Author: Douglas McLennan

DAMIEN DOESN’T JUST SHOCK

Of late, British corporations have been a little more adventurous with the art they hang on their walls. “Over the past 15 years the profile of contemporary art has become much higher because of the media coverage of Damien Hirst and exhibitions such as ‘Sensation.’ The consequence is that chief executives are opening up to new approaches.” – The Times (UK)

ART VS. RELIGION

Art and religion have a long history together. Russia’s Church of the Intercession is “the only intact example of 17th-century Moscow Baroque to have survived the ransacking of Napoleonic invaders and the desecrations of Stalin. It is a jewel of the Baroque, lovingly preserved by curators from the Rublev Museum. But President Vladimir Putin plans to restore the building to the Russian Orthodox Church, which is likely to return it to its original function as a parish church open to the public 12 hours a day. Art experts aghast at the prospect of a pious crush of stout, wet-coated babushki imperiling the fragile interior. So what to do? Defend and preserve it or use and lose it? – The Times (UK)

COLOSSUS II – THE RETURN

The Colossus of Rhodes was built in about 300 BC and came to be one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. Now Rhodes has decided to rebuild and is commissioning a new modern Colossus, which it hopes will be completed by the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. – CBC

FIRST TO THE SMALL SCREEN

Shorts, trailers, and animation features have been available on the web for some time, yet no major studio had yet made full-length features available for download – until now. Miramax Films has signed an agreement with SightSound.com to make 12 of their indie films available, on a pay-per-view basis, over the web. “Yet they haven’t yet decided which titles will be made available, how soon, or at what cost.” – CNN (AP) 04/19/00

GET READY FOR RERUNS

“If nothing else, it could be the most photogenic picket line in the history of organized labor.” The Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists have called for a strike new television and radio commercials until advertisers agree to extend “pay-per-play” residuals (in which actors are paid based on the number of times an ad runs) to cable TV. – E! Online 04/19/00

A WEBCASTER’S DEFINING MOMENT

What, exactly, constitutes an interactive broadcast? If webstreamers are broadcasters and can get blanket royalty licenses to cover playing music like broadcasters do, then streaming takes a big jump forward. If the licenses aren’t allowed, then a webcaster would have to go to every artist it wants to play to get permission. That would guarantee stifle the infant industry. The Copyright Office will investigate. – Wired 04/19/00

A CASE OF ARTISTIC FREEDOM?

“A University of Iowa Museum of Art employee is suing the school over what she says is an attempt to stifle an art exhibit supported by a federal grant. She claims the museum director canceled her exhibit in retaliation for filing a university grievance against him. She said university officials retaliated by withholding matching money previously promised for the exhibit.” – Des Moines Register

BUY AUSTRALIAN

Peter Sellars has been hired to run the 2002 Adelaide Festival. But instead of bringing the best international artists to town (as Australian festivals are famous for doing) he’s taking the homegrown route. We need to build the country’s “cultural infrastructure,” he declares. “It is time that poets and musicians, filmmakers and architects and chefs were around the table together. If we are asking the society itself to get better at reconciliation, shouldn’t we artists – the most notoriously bickering and biting group on Earth – make some attempt to clean our own little house?” – Sydney Morning Herald