Reality Doesn't Enter Into It A new film version of the classic novel, All The King's Men, turns on the classic American storyline of a "man of the people" who beats the odds and achieves political success by playing up his touch with the common voter. But as much as Americans love this kind of story, we've never come close to acting out the fantasy at the polls. So "does a real-life political truth -- the fact that voters generally don't end up pulling the lever for a reflection of themselves -- lessen the achievement of All the King's Men? Can a novel be a work of art -- and still get its field all wrong?" Chicago Tribune 09/28/06
Posted: 09/28/2006 6:37 am
Click here for more Ideas stories...
NY City Museum To Expand (And They Mean It This Time) The Museum of the City of New York is finally ready to break ground on an expansion that it first unveiled nearly two decades ago. "The new wing tries to project a more inviting and inclusive identity for what is a city landmark built in the 1930’s." The New York Times 09/28/06
Posted: 09/28/2006 6:54 am
Chicago Children's Museum To Get New Downtown Home "The popular Chicago Children's Museum has settled on a new site in Grant Park after ruling out several other options, including a controversial plan for the north end of the park... Museum officials expect to build a two-story, 100,000-square-foot building, nearly double the size of the museum's current space. They hope to break ground in 2007." Chicago Tribune 09/28/06
Posted: 09/28/2006 6:09 am
Looking Under Mona Lisa's Skin Much was revealed in a new scan of Leonardo's Mona Lisa. "More generally, the researchers said they realized that centuries of grime had obscured some elements of the painting. 'You’re seeing a lot more fine detail, showing that this remarkable painting is actually more remarkable than we believed'." The New York Times 09/28/06
Posted: 09/27/2006 7:46 pm
Jopling Expands His London Gallery London dealer Jay Jopling is upgrading his iconic White Cube gallery in London wih a $20 million makeover. "The 12,500-square-foot building in Mason's Yard, resembling a little Whitney Museum, opens on Sept. 29 with an exhibition and sale of works by Mexico's Gabriel Orozco." Bloomberg 09/27/06
Posted: 09/27/2006 7:20 pm
Twenty-one Hitler Paintings Sold "The sale yesterday raised more than double the 50,000 pounds expected by the paintings' Belgian owners. The highest bid was for a painting called 'The Church of Preux-au-Bois,' which sold for 10,500 pounds." Bloomberg 09/27/06
Posted: 09/27/2006 6:55 pm
WTC Building - One Big Mess Planning for the World Trade Center site have been a disaster. "A generation that never knew the city without the Twin Towers has placed them high in skyscraper hagiography because of their terrible fate. But the New York skyline has changed many times, and will again." OpinionJournal 09/28/06
Posted: 09/27/2006 6:04 pm
Click here for more Visual Arts stories...
Iraqi Orchestra Struggling To Keep The Music Playing Frequent Bush Administration protestations to the contrary, things have been getting worse in Baghdad for some time, and many of the niceties of everyday life (electricity, safety, clean water) have become unimaginable luxuries for the city's residents. And yet, somehow, the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra, which became a symbol of the country's resilience in the aftermath of the American invasion, has continued to play. "But orchestra members are finding that while art can sometimes provide a brief respite from grim reality, it cannot stand forever as a bulwark against the maelstrom of conflict." The New York Times 09/28/06
Posted: 09/28/2006 6:01 am
(Almost) All's Well In Philadelphia The Philadelphia Orchestra has balanced its budget for the second season in a row, and its ambitious $125 million endowment drive is more than 80% complete. The hall is full, and a new five-year plan promises to expand the orchestra's community ties and promote ethnic diversity. Now if only something could be done about that lagging summer season... Philadelphia Inquirer 09/28/06
Posted: 09/28/2006 5:42 am
Uncommon Rise How can a young, unknown composer catch the attention of a major soloist, a conductor, and critics around the world, and get a new work premiered seemingly out of nowhere? Apparently, it helps to get the soloist drunk while ferrying her around Manhattan. (Oh, and the piece should be really good, too.) Philadelphia Inquirer 09/28/06
Posted: 09/28/2006 5:38 am
Classical Conversion Classical music fans are apparently more than ready to join the digital revolution, with 57% having already converted some of their collection to digital format, according to a new UK study. "One in five download classical music legally from the internet - though there are no figures for how many illegally download - and the same number prefer listening on their MP3 player or iPod." The Guardian (UK) 09/28/06
Posted: 09/28/2006 5:26 am
Rattling The Traditionalists Has Simon Rattle been good or bad for the Berlin Philharmonic? Is the world's greatest orchestra (arguably) declining under his leadership, or is the problem that Germans "want something fresh and new, but once they get it, they'd rather revert back to the evergreens? ... The fight over Rattle is really a fight between tradition and the new, many say." Deutsche Welle 09/28/06
Posted: 09/28/2006 5:15 am
Summers To Stay In Houston Houston Grand Opera has extended the contract of its music director, Patrick Summers, by five years, insuring that he will remain with the company through 2014. Summers made Opera News's list of the 25 most powerful people in U.S. opera this year, his eighth with the company. PlaybillArts 09/28/06
Posted: 09/28/2006 4:51 am
German Leader: Beware Of Censorship "German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned against 'self-censorship out of fear' on Wednesday, after a Berlin opera house cancelled a production of Mozart's Idomeneo over security concerns." CBC 09/27/06
Posted: 09/27/2006 6:14 pm
Kimball: Canceling Bad Mozart Is Bad Roger Kimball is sure that Deutsche Oper's "Idomeneo" is terrible. But it shouldn't be banned for political reasons. "Today it was Mozart. Tomorrow perhaps it will be Shakespeare. Or Dante, who after all has a pretty hot place reserved for Muhammad in 'The Divine Comedy.' It is not - not yet - too late to put a stop to our habit of appeasing a murderous fanaticism that demands privileges and indulgences it refuses to grant to others." OpinionJournal 09/28/06
Posted: 09/27/2006 6:00 pm
Click here for more Music stories...
