Sadaam Hussein remade Baghdad. “Like other dictators of the past, Hussein saw himself as a great arbiter of taste, an architectural patron cast in the mold of a Cosimo di Medici. He was a familiar figure in architectural circles and on construction sites, where he would often sketch out his ideas on scraps of paper. The competitions Hussein sponsored attracted some of the world’s most celebrated architects. His aim, he often claimed, was to reestablish Baghdad as one of the world’s great architectural capitals.”
Month: December 2003
London’s Shortage of Old Masters
“The yawning gap between the best and the rest in the art market has rarely been wider than at last week’s Old Masters sales in London, where there was precious little of the former on offer.”
2003: Buildings Of Bombast
Which were the great buildings of 2003? “Structural bombast and aesthetic razzmatazz were the order of the year. Blobby, amoeba-like buildings competed with wacky tours de force…
When Art Gets Too Big For Ideas
The art commissioned for Tate Modern’s giant turbine hall has been getting bigger and bigger. But is bigger really better? “Art that overwhelms, ‘total immersion’ art, invites suspicion. Some think it intellectually, ethically, and politically dubious. Big art is routinely called “fascistic” – after all, Hitler’s architect Albert Speer dealt in mega-structures and the Nuremberg rally was a triumph of number and mass.”
Why The WTC Memorial Will Be A Failure
In the next few weeks a decision will be made on which memorial at the World Trade Center site will be built. “The decision will be hailed by the powers that be as a victory for the people, for the open process by which it was conducted, for democracy. It will also almost certainly be a failure. The eight designs under consideration are widely considered uninspiring, banal, needlessly complicated, unimaginative and insufficient to evoke the horror of Sept. 11. But if you believe the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., which is overseeing the redevelopment of ground zero, they are the best that democracy can provide, and that ought to be good enough for anyone.”
World’s “Biggest” Book
In this season of “bests” lists, how about a “biggest” accomplishment? “Guinness World Records has certified that “Bhutan,” a photographic journey across that Himalayan country, is the world’s largest published book. It measures 5-by-7 feet when opened, and many of its dazzling photographs are full-page. The book is also among the priciest. Each hand-bound copy costs $10,000.”
What’s Christmas Without A Big ‘Ol War Movie?
What’s with all the war movies set out in prime movie season, wonders Frank Rich. “Intentionally or not, three of the four new Christmas war movies play on our current fears rather than reprise the slam-dunk triumphalism of “Top Gun.” And they do so even though most of them are top-heavy with creative talent (actors, directors, screenwriters) who hail from countries in the coalition of the willing (England, Australia, Japan, even Romania).”
Discrimination On The Basis Of…
Not all generalizations are wrong. “Lawyers, philosophers and others have long pondered the legal and moral distinctions among discrimination, stereotyping and statistical probabilities, but they have not reached broad agreement. Beyond suspicions about rounding up the usual suspects, how do we know whether generalizations are based on sound empirical information or are a jumble of pop culture shorthand and bad science? What kinds of broad judgments are right and what kinds are wrong? How are categories constructed in the first place?”
Italians Stage TV Viewers’ Strike
A TV viewers’ strike was organized over the weekend in Italy. “Television is one of the principal causes of dullness and isolation, and is a drain on precious commodity of human time” say the organizers. We want to say to people that there are better ways of spending their free time than to stay home staring at television. “The strike’s organisers have arranged discounts at a range of venues for people who bring their remote controls with them. Organisers say they are expecting around 400,000 people to join the strike against what they call Trash TV.”
The Hard Road To Reinventing The RSC
The Royal Shakespeare Company has fallen on hard times. “Millions of dollars in debt, scrambling for London outlets for its work and hungrily in pursuit of a vigorous new aesthetic, the company is in the midst of an ambitious attempt to reinvent itself under a new artistic director, Michael Boyd, the fifth man to hold the job since the company’s inception in 1960. Each step taken by this new administration is being watched closely, especially since it’s encountered obstacles in exporting productions from Stratford.”