Atom Egoyan knew his film Ararat, which tells some hard truths about the World War I-era slaughter of Armenians in Turkey, would be controversial. He wasn’t prepared for just how controversial. Since Ararat debuted several months ago, Egoyan has been called a liar, a propagandist, and had his life threatened via e-mail. It’s enough to make a director long for the days when he was only being called an anti-Semite by a Toronto critic…
Author: Douglas McLennan
Is the Large-Scale Ballet Passe?
In Boston, where the Boston Ballet recently underwent a very public overhaul, everything has changed, and nothing has changed. The big ballet company is still struggling to sell tickets, despite an undeniable uptick in artistic quality. Meanwhile, the city’s smaller, more daring dance companies are thriving, mirroring a trend in countless cities around the U.S. But does the success of the little guys necessarily mean failure for large-scale classical ballet?
How to Liven Up your Textbook:
“Looking for fresh ways to engage overloaded students, a growing number of professors at big universities and small colleges are supplementing traditionally sober textbooks with a curious genre: the textbook-novel. Written specifically with the college classroom in mind, these works are often by professors who have created characters ranging from a free trade-spouting angel to a short, bald professor (take a bow, Milton Friedman) who likes to solve mysteries. And while pedagogical novels are not new, their growing popularity is.”
Do the Arts Ignore the Poor?
For all the lip service paid by arts organizations to the concepts of education and diverse audience access, most orchestras, galleries, and theatres are still shockingly devoid of low-income patrons. The causes are myriad, from societal pressures to overbearing formality to high ticket prices, but solutions seem to be nearly nonexistant.
Nazi-looted Art Seized in Vienna
For the first time, Austrian authorities, acting under a court order, have seized a painting thought to have been stolen by occupying Nazi forces during World War II. The seizure was sought by a Vienna-based Jewish advocacy group, and hailed by art experts worldwide as a crucial step in the movement to repatriate the thousands of artworks looted by the Nazis.
Alt-Weeklies face Antitrust Action:
“The U.S. Department of Justice has begun what some legal experts believe is a serious investigation into whether the country’s two largest alternative newspaper chains violated federal antitrust laws when they closed competing weeklies in Los Angeles and Cleveland, thereby dividing the markets between them.”
The Next Great Ballerina:
Alina Cojacaru is a genius, or so say the dance cognoscenti who are in the business of slapping such labels on 21-year-old wunderkinds. Genius or not, the Romanian pixie has taken the London ballet scene by storm, and many critics say she already possesses the maturity most great dancers achieve in their thirties, and there appears to be no limit to her potential.
Andre Watts Stable After Emergency Surgery
Pianist Andre Watts never made it to the stage Thursday night. Watts was preparing to perform with the Pacific Symphony in Orange County, California, when he collapsed backstage and was rushed to the hospital for emergency brain surgery. The procedure went well, but Watts is expected to be out of commission for up to two months.
Australia Film Industry Booming:
Australia’s film and TV production industry grew by 8 percent in the past year. “But while budgets boomed, there was also concern about the drop in locally made television drama, with not one adult television mini-series made here for the first time in more than 20 years.”
Sotheby’s Trust Problem
How will the public regain trust in auction houses Sotheby’s and Christie’s? Fines are not enough. Confidence in the auction houses won’t come until everyone who had any hand in the price-fixing scandal has departed. One problem. Former Sotheby’s chairman Alfred Taubman, currently serving a prison term in remote Minnesota, is still the company’s biggest shareholder. And he’s not likely to sell anytime soon.