Friday, October 7
The New Fortune Tellers Wanted: futurist visionaries. Must be able to observe the larger culture around you and translate complex human interactions into wild, counterintuitive, and occasionally optimistic predictions about the future. Must be comfortable with corporate practices and be capable of expressing opinions as if they are indisputable facts. No experience necessary, but applicants should be able to convincingly act as if they've been doing this forever. Pay scale varies with results... Wired 10/07/05
Posted: 10/07/2005 5:44 am
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Deadly Serious A major exhibition at the Tampa, Florida-based Museum of Science and Industry consisting of 20 Chinese corpses, split open to reveal muscles and organs and manipulated into jaunty poses, has been attracting interest and controversy in roughly equal parts since its opening in August. "The corpses are, depending on whom you ask, magnificent figures created in the spirit of education or an insulting mockery created in the service of greed... The bodies are displayed in various states of simulated animation alongside placards that dryly explain basic elements of anatomy." Florida's anatomical board, which regulates the importation and treatment of corpses, is objecting vociferously, but the museum insists that it is acting responsibly. Miami Herald 10/07/05
Posted: 10/07/2005 6:36 am
Wynn Sells Two Major Paintings Hedge-fund billionaire Steven A. Cohen recently purchased two major works of art from Las Vegas casino owner Stephen Wynn, according to reports. "The paintings are van Gogh's 'Peasant Woman Against a Background of Wheat' (1890) and Gauguin's 'Bathers' (1902), and they once hung in the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art in Las Vegas, which was founded by Mr. Wynn, and were included in a 1999 catalog of the gallery's holdings." The estimated purchase price for the two works was well over $100 million. The New York Times 10/07/05
Posted: 10/06/2005 10:37 pm
Tehran Takes A Chance With Western Art "The finest collection of 20th-century western art outside Europe and America has been gathering dust in storage. Why? Because it's owned by the Islamic Republic of Iran," where artistic freedom is unheard of and heavy censorship is a way of life. In fact, the collection was very nearly sold off after Iran became an Islamic theocracy in 1979 and Western culture became the enemy of the state. "The art was saved, probably for commercial reasons, but it remained mostly unseen, while the museum put on edifying shows of religious and revolutionary art." But now, the complete collection is on display at Tehran's national museum for the first time since the revolution that brought the mullahs to power. The Guardian (UK) 10/07/05
Posted: 10/06/2005 10:00 pm
Landlord: Saatchi Went Berserk Over A Toilet Representatives of two companies attempting to evict collector Charles Saatchi's gallery from its South Bank premises have testified in court that the enigmatic collector flew into a rage over the use of a disabled toilet in one of the complex's common areas. The companies "allege the gallery consistently encroached on communal areas not within its leased area," and further accuse Saatchi himself of using "intimidatory tactics." The Guardian (UK) 10/07/05
Posted: 10/06/2005 9:44 pm
Come Pillage Our Castle! "Sotheby's is selling more than 20,000 items from the royal House of Hanover at the Marienburg Castle near Hanover, in northern Germany. Divided into about 4,700 lots, many of royal provenance, the sale includes glass and porcelain, silver, arms and armor, old master paintings, uniforms and textiles belonging to the kings and princes of England and Hanover from the 15th through the 19th centuries." The New York Times 10/07/05
Posted: 10/06/2005 9:42 pm
Brit Council Opens Virtual Gallery "One of the world's largest collections of contemporary British art goes on show today, showcasing work from the likes of Henry Moore, David Hockney and Tracey Emin - and the venue is just a click of the mouse away. The British Council's new online database... provides details of the 8,000 works in its permanent collection, 80% of which is on tour at any one time." The Guardian (UK) 10/06/05
Posted: 10/06/2005 9:40 pm
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Why Not Let The WKRP DJs Host The Concerts While You're At It? The Cincinnati Symphony is trying to boost ticket sales with promotions meant to make the organization seem edgier and more in tune with today's young adults (for instance, what 20-something wouldn't love a temporary tattoo that says, 'Get Your Beethoven On'?). This kind of thing rarely works, of course, but as long as the CSO is determined to try it, Chuck Martin has some additional suggestions for achieving hipsterdom. For one thing, concert halls need to be a far more nacho-intensive environment. For another, CSO music director Paavo Järvi is just crying out for a nickname, something like... ohhhh, how about P. Diddy? Cincinnati Enquirer 10/07/05
Posted: 10/07/2005 5:20 am
The Specialists A new generation of young pianists is coming of age in New York. But rather than pursuing traditional avenues of classical music achievement and finding fame on the orchestral stage, many are opting for the far more specialized world of contemporary music. The result has been a renewed energy in the city's new music circles, and a fiercely loyal following for the performers who choose the road less traveled. The New York Times 10/07/05
