The Biennial of the Americas, now “a scant 9 months away,” “has been characterized by rumors of its pre-term demise, a hide-and-seek between the city and potential exhibitors about locations, and a question about whether local projects are to be invited and funded as part of the overall vision.”
Author: Laura Collins Hughes
British Columbia Publishing Suffers ‘Massive’ Funding Cuts
“The Arts and Culture branch of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts has cut all provincial funding from the Association of Book Publishers of British Columbia (ABPBC), BC BookWorld newspaper and the B.C. Association of Magazine Publishers (BCAMP).”
Waterstone’s Blocks Staff’s Access To The Bookseller
“Waterstone’s has prevented its staff from accessing book trade magazine The Bookseller’s website after it ran a negative story about the book chain’s new distribution system.”
Calatrava Counsels Patience On His Dormant Chicago Spire
“When Santiago Calatrava was in town last week for a lecture titled ‘Beyond the Spire,’ I figured he was ready to stick an R.I.P. sign on his plan for the Chicago Spire, the famously unbuilt condo tower that would have twisted 2,000 feet into the sky at 400 N. Lake Shore Drive. Wrong.”
Gormley’s Plinth: Popular, Yes, But Under False Pretenses
“Quite why so many people would want to believe and disseminate dishonest views of an artwork, I don’t know; but the cultural rhetoric around it seems to be so captivating that everyone wants to join the party, even if it means ignoring the blindingly obvious truth.”
Andrew Lloyd Webber Unveils His Phantom Sequel
“The action is set ten years after that in The Phantom of the Opera, has new music but features the same lead characters and takes place in Coney Island, the wonder-filled early 20th-century playground where New Yorkers gawped at freakshows and broke limbs on terrifying early rollercoasters.”
Briton Mark Clements Is Milwaukee Rep’s Next A.D.
“Clements, 48, will succeed artistic director Joseph Hanreddy, who is leaving the Rep this spring after 17 years with the company.”
Making Music With Bicycle Bells In Downtown LA
“‘Eine Brise: Transient Action for 111 Cyclists,’ by the late Argentinian composer Mauricio Kagel, … will have its L.A. premiere Feb. 22 outdoors on Grand Avenue’s pavement. Kagel’s quickie composition, no more than two minutes long, calls for 111 bicycle riders to ring their bells, whistle and emit vocalized effects in unison, on command.”
Despite Rich Autumn Offerings, Book Sales Have Fallen
Last week, “book sales were down about 4 percent compared with the same week last year, suggesting that” none of the fall’s big titles, not even Dan Brown’s, “were helping booksellers to overcome the sludgy economy.” But there’s always the holiday season to save the day, maybe.
WWII Vet Returns Rare Books He Looted From Germany
“German Ambassador Klaus Scharioth said the 16th century volumes date to the dawn of the Protestant Reformation when Germany was the book publishing center of the world. The first book has been traced to a museum in Paderborn, Germany…. The second has been traced to a library in Bonn.”