In France: The Walls Of Unrest "Over the last few weeks of civil unrest in France, life at times has felt as if it was becoming art. The government declared a state of emergency and imposed curfews nightly in areas where cars were torched by the hundreds. There was even talk of shutting down Paris proper in the evening to prevent any treachery. Although a physical wall around Paris was torn down centuries ago, over the last decades, walls of distinctions dividing people by race, ethnicity, religion and neighborhood have become increasingly apparent. Successful French artists, writers and performers of African and Arab descent have been straddling them for years." Los Angeles Times 11/27/05
Posted: 11/27/2005 5:02 am
When Google Rules The World? "In less than a decade, Google has gone from guerrilla startup to 800-pound gorilla. Google has always wanted to be more than a search engine. Even in the early days, its ultimate goal was extravagant: to organize the world's information. High-minded as that sounds, Google's ever-expanding agenda has put it on a collision course with nearly every company in the information technology industry: Amazon.com, Comcast, eBay, Yahoo!, even Microsoft." Wired 12/05
Posted: 11/27/2005 4:53 am
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Switzerland - Art Of The ordinary "In the rest of the world, cities clamour for iconic buildings, blockbuster museums and galleries, which they desperately hope will put them on the map. Our everyday surroundings, however, new houses and out-of-town shopping malls, streetscapes and utilities, are virtually untouched by architects, a saddening, immature blend of Noddy-houses and big sheds, anonymous boxes and ominous CCTV poles. In Switzerland there are few icons. Instead, the average is executed with thought and skill, and the whole is consequently raised to a sublime where even the signal boxes are designed by world-class architects." Financial Times 11/25/05
Posted: 11/27/2005 4:58 am
Financier Accuses Gallery Of Austion Price Fixing Christie's is holding back the sale of some painting sold at auction because it suspects a gallery of orchestrating a price fixing scheme. “We permitted certain bidding...because we were led to believe that the owners...were a divorcing couple. We now have reason to believe that this was not the case.” The Art Newspaper 11/25/05
Posted: 11/27/2005 4:48 am
Warhol Foundation Revamps Authetication Committee The Warhol Foundation has appointed two former curators to join its authentication committee to judge the authenticity of works said to be by the late artist. "Since 2003, the board has been under fire from owners of rejected works and members of the artist’s circle who claim their knowledge of Warhol’s practice is ignored. The board has routinely denied the authenticity of silkscreens made without Warhol’s direct supervision, but his former associates argue that to reject such works contradicts Warhol’s practice of having works of art printed without his direct oversight."
The Art Newspaper 11/25/05
Posted: 11/27/2005 4:47 am
Collector Sues Van Gogh Museum Over Painting A collector is suing the Van Gogh Museum because the museum has declared a painting the man owns as a fake. "The owner intended to sell the painting two years ago as the star of an auction in the Gironde. But a news agency report quoting the museum's belief that it was a fake forced its withdrawal. His belief in the painting's authenticity has been supported by other analysts, including an Italian art laboratory and a Dutch-based French expert, Bernard Landais, who declared himself in no doubt that the painting was in Van Gogh's hand."
The Telegraph (UK) 11/25/05
Posted: 11/27/2005 4:46 am
The Art Of Illness A California pathologist believes that artists' physical ailments are often represented in the art they made. "Environmental poisons and drug use may have colored the creations of Michelangelo, Raphael and Vincent Van Gogh and left their impression on the work of Renaissance sculptor Benvenuto Cellini."
Forbes 11/23/05
Posted: 11/27/2005 4:45 am
Secret Santa's Art The Royal Academy's annual Secrets sale offers cards by famous artists at a low price. The identity of the artist remains unknown until each card is bought and the signature is revealed on the back. One fan camped for two weeks to lead the queue for the sale, which helps students with grants and bursaries. Illustrator Quentin Blake and Tracey Emin were among the artists to donate a record 2,700 cards, each sold for £35."