Posted: 10/06/2005 10:33 pm
Good News In Buffalo, But Stormier Seas Ahead The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra has announced a balanced budget for the fiscal year just completed, and ticket sales for the fall season are well ahead of last year's pace. But no one at the BPO is spending much time on self-congratulation: projections for the year ahead predict a $1.4 million deficit, and a large amount of government funding traditionally allocated to the orchestra is in jeopardy as a result of a statewide budget crunch. Buffalo Business First 10/07/05
Posted: 10/06/2005 9:01 pm
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Manhattan Development Board Angrily Rebukes Pataki New York Governor George Pataki's decision to bar the International Freedom Center's proposed museum from Ground Zero apparently didn't sit well with members of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, who yesterday issued an extraordinary rebuke of the governor. "The board cannot do much beyond complain, since the Freedom Center declared itself to be out of business almost immediately after Governor Pataki removed the museum from the cultural building last week. Yet their complaints amounted to remarkable political theater in a process where intramural disagreements are usually kept well hidden. The board members' willingness to speak openly about their frustration almost certainly reflects a high degree of discouragement and even anger." The New York Times 10/07/05
Posted: 10/07/2005 8:05 am
Report: Silicon Valley Hurting For Culture "A majority of regional leaders believe Silicon Valley is losing ground in its ability to attract a creative workforce, in part because of an inadequate cultural environment, according to a new survey. Fifty-eight percent of Silicon Valley leaders who participated in the survey -- called the Creative Community Index -- said their ability to recruit creative talent is dropping compared with other global centers of technology. They cited the lack of an energetic urban core and insufficient leisure and cultural activities as among key reasons... The perceived lack of cultural opportunities, however, apparently doesn't mean a lack of interest on the part of the public." San Jose Mercury News 10/07/05
Posted: 10/07/2005 5:16 am
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The New Nyman "No one divides the musical world quite like Michael Nyman. There are critics who shudder at the mere mention of his name. The public loves him; his score for Jane Campion's film The Piano has become a fixture on [UK radio network] Classic FM... He has a whole team of agents and managers, he has his own recording company, and he lives in the heart of the Islington elite, a stone's throw from Simon Rattle." Now, Nyman is hitting the road, performing his own piano works for adoring throngs across Europe. "What's surprising for anyone who remembers the blistering, relentlessly repetitive early Nyman is how soft and mellifluous the recent music has become... So can it be true that Nyman is really mellowing? Have all the old distancing devices been banished?" The Telegraph (UK) 10/07/05
Posted: 10/06/2005 10:28 pm
Pinter's Latest Miniature Harold Pinter is 75, and not in good health, his esophagus ravaged by cancer and his famous voice "notably weakened." But somehow, the playwright has willed himself to create a short but profound new radio play, which will receive its premiere next week on BBC Radio. "For Voices, Pinter has reworked five of his later plays - One for the Road, Mountain Language, The New World Order, Party Time and Ashes to Ashes - into a fragmented narrative on cruelty, torture and oppression, which is interrupted, accompanied and complemented by [composer James] Clarke's mercurial score, performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the soprano Eileen Aargaard and an Azeri singer, Fatma Mehralieva, among others." The Independent (UK) 10/07/05
Posted: 10/06/2005 10:21 pm
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Will Oprah's Name Alone Be Enough To Sell Purple? When Oprah Winfey announced that she was contributing $1 million towards the production costs of the upcoming Broadway production of The Color Purple (Winfrey starred in the movie version of Alice Walker's acclaimed novel,) the show's producers saw stars in the shape of dollar signs dancing before them. But while the Oprah branding (which is now prominently trumpeted in every ad for the show) has helped advance sales, it hasn't yet turned into the fiscal windfall some expected. "Conventional wisdom is that as soon as Oprah starts plugging The Color Purple regularly on her television show, the box office will take off. But there are some red flags here that are worth waving." New York Post 10/07/05
Posted: 10/07/2005 6:48 am
