“The other day, my four-year-old daughter told me with a grin: ‘I’m chopping the fish.’ She had a toy knife and a plastic bowl. Inside the bowl was a jigsaw piece with the word ‘fish’ on it. Kids, eh – teach them to read and they think they’re René Magritte.”
Author: Laura Collins Hughes
A Broadway Vet Returns, After A Bout Of Homelessness
“Just a year ago, [Terri] White, 61, could not make rent.” Now she’s back on Broadway in “Finian’s Rainbow,” but at the time “[s]he could not work. She also could not find a way to ask for help. For three months, when she was not crashing on a friend’s couch, she slept in Washington Square Park.”
Walt Whitman, Levi’s Pitchman
“Whitman is an involuntary spokes-celebrity here, and perhaps you deem this ad a desecration of all he stood for. I can’t say I blame you. But were you forced to choose a clothing line for our favorite barbaric yawper to rep, you might choose this one.”
What’s Happened To Broadway’s Opening-Night Parties?
“Reporters, stars on the red carpet and good food have been replaced by BlackBerrys, which, in turn, have made the opening-night ritual of reading aloud the good reviews (and keeping the pans out of the parties) as yesterday as an Al Hirschfeld cartoon.”
Considering Conducting’s New Wave
“Is this just the latest changing of the guard, as middle-age maestros move up the ladder and eminent conductors in their 80s … shed important posts? Or are the latest crop of baton-wielders, like tennis phenoms, obtaining expert training and top talent agents earlier than before?”
Tax Breaks Lure Films, Sometimes With Altered Scripts
Tax incentives offered by some countries and various states in the U.S. “have become critical for many independent producers, who have found it increasingly difficult to raise film financing through the usual channels.” Some are eager enough for the savings to change the script to fit the new locale.
With The Boom’s End, An Architectural Era Closes As Well
Nicolai Ouroussoff: “Yet as the dust settles on the last of these projects, what begins to emerge is a more complex image of America’s cultural values at the birth of a new century. The formal dazzle masks a deeper struggle by cities and architects to create accessible public space in an age of shrinking government revenue and privatization.”
Survey: Giving To Charities Set To Decline 9 Percent
According to The Chronicle of Philanthropy, “the nation’s biggest charities are forecasting a 9 percent decline in giving this year. That would be the steepest drop since the group started tracking private donations in the early 90s.”
Miami Art Museum Director Resigns Abruptly
“Terry Riley, director of the Miami Art Museum, has resigned, effective immediately. Riley, who arrived in 2006, has been spearheading the fundraising for the museum’s new location.” An architect, Riley “will return to Keenen/Riley Architects as a partner, and will continue working with the museum as a consultant through June 30.”
Tamara Rojo On The Collision Of Arts And Politics
“The Arts Council is forever subject to criticism, but I’ve seen what happens in countries where major companies have to fend for themselves or cuddle up to politicians. I am often asked why there is no major classical ballet company in Spain. … The causes are political rather than cultural or historical.”