-to-define chemistry between musicians and conductor that produces and sustains a long-term relationship is difficult to predict, let alone guarantee. Whether Alsop and the BSO could achieve such a connection is a question that the orchestra's board may consider this morning." Baltimore Sun 07/19/05
Posted: 07/19/2005 6:47 am
Critical Conversation: What's Wrong With Music Critics? It's a shrinking world for classical music critics and the artform they cover, writes Norman Lebrecht in AJ's weeklong music critics' blog: "I work with some outstanding music critics, brilliantly perceptive, dedicated to their craft. Just don’t ask most of them to think outside the box. Music critics, like the art they review, have turned timorously inwards, unable to fight their shrinking corner effectively because they have such little understanding of the pressures facing the editors who employ them." Critical Conversation (AJBlog) 07/18/05
Posted: 07/18/2005 11:08 pm
Why So Few Women Conductors? "In an era when women commonly run everything from universities to Fortune 500 companies to entire countries, why has it taken so long for a single leading orchestra to take the step? The fact is, classical music has been extraordinarily hidebound when it comes to gender issues. American orchestras have been far ahead of many of their European counterparts on this front, with women making up a third or more of the membership of several leading ensembles and regularly dominating the string section. But things have been just as hard for female conductors in the United States as they are across the Atlantic." Washington Post 07/19/05
Posted: 07/18/2005 10:44 pm
In Baltimore: Musicians Object To Music Director Choice Musicians of the Baltimore Symphony have strongly objected to the orchestra's search committee choice of Marin Alsop as the next music director. "The turmoil at the Baltimore Symphony is part of a long history of orchestra players' seeking a greater say in the choice of the man or woman who stands before them day after day, leading rehearsals, conducting concerts and strongly affecting their musical and even personal lives." The New York Times 07/19/05
Posted: 07/18/2005 10:14 pm
de Waart Fires Hong Kong Phil Concertmaster Hong Kong Philharmonic music director Edo de Waart, in his first season in the post, has fired concertmaster Dennis Kim for "auditioning for a place in an American orchestra while purportedly on sick leave. Kim learned earlier this year that his contract would not be renewed for the 2006-07 season for reasons, according to a source, that include criticizing his colleagues and bargaining for extra performance fees." PlaybillArts 07/16/05
Posted: 07/18/2005 7:30 pm
Click here for more Music stories...
The Zen Of The Celbrity Swag Bag Want to invite a celebrity to your next party? Better pony up the presents (or should we call them bribes?) and we're talking big-ticket items. "Instead of a small token of appreciation given to celebrities at parties, now it's a 'swag suite' full of long tables of iPods, digital cameras and designer clothes, which VIPs stuff into luggage. The practice has become so excessive, so key to luring stars to awards shows and parties, that there's now a college class devoted to it." New York Post 07/19/05
Posted: 07/19/2005 7:39 am
Detroit Is Closing Its Arts Office Many cities in Michigan have been "building economic development strategies based on the strengths of vibrant cultural activities." But Detroit has decided to close the Department of Arts, Culture and Tourism in an attempt to reduce the city's $300-million budget shortfall. "We all understand that Detroit's policymakers have more demands than they have dollars, but arts and culture pays for itself many times over. And if a stronger economy is the destination we seek, arts and culture in Detroit is one of the best ways to get there." Detroit Free Press 07/18/05
Posted: 07/19/2005 6:53 am
Is The 21st Century The Return Of Amateur Culture? Professor Lawrence Lessig says he thinks so: "If you think of the 20th Century as this period of professionalising creativity - you've got the film and recording industries which become the professional creators, separating and stifling in many ways the popular culture. I do not think you are going to see the elimination of the professional creators but you are going to see it complemented by a much wider range of amateur culture in the original sense of the word amateur - in that people do it purely for the love of creating." BBC 07/18/05
Posted: 07/18/2005 6:44 pm
Click here for more Arts Issues stories...
