Monday, May 29
Bach By Deaf Kids? Is It Art?
Is trying to teach deaf kids to sing Bach cruel? Or is it inspiring? A new video documenting the exercise raises questions about artistic impulse. "The video first shows us the deaf students learning to sing, under the guidance of an enthusiastic young music teacher. Not surprisingly, the result comes close to pure cacophony. It's likely to provoke a grimace from music lovers. It's also likely to pain anyone with even a hint of political correctness."
Washington Post
05/28/06
Posted: 05/29/2006 9:02 am
The Dance Of Form And Function (In An Airline Terminal)
Want to design a public space that works well? One where the flow of people is practical, yet pleasant to be in? A place that gets the job done, but also one where people like to come? Hire a choreographer to think about the way people will move in it. That's what architect David Rockwell did when he consulted choreographer Jerry Mitchell...
The New York Times
05/28/06
Posted: 05/29/2006 7:39 am
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A Constable Puzzle - The Sketch that Might Have Been For Something Else
"The Opening of Waterloo Bridge was supposed to be reunited with its full-scale preliminary sketch as part of 'Constable: the Great Landscapes', opening at Tate Britain on Thursday. But shortly before the exhibition was due to open, technical experts discovered the sketch was more likely to be the beginnings of a separate work that was never finished."
The Observer (UK)
05/28/06
Posted: 05/29/2006 9:08 am
Denver Contemporary Looks To Step Up
The Museum of Contemporary Art/Denver is only 10 years old. But it is looking to break into the big leagues with a new $15 million building. "Perhaps most important, the museum hopes to gain the participation of top-level international artists it simply could not approach before because of the deficiencies of its facility and the institution's lack of stature."
Denver Post
05/28/06
Posted: 05/29/2006 8:44 am
Rocky Business - The Movie Statue And The Museum
The clunky statue of Rocky from the Sylvester Stallone movie franchise is coming back to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Critic Edward Sozanski thinks that's just fine. "Copenhagen has its little mermaid and New York has its library lions. So why can't the citizens of Philadelphia and their paying guests have their Rocky? As Michael Corleone observed, it's strictly business. The only thing wrong with Rocky Reborn is the intended placement."
Philadelphia Inquirer
05/28/06
Posted: 05/29/2006 8:22 am
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Do New Internet Jukeboxes Signal End Of An Era?
"At thousands of bars and restaurants, patrons can now listen to songs stored on hard drives or downloaded from remote servers. Some find the change a refreshing departure from the limited selection of records or CDs of old jukeboxes. Others lament the transformation of an American icon. They say the smaller collections of compact discs or 45s in traditional jukeboxes gave barrooms a distinct feel that gets washed away by the new technology's nearly unlimited choice and flashy screens reminiscent of video poker machines."
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (AP)
05/28/06
Posted: 05/29/2006 8:56 am
French Rapper Charged For Offending France
A popular French rapper has been hauled into court, charged with offending public decency for insultinjg France. "Monsieur R, whose real name is Richard Makela, could face three years in prison or a €75,000 (Ł51,000) fine after an MP from the ruling UMP party launched legal action against him over his album Politikment Incorrekt."
The Guardian (UK)
05/29/06
Posted: 05/29/2006 8:54 am
Classical Music Blues? Yeah, Right!
"Moaning about the state of classical music has itself become an industry. But as pervasive as the conventional wisdom is, much of it is based on sketchy data incorrectly interpreted. Were things better in the old days? Has American culture given up on classical music? The numbers tell a very different story: for all the hand-wringing, there is immensely more classical music on offer now, both in concerts and on recordings than there was in what nostalgists think of as the golden era of classics in America."
The New York Times
05/28/06
Posted: 05/29/2006 7:24 am
Oakland Opera's "X" Files
Oakland Opera Theatre exists as a vehicle for modern opera. Since it took on the Oakland Opera name in 1999 (the former Oakland Opera having shut down a few years earlier), the company's offerings have ranged from Gertrude Stein and Virgil Thomson's "Four Saints in Three Acts" to a disco-era staging of Stravinsky's "The Rake's Progress" to a circus fantasia of Glass' "La Belle et la Bęte." Seeing what inventive stagings the small company concocts with limited resources is half the fun..."
San Francisco Chronicle
05/28/06
Posted: 05/29/2006 6:37 am
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California To Arts Ed Boost?
