“‘Garbage’ and ‘hysterical propaganda’ was one angry reaction at the world’s biggest book fair this year when Google, the world’s biggest Internet search service, defended plans to turn millions of books into electronic literature available online.”
Author: Laura Collins Hughes
Brooke Shields Portrait Flap Puts Tate Catalogue In Limbo
The Tate’s “publications arm, Tate Publishing, faces having to dump up to 12,000 catalogues that have been printed for the Pop Life exhibition at Tate Modern, which contain the offending image of a 10-year-old Shields.” For now, some are on sale “with a sticker placed ‘on legal advice’ over the nude image of Shields.”
What Makes San Francisco A Literary Haven
“Like the thriving theater culture in Chicago … San Francisco’s writers have come to recognize and trumpet the idea that this city prizes their craft, its solitary difficulty and what can emerge from it, even though there isn’t much of a publishing industry here.”
Report Links Arts Education, Graduation Rates
“In a report to be released on Monday the nonprofit Center for Arts Education found that New York City high schools with the highest graduation rates also offered students the most access to arts education.”
Tate To Make Kids’ Movie With Wallace & Gromit Creators
“The idea is to use great artworks from the Tate collection to inspire children aged five to 11 to contribute their ideas to the film. They will then create every aspect of the animation, from drawing the characters to devising the plot and sound effects.”
New York Puts Obstacles In Path Of Thriving Film Industry
“The latest shock to the industry is a plan by the city to charge the largest fees in the nation for filming in its buildings. The Mayor’s film office is also drawing up plans to charge for its famous free permits. Even more troubling, the city’s tax incentive program is out of money….”
Donations To Most Nonprofits Down From ’08
“A recent poll of 665 nonprofits found that 51% had seen a drop in fundraising this year, while 27% said they were on par with last year. … In some cases, the losses are coming from a decline in the amount of money being given by each donor, not by a lack of donors.”
How Centuries Of Unnamed Artworks Got Their Monikers
“[A]s markets developed and a culture of criticism arose, people needed a shorthand way to refer to Renaissance pieces. The more frequently a particular work was discussed, the more likely that critics and historians would reach an informal agreement over what to call the piece.”
Rocco Says He Won’t Be Getting A Personality Transplant
“[N]ow that [Rocco] Landesman is firmly in the job,” serving as NEA chairman, “has the hard-charging Midwesterner toned down his rhetoric? Hardly. … He says he’s ‘vexed’ by the notion that discussions about quality are considered code for elitism or worse. ‘I don’t get it,’ he argues. ‘Quality is what we’re in business to encourage.'”
Sex Scenes Can (But Needn’t) Unsettle Actors’ Home Lives
“The better the actor, the more convincing the sex scene — and the more potentially wrenching for the actor’s mate. No wonder so many couples devise rituals – some subtle, others more concrete — that they hope will ease the pain.”