Even In A Good Cause, People Hate Taxes An anti-tax group in Cleveland is mobilizing to oppose a ballot measure that would increase a countywide cigarette tax and dedicate the proceeds to the arts. If passed, the measure would generate $20 million a year for cultural groups. Supporters are mounting a vigorous campaign to get voters to support the plan, but organized opposition could derail the effort at the polls. The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) 09/28/06
Posted: 09/28/2006 6:57 am
Are Non-Profits Experiencing A Management Crisis? Arts managers tend to burn out quickly, frequently as a direct result of the stress of constant fundraising and the unwieldy nature of many non-profit boards. But does the burnout problem amount to a leadership crisis? A new study in Chicago aims to find out. Chicago Tribune 09/28/06
Posted: 09/28/2006 6:41 am
New Arts Fest In Baltimore "Nearly 75 arts organizations in Baltimore have banded together to present the first free citywide arts festival this fall... Free Fall Baltimore, which runs through November, will showcase the well-known Baltimore institutions, as well as some smaller ones." Among other goals, the festival is designed to take advantage of the influx of thousands of Washington, D.C. residents who travel to Baltimore every year. Washington Post 09/28/06
Posted: 09/28/2006 5:48 am
Click here for more Arts Issues stories...
Itsy Bitsy Bikini Guy: I'm Not Dead! "The man who co-wrote the song 'Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini' had the unsettling experience this week of reading his own obituary — the result of an impostor who went through life claiming to be the author of the 1960s smash hit." Yahoo! (AP) 09/27/06
Posted: 09/27/2006 6:32 pm
Click here for more People stories...
You'd Think They'd Get Bored... "Broue, a ribald look at working-class life set inside a Quebec tavern, has earned a place in the record books. The play, which opened in Montreal on March 21, 1979, has been performed by the original trio of cast members since the first show. For that, it has earned a place in Guinness World Records as the longest-running theatrical play with the same cast." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 09/28/06
Posted: 09/28/2006 6:46 am
Answering John Heilpern's Prayer "Please God, let the season be different from all other seasons. Please don’t let it be dominated by any more revivals, British actors and Eve Ensler. Please get them to bring the price of tickets down and make all welcome at the theater. Please God, let one new, thrilling voice of an unknown playwright be heard throughout the land. Thanks a lot. That’s all for now." Now one of these prayers has been answered... New York Observer 09/27/06
Posted: 09/27/2006 6:40 pm
Click here for more Theatre stories...
Long Lost Frost Poem Discovered "An unpublished Robert Frost poem, a tribute to a friend killed during World War I, has been rediscovered and will appear next week in the fall issue of the Virginia Quarterly Review." Los Angeles Times (AP) 09/28/06
Posted: 09/28/2006 6:50 am
Chomsky Book Still Riding High After Chavez Plug The Venezuelan leader held up Noam Chomsky's book last week at the UN. It soared to No. 1 on Amazon, "and publisher Henry Holt last week announced a new printing of 25,000. On Wednesday, with Chomsky at No. 2 on Amazon, another 25,000 paperback copies were commissioned." Yahoo! (AP) 09/27/06
Posted: 09/27/2006 6:34 pm
Click here for more Publishing stories...
Cleveland "Idea Center" Exceeds Its Fundraising Target Nearly $30 million has been raised for a new public broadcasting and arts education center in Cleveland's Playhouse Square district, most from private donations. The new center will house studios for the local public radio and TV stations, as well as space for educational events programmed by the city's theaters. The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) 09/28/06
Posted: 09/28/2006 7:02 am
NAACP, Networks Meet On Diversity The NAACP and the major American TV networks are talking about minority representation on TV. "This fall marks the first time in 'recent memory' in which there is not a comedy on ABC, NBC, CBS or Fox with an African American lead and that the major networks had failed to honor their commitment to diversity." Los Angeles Times 09/27/06
Posted: 09/27/2006 7:34 pm
End Of An Era - European Kodachrome Processor Shutting Down "The ritual of shooting a three-minute masterpiece on your Super 8 camera, sending off the film in a little yellow envelope and waiting with barely contained excitement for the ready-to-project reel to drop on to the doormat is over." The Guardian (UK) 09/27/06
Posted: 09/27/2006 7:26 pm
Chilling Effect: PBS Bleeps Profanity Out Of Documentaries "Scenes of war on PBS in which soldiers use profanity have been cut or elaborately avoided in two upcoming Frontline documentaries. According to the journalists and PBS executives responsible, these edits have been made for one reason: fear of the Federal Communications Commission." New York Observer 09/27/06
Posted: 09/27/2006 6:37 pm
FCC: Link Between Commercials And What Kids Eat? The FCC is planning a study to see if there's a relationship between TV commercials and overeating in children. "Judging by the sheer volume of media and advertising that children consume on a daily basis, and given alarming trends in childhood obesity, we're facing a public health problem that will only get worse unless we take action." Yahoo! (AP) 09/27/06
Posted: 09/27/2006 6:28 pm
Click here for more Media stories...
How To Ruin A Field Trip A Gothenburg Ballet performance for a roomful of Swedish high school students had to be called off mid-dance this week, when one of the kids threw stink bombs into the orchestra pit. No word on whether the disruption was intended as a commentary on the quality of the performance... UPI 09/28/06
Posted: 09/28/2006 5:55 am
Can Dance Make Effective Political Statements? There's no question art can convey powerful messages. But can dance really carry water for a political idea? The Guardian (UK) 09/28/06
Posted: 09/27/2006 7:30 pm
Click here for more Dance stories...