BBC 11/27/05
Posted: 11/27/2005 4:44 am
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Does Fat Make The Opera Voice Strong? "In recent weeks, the name of Peter Osin, a consultant at London's Royal Marsden Hospital, has been popping up in newspapers and on arts-related websites because the doctor has a new theory: Chubby opera singers — ladies as well as gentlemen — may be the victims of their own art form." Los Angeles Times 11/27/05
Posted: 11/27/2005 5:03 am
By Any Other Name An Opera? Turn "La Bohème" into a 1980s pop manifesto on AIDS and arty squatters? Scrub Verdi's "Aida" Disney-clean with a pop score by Elton John? The very thought makes opera purists cringe ... and reformers rejoice. Denver Post 11/27/05
Posted: 11/27/2005 4:57 am
Detroit Symphony Experiments With Giant Video The orchestra mounted two large video screens in its hall for a performance. "The concert was the first in the 'Classics Unmasked' series that marks a departure from the DSO's traditional format. The new style aims to attract a generation weaned on television and stimulated by music videos and the Internet. For the first time, audience members in the farthest seats could see the angle of a violin bow as it hit a string or even the veins of a musician's hands." Detroit Free Press 11/27/05
Posted: 11/27/2005 4:56 am
- Detroit Orchestra: Video As A Tool Large video screens at the Detroit Symphony this week were intended not to be distracting. "We're not making a TV show. Our mission is to reveal things to the audience that they can't see, not broadcast the music. This is the society we've become. We want to teach people that it's OK to take the time to listen to music, but we have to be willing to meet people where they are." Detroit Free Press 11/25/05
Posted: 11/27/2005 4:55 am
The Invisible Canadians From Dublin to Dresden, Barcelona to Berlin, performances by Canadian singers can be almost daily occurrences in Europe -- and anyone determined to hear them all would soon rack up a lot of air miles. The not-so-good news, however, is that Canada's contribution to this most European of art forms tends to go pretty much unnoticed: Like Canadian movie stars in Hollywood, our finest opera singers are often assumed to be from somewhere else. The Globe & Mail (Canada) 11/26/05
Posted: 11/27/2005 4:54 am
The End Of The Jukebox? More and more patrons of bars are bringing their portable music players to play for the crowd. "People can bring their iPods and other portable music players and, for as long as the bartender allows, share their personal favorites with the crowd. Wired 11/27/05
Posted: 11/27/2005 4:52 am
Is Explosive Growth Of Digital Download Sales Cooling? "Early 2005 digital download results were staggering. By May of this year, about 6.4 million digital downloads were selling per week, three times that of the same period in 2004. But momentum has since stumbled. Average weekly downloads for the third quarter were up only slightly from May, to 6.6 million." Yahoo! (Reuters) 11/27/05
Posted: 11/27/2005 4:51 am
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The Marketing Of Frida "The Frida Kahlo Corporation, created by Isolda Kahlo, is busy exploiting the artist's name with a series of products. "The family has marketed Frida Kahlo jewellery and clothing after her niece won the rights to register the name as a brand. But the commercialisation of the painter, who died in 1954 at the age of 47, has provoked a row between her friends, family and critics." The Guardian (UK) 11/25/05
Posted: 11/27/2005 4:59 am
Our Politics Onstage Britain, more than any other country, is fictionalising its public and political life for the entertainment of the cultural elite. Financial Times 11/25/05
Posted: 11/27/2005 4:58 am
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Terfel To Quit Opera For A Year Welsh bass baritone Bryn Terfel says he may be taking a year off from opera. "Terfel reveals he may have a year free of the opera stage in 2008 to concentrate on some other projects. 'The importance of opera is slipping from the diary and there may be a change in 2008. I want a year that's clear of opera, to concentrate on concerts and radio and TV work'." BBC 11/27/05
Posted: 11/27/2005 4:43 am
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Changing Values - Is It Right To Exorcise The Offensive? "If we consider it reasonable to apply a modern evaluation of what is offensive or prejudiced to a script written nearly 40 years ago, why is it so complex to apply it to a text written 400 years ago? Should we allow contemporary revivals of Shakespeare and Marlowe to repeat attitudes and language considered acceptable at the time of writing, but untenable now, or should we attempt more culturally sensitive rereadings?
The Observer (UK) 11/27/05
Posted: 11/27/2005 5:00 am
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Historian Jailed For Holidays For Lying About Holocaust "David Irving, the discredited British historian of the Nazis, will spend Christmas and New Year in a Viennese jail after yesterday being refused bail and being remanded for four weeks pending trial for allegedly lying about the Holocaust." The Guardian (UK) 11/26/05
Posted: 11/27/2005 5:01 pm
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Christian Network Sues To Take Over California Public TV Station The Christian network says its bid to buy the station was higher than the one tendered by a community support group, and should have been accepted. Yahoo! (AP) 11/27/05
Posted: 11/27/2005 4:50 am
Chan: Asian Fimmakers Need To Protect Asian Culture Actor Jackie Chan says asian filmmakers should work hard to protect their own culture and not mimic American movies. "Why do we need to ape their culture? I see an Indian saying 'Yo Man!' but that's not what Asian are about. Cinema reflects culture and there is no harm in adapting technology, but not at the cost of losing your originality." Yahoo! (AP) 11/27/05
Posted: 11/27/2005 4:49 am
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