This weekend Germany and Russia meet to exchange some of the art they stole from one another in World War II. – New York Times
Author: Douglas McLennan
STILL TOO HOT TO HANDLE
After reducing the time some of Robert Mapplethorpe’s more explicit photographs are shown in its documentary about the 1990 obscenity trial over the work, Showtime’s “Dirty Pictures” gets an “R” rating from the Motion Picture Association of America. As originally edited, the film would have been tagged with an NC-17 which would mean the network couldn’t have shown it in prime time. – Newsweek (Variety) 04/27/00
REINVENTING THE FUTURE
The thing about technical advances is not just that they make it easier to do what you’re already doing – improvements in your tools change the way you think about your art, the way you conceive of it, the way it looks. – Chicago Tribune 04/27/00
TV IN TEN YEARS?
No question television is changing. What’ll it look like in ten years? Six Australian experts make their predictions. – The Age (Melbourne) 04/27/00
UNDUE INFLUENCE
Consumer groups are stepping up to object to Time Warner’s merger with AOL. Critics are afraid of a “content bottleneck” if the deal goes through. – Variety 04/27/00
THEATRE CRANK
Broadway producer David Merrick has died in London at the age of 87. – Backstage
OR WAS HE 88? Merrick had a talent for producing, but also for making enemies. – New York Times
A MATTER OF INTELLIGENCE
Why is Lincoln Center balking at presenting Tom Stoppard’s new play? Is it because they think New Yorkers are stupid? – New York Observer
DANCING ON HISTORY
The Paris Opera Ballet was once one of the dullest dance companies on earth, complacent to a fault. But “nobody dances like the French,” and today the oldest dance company in the world is also one of the most admired. – The Telegraph (UK)
OAKLAND BALLET gets new director –
– a former Dance Theatre of Harlem star. – San Francisco Chronicle
THE MUSEUM EXPERIENCE
Jazz was once a freeform of innovation. But the “back to basics” movement led by Wynton Marsalis has pulled jazz back to its roots, and the Lincoln Center jazz program has helped institutionalize it. Though many are happy about the turn away from cacophonous directions, some critics complain that jazz has become entombed in a museum. Statistics from the Recording Industry Association of America indicate that jazz claims less than two percent of the overall music market. – Miami New Times