The succession battles at Germany’s Bayreuth Festival are killing it. Eighty-one-year-old Wolfgang Wagner has run out of ideas. “The selection of artists seems haphazard and patchy, and it is a long time since any Bayreuth production has made waves in the opera world.” And yet, the “director-for-life” refuses to step aside unless the festival’s board chooses his hand-picked successor. – Chicago Tribune
Author: Douglas McLennan
JOB DESCRIPTION
The artist’s job is to “experience (mostly emotions), to mould it into a the grammar, syntax and vocabulary of a universal language in order to communicate the echo of their idiosyncratic language. They are forever mediating between us and their experience. Rightly so, the quality of an artist is measured by his ability to loyally represent his unique language to us. The smaller the distance between the original experience (the emotion of the artist) and its external representation – the more prominent the artist.” – The Idler 09/20/00
ANOTHER SIGN OF TIMES SQUARE’S TURNAROUND
Pedestrian traffic through New York’s rejuvenated Times Square in the heart of the city’s theatre district has gotten so heavy that the city is considering closing streets off to cars, widening sidewalks and making other pedestrian-friendly moves. – New York Post 09/20/00
FIRST IT WAS THE FRENCH…
Now Italian authorities are getting upset about the corruption of their language by English. “Critics complain that not enough effort was being made to coin new Italian words instead of borrowing foreign ones.” – BBC 09/20/00
PRAYING TO THE SOUND OF PORN
A broadcaster mixes up the soundtracks of a Catholic broadcast and a porn channel. “For two hours, millions of Roman Catholics watched video of cardinals singing hymns and praying, set to the orgasmic moaning and caterwauling of porn stars like Shyla Foxxx, Kaitlyn Ashley and Caressa Savage. Conversely, male viewers of the Fantasy Channel, sitting on sofas with their pants to their ankles, were treated to porn that featured holy incantations.” – Salon 09/20/00
SMALL PRESS, REVISITED
- Up-and-coming literary magazines are moving into the world of book publishing – and bringing new business models, not to mention a rare optimism and sense of fun, with them. “While they’re not the first literary magazines to try their hand at book publishing, these three [‘Open City,’ ‘McSweeney’s,’ and ‘Fence’] bring a new sensibility – and a new urgency – to the pursuit.” – Village Voice Literary Supplement
RESCUING THE BARNES
- Now a plan to restore the fortunes of the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, which is on the verge of running out of money and says it might have to close if it can’t turn its fortunes around. “The plan would raise 85 million dollars to re-endow the foundation and increase the budget for administering the Barnes collection.” – Morning Edition (NPR) [Real Audio clip]
CHEAP KNOCKOFF
The thieves who stole a Monet from the Polish National Museum replaced it with a cheap fake. So museum officials are not certain when the painting was stolen. – Ananova
GIOTTO’S REMAINS FOUND
A skeleton found beneath Florence’s Duomo 30 years ago has been identified as that of Giotto, the famed early Renaissance artist. – BBC
THE CONTROVERSIAL WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL
“The National Capital Planning Commission meets in Washington DC Thursday to give final approval to the $100-million project’s “finished” design, even though its thematic centerpiece is a complete unknown. This startling fact is a plain example of what a sham the review process for the World War II Memorial has been these past five years.” – Los Angeles Times
- DESIGN REVIEW: “That any monument could work in such a loaded context is doubtful. But it is hard to imagine one more insensitive to the spirit of the site. Pompous and unimaginative, St. Florian’s ring of towering archways and repetitive stone pillars smacks of the worst kind of authoritarian architecture. To build it would not only desecrate one of the world’s great democratic forums. It would do an injustice to the memory of those it is meant to celebrate.” – Los Angeles Times