Italian Trial Of Getty Curator Is Suspended Almost as soon as it got started, the trial in Italy of a Getty curator was postponed. "The prosecution of Marion True, the Getty's curator for antiquities and director of the Getty Villa, will resume Nov. 16, a three judge panel decided. True, 56, is accused of criminal conspiracy to receive stolen goods and illicit receipt of archeological items purportedly dug up in Italy. The case involves 42 allegedly looted objects and is more than 10 years in the making. Through an attorney, True has asserted her innocence, and the museum has backed her up." Los Angeles Times 07/18/05
Posted: 07/18/2005 7:02 pm
Culture Of Dissent (But Not Kadare) It's fashionable for writers from former Soviet block countries to portray themselves as dissidents. But is Ismail Kadare, the Albanian who recently won the international Man Booker Prize such a dissident? "Kadare is no Solzhenitsyn and never has been. If the head of the Union of Writers and the delegate to the People's Assembly who studied in Moscow was the dissident, who in God's name supported communism? His secretary? The janitor? His dissident credentials are rubbish, as are those of many Eastern European writers and poets who published and thrived during communism, mixing their literary career with commanding political posts." MobyLives 07/19/05
Posted: 07/18/2005 6:38 pm
Click here for more People stories...
Guthrie Reports A Mixed Year Minneapolis' Guthrie Theatre reports its lowest number of subscribers in seven years. "The Guthrie, which has been led since July 1995 by artistic director Joe Dowling, reported total revenues of $18.6 million and total expenses of $20 million. After a $1.4 million transfer from other funds, the Guthrie had a surplus of $25,874. The theater reported 27,172 subscribers for the 2004-2005 fiscal year -- 3,000 fewer than the previous fiscal year." The Star-Tibune (Mpls) 07/18/05
Posted: 07/18/2005 8:28 pm
Colorado Loves Theatre (But Mostly One Theatre) "Colorado theaters drew 1.7 million patrons and generated $54 million in ticket revenue in 2004, according to a first-of-its-kind survey by The Denver Post. Pretty good for a state of 4.6 million people. But then there's the tragic frown: Nearly half of those who attended the theater anywhere in Colorado went to a show at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. That's great news for the largest performing-arts center between Chicago and Los Angeles. It is not such good news for the nearly 100 other theater companies in Colorado fighting over the other half." Denver Post 07/18/05
Posted: 07/18/2005 8:00 pm
Broadway - The Disney Years "Broadway has never truly been owned by anyone, but its eras always have been defined by the proliferation of a particular producer or creative team. Forty years before Mackintosh and Andrew Lloyd Webber, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein had five musicals running at the same time. Producer Manny Azenberg once had seven shows running simultaneously. "And how many shows did David Merrick have running at one time?" Schumacher asked. Still, this is unmistakably Disney's time on Broadway - and all things Disney-like." Denver Post 07/18/05
Posted: 07/18/2005 7:59 pm
Shakespeare In The Original English London's Globe Theatre is going to stage a production of Shakespeare in what is thought to be its original pronunciation. "Actors in Troilus and Cressida will recite their lines with accents believed to have been heard on the stage during Elizabethan times. It follows on from brief experiments with original pronunciation during the company's run of Romeo and Juliet in June 2004." BBC 07/18/05
Posted: 07/18/2005 6:47 pm
Click here for more Theatre stories...
80 Years After Mein Kampf This week marks the 80th anniversary of the publishing of Mein Kampf. But discussion of the book is still complicated. "It remains a unique artifact - loathed yet collected, mocked yet feared, ignored by many but a best-seller in some Muslim societies." Philadelphia Inquirer 07/19/05
Posted: 07/19/2005 7:55 am
Judges: A Golden Year For Poetry This year's Forward Prize for poetry attracted more than 11,000 entries. It has been, say the judges, an excellent year for poetry. "The judges add that several long-established poets on the £5,000 best collection shortlist are "producing work that was not just the best in the year, but the best work of their poetic careers". They single out the poet and librettist David Harsent, 63, and Alan Jenkins, 55, the deputy editor of the Times Literary Supplement." The Guardian (UK) 07/18/05
Posted: 07/18/2005 8:21 pm
Harry At A Dozen Per Second Seven million copies of the new Harry Potter were sold in the first 24 hours it was on sale. How many is that? A little perspective: "Retailers said that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince had sold more copies in a day than The Da Vinci Code sold in one year. WH Smith said it sold 13 copies a second on Saturday. This breaks the book chain's previous record of eight copies a second, which was held by the last tale by JK Rowling: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." The Guardian (UK) 07/18/05
Posted: 07/18/2005 8:16 pm
The Agony Of Writing A Book "'How's your book going?' has become my least favourite question. I used to think writers didn't like talking about their works-in-progress because they were afraid people would steal their brilliant ideas. Now I know the truth. Writers hate talking about their books because they're sick to death of them. That and the fact that, on any given day, they secretly suspect that their books might stink. And let's face it, most books do stink..." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 07/16/06
Posted: 07/18/2005 7:14 pm
Click here for more Publishing stories...