California still ranks last in per capita arts funding. But the proposed new state budget includes some good news for arts education. "A spokeswoman for the California Arts Council said the overall state budget revision proposes an increase of $66 million in the Proposition 98 general fund to expand the arts and music block grants to a total of $166 million."
San Diego Union-Tribune
05/28/06
Posted: 05/29/2006 6:57 am
Minnesota Arts Groups Happy With New Funding
Minnesota arts groups were hoping to get a measure on the fall ballot that would propose allocating a piece of the state sales tax to arts funding. The state legislature didn't quite get there, but it did approve money for some arts construction projects.
St. Paul Pioneer-Press
05/28/06
Posted: 05/29/2006 6:41 am
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Remembering Spalding Gray In His Own Words
It's been more than two years since Spalding Gray killed himself (likely by jumping off the Staten Island ferry). Now he's being remembered in readings of his work. "It feels like the first time we're opening the book again and going, 'It's O.K. to talk about Spalding.' It was such a harsh end. But all those beautiful, graceful moments that he recognized in his work, they still stand. They don't get negated by that last moment."
The New York Times
05/28/06
Posted: 05/29/2006 8:11 am
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Hard Ride - A Musical Making Them Walk Out
"The Black Rider" is an unconventional musical now playing in Los Angeles. The piece has polarized reactions, provoking a rash of audience desertins in the middle of the play; they're walking out. "As playgoers continue to abandon seats costing as much as $95, a night with "Rider" has turned into the showbiz equivalent of red states versus blue, two camps seeing the same thing and reaching polarized conclusions."
Los Angeles Times
05/28/06
Posted: 05/29/2006 9:13 am
Live-Ad - Come-To-London Comes To Pittsburgh
The live theatrical ad for London comes to the stage of Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre. "We thought it was a joke at first. Then we told them we wouldn't do it unless they compensated us. They said tell us what you have in mind, we threw out a figure and they said 'OK.' They made it worth our while."The Post-Gazette sent its theater critic to watch a dress rehearsal, and I can report that, at just over five minutes, it feels long, and the acting is better than what you can only call the product placement dramaturgy of the writing.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
05/27/06
Posted: 05/29/2006 7:06 am
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Canadian Book Chain Banishes Harper's Mag From Its Racks
Canada's largest book chain has pulled this month's issue of Harper's magazine off its shelves. "Indigo Books and Music took the action this week when its executives noticed that the 10-page Harper's article, titled Drawing Blood, reproduced all 12 cartoons first published last September by Jyllands-Posten (The Morning Newspaper). The article also contains five cartoons, including one by Art Spiegelman and two by Israelis, 'inspired' by an Iranian newspaper's call in February for an international Holocaust cartoon contest 'to test the limits of Western tolerance of free speech'.”
The Globe & Mail (Canada)
05/28/06
Posted: 05/29/2006 8:26 am
Pages Vs. Electrons - A Battle Even Grizzly Bears Would Love
The battle is shaping up - between those who believe the literary world needs to man the ramparts and defend the printed page and the traditional structures that support it, and those who believe the electronic world will liberate knowledge. John Updike and Chris Anderson duke it out at Book Expo.
The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)
05/28/06
Posted: 05/29/2006 6:50 am
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What Happened To The Movie Premiere Party?
"The premiere party used to hold great sway in Los Angeles nightlife. In a town whose occupation is looking good, it was a hallowed kind of faux-civic event — celebrities showing up to watch themselves on-screen and then repairing to a party to discuss themselves. The premiere was a win-win for Janie in Peoria and Hollywood both. Janie got her fix of Hollywood meta-existence, sure that all anyone in L.A. did every night was go to premieres, and Hollywood got Janie. Things have changed." Los Angeles Times
05/28/06
Posted: 05/29/2006 8:47 am
"Real World" Soho-Style...
What happens when you put out a call for artists to be in a "reality" show about artists? You geet 400 people lining up around the block to participate... The New York Times
05/28/06
Posted: 05/29/2006 8:02 am
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Pacific Northwest Ballet Revives Under Boal Regime
Peter Boal has completed his first season running Seattle's Pacific Northwest Ballet. "Boal has brought youthful energy to the company, as well as a dance bag full of new-to-PNB works, many chosen from choreographers for whom Boal himself danced. Among the dancers, new faces are emerging from the corps de ballet as future stars, while the veterans are dancing with renewed vigor. And that energy isn't just up on the stage: People are talking about PNB, in a way that they haven't for a long time."
Seattle Times
05/28/06
Posted: 05/29/2006 8:16 am
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