Online publisher LiveREADS has purchased “Orpheus Emerged,” a novella written by Jack Kerouac at age 23, which it will release to the public for the first time this week – over the internet. The Kerouac estate has been gradually selling off his last unpublished works over the last decade. – The Guardian
Author: Douglas McLennan
‘TIS THE SEASON TO SLANDER
It seems everyone has a hero to debunk these days, as biographies of famous figures pour out of publishing houses this fall. “Most of the personages currently exposed have little in common except the compulsion or determination of their biographers to manhandle or mishandle them.” – New York Times
FUNDING IN DOUBT
The head of the Scottish Arts Council says he’s not sure the ailing Scottish National Opera will get a big increase in funding the opera says it needs. “It’s too much of a chunk to one company”. – The Herald (Scotland)
IN DEFENSE OF THE “DIFFICULT”
In a televised lecture (excerpted here) on the state of contemporary art, Tate Modern Director Nicholas Serota champions work that is transgressive and beyond immediate understanding. “For me, the undoubted shock, even disgust, provoked by the work is part of its appeal. Art should be transgressive. Life is not all sweet.” – The Independent (UK)
THE WORLD ACCORDING TO KREMER
Gidon Kremer was such a hot young virtuoso that Herbert von Karajan called him the greatest violinist in the world. But to Kremer, playing the fiddle has always been about a lot more than great musicianship. Music is a political act. – The Guardian
PT BARNUM OF ART
In the first half of the 20th Century Chick Austin brought a showman’s touch to American art. “Not only did Austin promote artists like Picasso, Balthus, Mondrian and Dali when they were virtually unknown in the United States, but he also amassed an important collection of masterworks (especially Baroque painting, Dutch still lifes and Poussin) on view at the Atheneum to this day. Alfred Barr, the founding director of the Museum of Modern Art, told Austin: ‘You did things sooner and more brilliantly than any one’.” – New York Observer
CHURCH TRUCE
In the middle of the second day of the court case brought against her by her former manager, singer Charlotte Church settles the breach-of-contract case. The settlement is believed to be around £2 million. – BBC
MUSIC TO THE STUDIO EXECS’ EARS
After reviewing Hollywood’s marketing and advertising practices, the Federal Trade Commission sent a letter to Congress stressing the Constitution’s protection of the entertainment industry and urging voluntary self-regulation by the studios, rather than federally enforced sanctions. “The letter elicited a collective I-told-you-so (and probably a sigh of relief) from Tinseltown types. “We always believed that both the content and the marketing of movies were protected under the First Amendment.” – E! Online 11/22/00
REASONABLE PROTECTIONS
“Citing ‘significant legal limitations’ and ‘substantial and unsettled constitutional questions,’ FTC Chairman Robert Pitofsky concluded that the agency would face considerable difficulties bringing cases against Hollywood under existing federal trade laws.” – Los Angeles Times 11/22/00
IF THE SELLER PROFITS FROM OUR WORK, SO SHOULD WE
Australian artists want a percentage of the sales price when their work is sold at auction. To reinforce the “request” they’ve announced a 12 month moratorium on allowing images of their work to be reproduced in auction catalogues unless the auction house pays a five percent copyright fee. – The Age (Melbourne) 11/22/00