In an era of rapid change in the museum world, James Wood has been director of the Arts Institute of Chicago for 20 years. “During his time, all the museum’s departments were renovated; the original beaux-arts building was restored; a wing was built; a department of architecture founded; a program of publications resumed; a constellation of conservation labs established; and curators of nearly every department were replaced.” Not to mention two decades-worth of exhibitions of art. Wood reflects on the past and future of American museums. – Chicago Tribune
Author: Douglas McLennan
CONTEMPO-PLINTH
- A panel decided to make the vacant plinth in London’s Trafalgar Square an ongoing showcase for contemporary art. – BBC
LONGA THANKGA
The longest and largest Tibetan painting – a thankga about six football fields long – has gone on display in the Revolutionary Museum in Beijing. – CNN
E-MINIMALISM
- It’s the digital equivalent of watching paint dry. An artist takes minimalism to the net: “On the computer screen, ‘Film Task’ appears to be a simple black square that, over eight hours, gradually turns white. Since it takes about 30 minutes for the eye to discern a change, patience is required (along with the Shockwave plug-in). A monotonous sine wave serves as the soundtrack, the only accompaniment.” – New York Times
RAIN ON THE CANNES PARADE
This year’s Cannes Film Festival pales in comparison to past year’s ultra-glamourfest, according to the festival’s disappointed organizers. Fewer big stars have shown up (those who did come have spent much of their time under umbrellas), American studios have withheld many of their best films, and the mayor has declared all beach parties must end by 12:30am. On top of all this, it’s also been said that winning the coveted Palme d’Or does little to boost a film’s earnings anymore. – Sydney Morning Herald 05/12/00
RAISON D’ETAT!
At the Cannes opening ceremony, French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin urged European film companies to fight Hollywood domination by creating European-centered film groups. He promised the French government would do more to promote foreign cinema. “Besides the cultural dimension, cinematographic diversity is also important for democracy. It is not just an image that cinema projects onto the big screen. It is a vision, a vision of society.” – Times of India (Reuters) 05/12/00
DOT CANNES
Cannesmarket.com – a new website for independent filmmakers and distributors – was launched yesterday. The site offers a film-based search engine and message boards for filmmakers and investors, “a meeting place for 5,000 professionals from 70 countries.” – The Age (Melbourne) 05/12/00
PLOT? YOU WANT PLOT TOO?
There’s been much buzz about Mike Figgis’ digital movie. How’s it look? “Shot simultaneously by Figgis and three other cinematographers, the unedited film takes place in real time at various locales on Sunset Boulevard. The plot, mostly improvised by the film’s cast, is sure to reassure Hollywood’s insecure screenwriters that they’ll always have work. But then “Time Code” isn’t really about anything except digital filmmaking.” – Washington Post 05/12/00
- TIME TO BURN: Figgis talks about the difficulty of making a movie like “Time Code.” – Salon 05/12/00
ELECTRO-DANCE
- There’s something about movies that makes dance pop out at you. No, you can’t do some of the moves you do on a stage and make them translate. But the movie-dance tradition is electrifying. – St. Louis Post-Dispatch 05/12/00
UNEARTHED JULES
A new Jules Verne book was published Thursday in France, 95 years after the author’s death. The 1901 thriller, “The Beautiful Yellow Danube,” was discovered by an Italian collector in 1977 and has since then only circulated privately. – Times of India