Discovery: The Oldest Wring In North America? Writing that is 3000 years old in a language not known before now has been found on a stone in Mexico. "Scholars are tantalized by a message in stone in a script unlike any other and a text they cannot read. They are excited by the prospect of finding more of this writing, and eventually deciphering it, to crack open a window on one of the most enigmatic ancient civilizations." The New York Times 09/16/06
Posted: 09/18/2006 8:25 am
Klimts To Be Auctioned In November Christie's will auction the remaining four Gustav Klimt paintings returned earlier this year after being looted by Nazis in World War II. "The four works, which are together valued at nearly $100 million, include 'Adele Bloch-Bauer II,' a 1912 portrait of Mrs. Bloch-Bauer in fashionable street clothes and a wide-brimmed hat. Christie’s estimates that it could fetch $40 million to $60 million." The New York Times 09/16/06
Posted: 09/18/2006 8:12 am
Lebanese Archaeological Sites Damaged In Recent War The recent war between Israel and Lebanon damaged some important buildings in Lebanon. "A Roman tomb in Tyre and a medieval tower in Byblos have been significantly damaged by the war, the official leading a survey of Lebanese archaeological sites told The Observer late last week." The Observer (UK) 09/17/06
Posted: 09/18/2006 8:09 am
Are Our New Museums Up To The Task? "The paradox of a contemporary museum becomes most overt when an institution that deals in established status enters a realm where doubt is both inevitable and essential. It isn't clear that the museum is the best place for new objects to be tested. With so much invested-financially, culturally, and even politically-in these institutions, their tendency is to cover up the vital uncertainty of the moment (everything from the quality of the work to its meaning and eventual role in history) with a wealth of supporting material." Boston Globe 09/17/06
Posted: 09/17/2006 9:18 pm
Schama: Bernini Matters Simon Schama writes that Bernini "used the power of art to achieve the most difficult thing in the world: the visualisation of bliss... Before Bernini, sculpture's preoccupation had been with immortality. When modern sculptors looked at, and learned from, antiquity, what they saw was the translation of mortal humanity into something purer, chillier and more enduring: gods and heroes." The Guardian (UK) 09/16/06
Posted: 09/17/2006 7:15 pm
Banksy Takes LA British "guerrilla" artist Banksy hits Los Angeles. "Somehow, despite his mainstream appeal, Banksy has lost none of the respect of his more 'underground' British peers. When people talk about graffiti they talk about Banksy. Famous people have always come to his exhibitions because his stuff is easy to read." The Observer (UK) 09/17/06
Posted: 09/17/2006 7:11 pm
The Art Dealer At The Right Time, Right Place Ambroise "Vollard was a classic example of right place, right time. Important artists were in and out of his gallery buying, selling and trading paintings, and collectors followed. He never spoke a foreign language... yet he soon attracted an important international crowd of Russians, Germans, Americans and other collectors." Los Angeles Times 09/17/06
Posted: 09/17/2006 7:08 pm
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Checking Out Orange County's New Concert Hall Mark Swed likes the new $200 million hall on first encounter. "I like the way it feels. The light and airy interior is hospitable, the silver organ pipes (the instrument itself is still a year away from installation) intriguing. Architect Cesar Pelli's undulating glass exterior has a welcome, outdoorsy transparency. I like the firm, upright seats. I like the way I imagine Segerstrom will sound once it finds its bearings." Los Angeles Times 09/18/06
Posted: 09/18/2006 8:43 am
Comparing New Opera Houses In Oslo And Toronto "Where Toronto opted to build an opera house that serves its purpose and nothing beyond, Norwegians understood that such a project must address more than the narrow spectrum of opera lovers. Oslo is also in the process of burying its elevated waterfront highway and its railway tracks. The objective is to reintegrate the old harbourlands back into the city, and transform it into a mixed-use neighbourhood where people live and work. What better way to launch the regeneration than by building an opera house?" Toronto Star 09/17/06
Posted: 09/17/2006 9:34 pm
The Met In Times Square Metropolitan Opera "General Manager Peter Gelb said on Friday the September 25 opening night performance of Puccini's 'Madama Butterfly,' directed by filmmaker Anthony Minghella, would be beamed live to Times Square on a giant screen." Yahoo! (Reuters) 09/15/06
Posted: 09/17/2006 9:28 pm
Report: iPodders Prefer To Load Rather Than Buy A new report says that "on average, only 20 of the tracks on an iPod will be from the iTunes shop. Far more important to iPod owners, said the study, was free music ripped from CDs someone already owned or acquired from file-sharing sites. The report's authors claimed their findings had profound implications for the future of the online music market." BBC 09/17/06
Posted: 09/17/2006 7:06 pm
What If Mozart Had Lived? "Mozart’s death in 1791 was probably caused by streptococcal infection, renal failure, terminal bronchial pneumonia and a matrix of other illnesses, some dating from his childhood, when the Mozart family spent years touring Europe to show off the boy genius and, to a lesser extent, his sister. Imagine how different music history would have been had Mozart lived..." The New York Times 09/17/06
Posted: 09/17/2006 6:56 pm
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A Detroit Presenter Comes Out Swinging Detroit's Music Hall Theatre has been in a defensive position, running large deficits in the past few years. But the institution is abandoning its conservative ways this year, expanding to offer its most ambitious season ever. "In the upcoming season, 135 nights are already booked and officials say they expect the total to reach at least 170. Seventy percent of the nights now represent Music Hall's own bookings. Last season's operating budget of $6 million will swell to between $8 and $10 million this season." Detroit Free Press 09/18/06