Public Broadcasting Bias? Polls Say No What's behind charges that American public broadcasting is biased towards the left? "Indeed, poll after poll shows that Americans consider PBS to be one of their most trusted and valued institutions... A poll of 6,000 Americans last month revealed 66 per cent believe PBS has no bias, while 21 per cent say it leans to the left and 13 per cent see a tilt to the right. So where do all the charges of liberal bias come from?" Toronto Star 07/19/05
Posted: 07/19/2005 8:17 am
Why Is Cable Programming Gaining On Broadcast Fare? "Cable's programming system is more viewer-friendly. Rarely does a cable network introduce a series and then yank it off the schedule after a few weeks because of low audience ratings. Normally, 13 episodes are produced, aired and repeated. If a series doesn't find an audience, it will go out of production. But at least viewers know they can make a 13-week investment. Contrast this to network television's operations." Rocky Mountain News 07/19/05
Posted: 07/19/2005 8:06 am
At The Movies - Reporters As Boobs (Or Worse) Journalists are having a bad time in the movies these days. "The media's image has taken a long downward slide from the 1976 film "All the President's Men," which (even more than the book) lionized Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein and, by extension, all of journalism. The heroic reporters that followed, in movies like "The Killing Fields" (1984), now seem quaint. If a film depicts a serious reporter today, he is likely to be as ineffectual as the cameraman played by Joaquin Phoenix in "Hotel Rwanda," desolate about his inability to draw attention to the genocide. It isn't hard to spot what's behind this erosion of the journalist's image." The New York Times 07/19/05
Posted: 07/19/2005 7:50 am
Are Audiences Retreating From Movie Theatres Because Of Ads? "Advertising increased on the principle of creeping tolerance. If we put up with two commercials for a while, why not give us three? If we kept coming, try four. After the hissing in the theatres stopped, owners assumed that we had adapted to the new order. We hadn't. We had simply fallen into a sullen silence. After all these years, some, like me, still grit our teeth and acknowledge that we're so desperate to see movies on a big screen with an audience that we'll tolerate almost any indignity. Other patrons apparently decided that enough was enough. They began staying home. Even if they saw movies on commercial TV, they at least had a mute button to protect themselves." National Post (Canada) 07/19/05
Posted: 07/19/2005 7:31 am
The Canadian Movie Studio With The Boffo Business Model "Lions Gate Entertainment Corp claims it doesn't want to be the king of the Hollywood jungle. Instead, it wants to fill in the niche markets such as horror, urban and art-house genres. Considering its low production costs, the Vancouver based company's strategy is a big time success." The Globe & mail (Canada) 07/18/05
Posted: 07/18/2005 8:05 pm
Are Podcasters The New Rock Stars? (iTunes Can Do It) The way to get famous in the podcasting world is to get a spot on iTunes new podcast subscription lists. But "the switch came suddenly and without warning, turning a long list of mom-and-pop online audiocasters into overnight sensations, crashing servers across the nation and minting new internet stars in a way not seen since the early days of blogging." Wired 07/18/05
Posted: 07/18/2005 7:17 pm
Click here for more Media stories...
An Ode To Ballet Ballet has all other artforms beat hands down, writes Charlotte Higgins. "There is no other art form that is so highly evolved, sophisticated, sublime, where absolute discipline of technique is allied with grace, beauty, sensuality and pure emotion. Ballet - ballet is another world. Ballet is about limbs and bones and muscle, about flesh and skin. It is visceral. Ballet is about what it means to be human while the blood pumps through our veins; about the things that are too strange, dense and delicate to be strangulated by human speech or song." The Guardian (UK) 07/18/05
Posted: 07/18/2005 8:13 pm
Click here for more Dance stories...
