Are there ideas or art that are dangerous to society? That’s the case made by some. “For every kid who watches The Matrix and shoots up his high school, we can cite millions more who saw the same movie and did nothing. Does this demonstrate that art is harmless? And if it is harmless, what’s the point of it? Sadly, I suspect that it is harmless, and that there is no point to it…”
Month: April 2004
High School Boy Turned In To Police For Anti-War Artwork
A high school student who drew pictures of George Bush including one that “portrayed Bush as a devil launching a missile, with a caption reading ‘End the war — on terrorism'” was turned in to authorities by his teacher. “The 15-year-old boy’s art teacher at Prosser High School in Washington State turned the drawings over to school administrators, who notified police, who called the Secret Service.” The boy wasn’t arrested but was disciplined by the school.
Richard Florida Defends His Creative Class
Richard Florida’s Rise of the Creative Class has been taking a lot of hits in the past few months. Now he rebuts his critics: “The Rise of the Creative Class has little to do with making cities yuppie-friendly, though leftist critics have tried to frame it (and belittle its message) in that way. Rather, my core message is that human creativity is the ultimate source of economic growth. Every single person is creative in some way. And to fully tap and harness that creativity we must be tolerant, diverse, and inclusive.”
Saatchi: Mindless Critics Are Unfair
Charles Saatchi has launched an astonishing and unprecedented broadside against the ‘mindless’ critics who savaged his most recent show. ‘I feel I’ve grown into my role as pantomime villain, but it is mindless to dismiss the art I show just because it’s me that is showing it’.”
London: No Place To Show?
“In London, we have a simple but serious problem: we don’t have enough room for exhibitions. In view of the scale of the capital’s art establishments – mighty Tate Modern, the grand old Royal Academy – this may seem surprising. But none the less it’s true – or true of some places.”
Is Karl Jenkins One Of Our Most Popular Composers?
Karl Jenkins is a former jingle-writer and rock musican. Now he’s a popular classical composer. “The wealth of these influences make him a hard composer to define, and he wearies of critics’ insistence on putting him in boxes. So let’s say that he’s a new sort of world composer: one whose music is fêted in Kazakhstan and cherished in Japan for its healing properties.”
The Languishing Long Island Philharmonic
The troubled Long Island Philharmonic has special challenges attracting an audience. “People who have moved out here have made a conscious decision. They’ll go to New York City to take in an orchestra or a Broadway show. We’re an audience known for renting movies. My competition isn’t Tilles Center or Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center, it’s Blockbuster Video and the couch.”
Will IRS Seize Axelrod’s Rare Violins?
New Jersey philanthropist Herbert Axelrod, who fled the US to Cuba last week to avoid tax fraud charges, still owned some important string instruments that are on loan to prominent musicians. “Among the instruments given to Curtis is one on loan from the school to violinist Pamela Frank, who is both a graduate of and teacher at Curtis. Axelrod donated the 1736 Guarnerius del Gesù (Wienawski), now insured for $2 million, in 1993. Violinist Leila Josefowicz played on an Axelrod instrument, the 1739 “Ebersolt” Guarnerius del Gesù, and Maxim Vengerov played on an Axelrod-owned bow. Whether any musicians are still playing Axelrod-owned instruments is not clear. In some cases involving the IRS, such property is seized by the government.”
Are E-Books About To Break Through?
New e-book readers are hitting the market. But “if the e-book is going to be a hit, a few things have to happen. First there has to be a good selection of material to read, and, for publishers, that means taking the risk that their best titles may wind up being distributed for free on the Internet. The recording industry has struggled with this problem in ways both overt and subtle: It has sued batches of pirate downloaders but also circulated its own falsely labeled music files intended to frustrate and dissuade would-be pirates.”
Busing In The Artists
Paducah, Kentucky wants artists. And they’ll help you move there if you are one. Paducah’s “Artist Relocation Program has exerted the same magnetic pull on others who’ve dreamed of living, working and, most importantly, owning in a neighborhood of like-minded residents. In 2 1/2 years, nearly 40 people have moved here to transform a beat-up area of homes known as Lower Town into a blossoming art colony.”