Posted: 09/18/2006 8:16 am
Awards To Encourage Prison Art (And Creativity) "This week, the 45th exhibition of prison art opens in west London. There will be nearly 1,000 exhibits and prize money of £32,500, parcelled in small amounts to encourage the maximum number of artists. For many, a Koestler award is their first pat on the back; for a few, Koestler recognition is the gateway to a fresh start." The Guardian (UK) 09/17/06
Posted: 09/18/2006 7:22 am
Dreaming European The European Dream Festival offers off-the-radar work by artists from 24 countries in 22 venues. It's a real hodgepodge of art and artforms, designed to showcase the diversity of creativity in Europe. Newsday 09/17/06
Posted: 09/18/2006 7:17 am
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Merce Cunningham At 87 "He is sitting in a wheelchair, his expressive hands are creased with the marks of age, and his body - once so erect and graceful - seems to have folded in on itself. However, his hair still falls in exotic curls, his eyes are steady, and his gentle voice is clear and sure. Each day, after rising and making little pencil drawings of animals ("a wonderful way of getting out of your own head, nothing to do with art"), he takes rehearsals at his company's studio in New York - for over half a century perhaps the most important modern dance company in the world." The Guardian (UK) 09/16/06
Posted: 09/17/2006 9:55 pm
Ira Brilliant, 84, Beethoven Collector "Housed at San Jose State University, the Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies is the only research collection in North America devoted exclusively to Beethoven. The center, which opened its doors in 1985, includes books and manuscripts, rare early editions of Beethoven’s works and, on long-term loan, two fragments of his skull. Its most famous artifact is undoubtedly the lock of Beethoven’s wild hair, which Mr. Brilliant and three colleagues acquired in 1994." The New York Times 09/17/06
Posted: 09/17/2006 7:39 am
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Broadway Considers A "Frequent Playgoer" Rewards System "Nederlander executives say the program’s eventual goal will be something similar to frequent flier miles and credit card points, making benefits available to returning customers. Those benefits could include discount tickets, special events and even non-Broadway merchandise." The New York Times 09/18/06
Posted: 09/18/2006 8:28 am
More Playwrights Collect TV Paychecks "TV has become a desirable place for playwrights, and not only because of the money. The negative stigma that once used to cause playwrights to turn down their noses at the small screen has all but vanished." Los Angeles Times 09/17/06
Posted: 09/17/2006 9:25 pm
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Critics Dump On Prize For Unpublished Writers Entrants for the new $100,000 Sobol Prize for unpublished fiction have to have an $85 fee. "The Sobol Award is seeking as many as 50,000 unpublished fiction manuscripts, but critics say the contest's fee runs counter to industry ethical principles of not charging writers to read their work. The award was set up by tech entrepreneur Gur Shomron, who said he came up with the idea after failing to find a publisher for his novel, 'NETfold,' which he self-published last year." Yahoo! (Reuters) 09/14/06
Posted: 09/17/2006 8:00 am
Booker Shortlist Surprises Experts It's one of the most eclectic lists in years. John Sutherland, last year's chairman and author of How to Read a Novel, said it was a "bizarre" list that might signal a changing of the literary guard. "If you compare it with last year, the average age is five or 10 years younger. What we may be seeing is a turning of the tide, the older generation giving way to the new." The Independent (UK) 09/15/06
Posted: 09/17/2006 7:21 am
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Cleaning Up To Win The Christian Box Office "The Dove Foundation is a Grand Rapids, Mich., nonprofit with Christian roots, and its ties to Hollywood are growing so deep these days that its opinion can send a movie back to the editing room before its release. Weeks before 'Everyone's Hero' was released, the film's production company, IDT Entertainment, hand delivered a copy to the Dove Foundation. When Dove staff told IDT that the 'Oh, my Gods!' in the film might offend the 1.9 million people who consult the foundation's reviews, IDT changed each 'Oh, my God!' to 'Oh, my gosh!' " Los Angeles Times 09/18/06
Posted: 09/18/2006 8:35 am
Former FCC Chairman: I Never Saw Media Consolidation Report "Former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell says he never saw a study that suggested greater concentration of media ownership would hurt local TV news coverage." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 09/16/06
Posted: 09/17/2006 9:38 pm
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Looking For Writing About Dance? Tobi Tobias surveys the art of dancers writing about dance, and finds quite a bit. "Why, then, have dancers have been considered functionally illiterate, inarticulate, or both?" Seeing Things (AJBlogs) 09/16/06
Posted: 09/18/2006 9:18 am
Chicago's Best Dance Fall In 25 Years Sid Smith hails this season's dance offerings in Chicago as "the most exciting autumn in dance" in the city in a "quarter of a century." Chicago Tribune 09/17/06
Posted: 09/18/2006 8:06 am
Our Next Dancers "The School of American Ballet is the closest thing that the United States has to a national dance academy. Founded in 1934 by George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein as a training ground for what would become New York City Ballet, it is as rigorous as the Paris Opera Ballet School, the Royal Ballet School in London and its own most direct ancestor: the Imperial Ballet School in St. Petersburg, where Balanchine trained. Of the 304 dancers, ages 7 to 18, who auditioned this year, only 68 earned spots." The New York Times 09/17/06
Posted: 09/17/2006 7:04 pm
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