Month: December 2003

Are Corporations Playing Censor?

An artist whose image for a London light projection was rejected by sponsors, says corporations are increasingly getting a censorship role in art. “The patrons of contemporary art, the Medicis of today, are the corporations. They give the impression of supporting dissident views and freedom of expression, but if there is any danger that your sponsored work encourages even a modicum of critical debate, you’re out the door. The sponsors are in it to ratchet up ‘the buying mood’. Censorship of culture is something one does not speak of in the free market – it brings back images of Lady Chatterley and the Lord Chamberlain. But in the visual arts it is an increasing determinant of what people are allowed to see in public spaces.”

Piano Museum May Close

Kalman Detrich’s New York piano museum is out of money and almost out of time. “For 40 years he repaired pianos, and for 20 years he has exhibited them in the Museum of the American Piano, the eccentric little Manhattan attraction he created. On Wednesday, unless a benefactor miraculously appears to pay his rent, he will close his museum and send his collection to foster homes while he figures out how to pursue his passion.”

Protecting The Nude Barbie

A US federal court has ruled that a Utah artist can make art depicting nude Barbies being menaced by kitchen appliances. “Noting the image of Barbie dolls is “ripe for social comment,” a three judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected toymaker Mattel Inc.’s appeal of a lower court ruling in favor of lampooning the popular doll.”

Suing The Downloaders (It Works?)

Canadian recording companies are about to begin suing downloades. Why? It appears to be an effective tactic. “In the United States, since the American recording industry began filing lawsuits earlier this year, Kazaa usage has fallen 41 per cent, according to monitoring of Internet use by Nielsen/NetRatings. As a result, sales of CDs began to rise in the U.S. after three years of decline.”

Rethinking Music (And How To Sell It)

There are numerous experiments in selling music online competing for consumers. A company called Magnatune offers no set prices, and a variety of creative music licenses. “Magnatune is one example of a growing movement among arts organizations, civil libertarians and artists who are rethinking the whole notion of access to creative works and copyright laws. Some, like Magnatune, believe they can profit if their artists make their works more readily available, in some cases for no charge; or if they even relinquish at least some rights to their works.”

The Case Against PowerPoint

There seems to be a mounting backlash against PowerPoint as a means of conveying ideas. “Visual artists say Microsoft’s popular “slideware” — which makes it easy to incorporate animated graphics and other entertainment into presentations — lulls people into accepting pablum over ideas. Foes say PowerPoint’s ubiquity perverts everything from elementary school reports to NASA’s scientific theses into sales pitches with bullet points and stock art. One of the internet’s original developers, Vint Cerf, gets laughs from audiences by quipping, “power corrupts and PowerPoint corrupts absolutely”.”

MoMA’s New Curatorial Team

As New York’s Museum of Modern Art prepares for its new home, a new curatorial team is chosen. “Almost immediately after being chosen as the Modern’s chief curator of painting and sculpture in March, John Elderfield, 60, decided he wanted a certain kind of team to help him shape the institution’s future. Those chosen should be young(ish), he specified, yet steeped in both classical and contemporary modern art; risk-taking but also willing to collaborate; similar in outlook but different enough to challenge one another. Bold visionaries residing in solitary genius need not apply.”

Wanted: New Librarians

A shortage of librarians is looming for American libraries. So first lady Laura Bush, a former librarian, is championing a program to recruit and train new librarians. “The first lady’s stamp is all over a federal grant program to recruit a new generation of librarians, largely through scholarships in library and information science. In late October, the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services, which is implementing the program, announced its first grants, totaling almost $10 million. The White House is asking for $20 million in its fiscal 2004 omnibus spending bill now before Congress.”