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Why Do We Love Lolita? It's been fifty years since Vladimir Nabokov penned Lolita, but the tale of a pedophile and his "nymphet" stepdaughter remains as baldly shocking and strangely moving as the day it was published. In fact, it's one of the top-selling books of all time. Some scholars suggest that it is Nabokov's unquestionably beautiful way with language that attracts us and gives his book such lasting appeal. But there may also be a darker obsession with underaged children as sex objects hiding beneath the surface of our literary interest. "How is it that a pedophile protagonist remains sympathetic enough to draw audiences? Why does this backward fairy tale -- Prince Charming as a monster -- endure?" Chicago Tribune (AP) 10/07/05
Posted: 10/07/2005 6:05 am
Poetry Awards Announced The Poetry Foundation, newly enriched by a major gift from an Indiana philanthropist, is using part of the largesse to fund a series of awards intended to raise the profiles of underrecognized poets. Some of the awards are so specific as to seem designed specifically for their winners - for instance, the "Emily Dickinson First Book Award, for an American poet older than 50 who has not yet published a book of poetry" - while others emphasize qualities frequently lacking in poetry, such as humor. Chicago Tribune 10/07/05
Posted: 10/07/2005 5:59 am
Fagin The Jew: Anti-Semitism's Grip On Classic Lit The role of the Jew in Western literature has far too often been as a malevolent, money-grubbing villain who exists mainly to be bested by the blond-haired, blue-eyed hero. And if that Aryan-Nordic hero can be a child, so much the better, as Charles Dickens knew well when he conjured up the primary antagonist for Oliver Twist. "There is almost no other character to compete with Fagin for the title of the most grotesque and villainous Jew in all of English literature. Of all the 989 characters who sprang from the pen of Charles Dickens, the evil old gang-master is one of his most vivid caricatures." Even though modern morality has mandated that film and stage versions of the Dickens tale tone down the anti-Semitism, the disturbing stereotype is still pervasive. The Independent (UK) 10/07/05
Posted: 10/06/2005 10:12 pm
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Big Media: Digital TV Doesn't Need Educational Restrictions "Viacom Inc. has asked a federal court to overturn new rules requiring more educational TV programs for children and setting tighter limits on kids' exposure to advertising in the age of digital television... The government has long set guidelines for broadcasters to set aside a certain amount of educational programming for children with commercials limited to 12 minutes per hour of kids' programming... But the FCC has formulated new rules to take into account the nation's move toward digital transmission of TV signals and the phaseout of analog broadcasting... The new FCC rules would extend the children's programming requirements to those new channels, something the major entertainment companies are resisting." Los Angeles Times 10/07/05
Posted: 10/07/2005 6:30 am
Catering To The Boomers (It's Just Good Business) Youth may rule in American broadcasting, but in Australia, the most coveted demographic seems to be listeners deep in middle age. That's right, the baby boomers are ruling the airwaves, and a whole new radio station is being launched in Melbourne to attract them. Of course, the new Vega FM will be competing with Melbourne's three (yes, three) other boomer-focused stations, but no one in the business seems to think market saturation will be a problem. The overriding philosophy behind going after an older generation of listeners may sound odd to Americans, but the business strategy makes a lot of sense: young people are fickle and hard to please, whereas middle-aged folks generally know what they like and enjoy a steady, predictable diet of whatever that is. The Age (Melbourne) 10/06/05
Posted: 10/06/2005 9:29 pm
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Cash Crisis At Canada's Nat'l Ballet "The National Ballet of Canada is in financial jeopardy following a disappointing season that saw a significant drop in ticket sales... The ballet has a deficit of $448,000 for the 2004-05 fiscal year, bringing its debt to $1,140,000 — with the biggest source of the shortfall occurring at the box office. Combining ticket sales at Hummingbird Centre and box office from touring, the ballet was down $541,000 over the previous season. Audiences appear to have voted with their feet on the merits of last season's mostly contemporary offerings. The 2003-04 season ended with a deficit of $690,000 — attributed to problems with fundraising and lower than expected government support." Toronto Star 10/07/05
Posted: 10/07/2005 7:04 am
PBT Protests Grow In Size, Volume The pickets organized by Pittsburgh-area musicians to protest the decision of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre to dance to canned music for the season is attracting support from musicians and union stalwarts nationwide. "Among the pickets [at last night's performance] were 25 music students from Carnegie Mellon University; musicians from New York City, Toronto, and Akron; local stagehands; Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra musicians in full dress with white ties; and T-shirt-clad members of the Service Employees International Union and Teamsters." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 10/07/05
Posted: 10/07/2005 6:54 am
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