“Organized by Daniel Birnbaum, this 53rd version of the venerable Biennale is tidy, disciplined, cautious and unremarkable. If any show can be said to reflect a larger state of affairs in art now, this one suggests a somewhat dull, deflated contemporary art world, professionalized to a fault, in search of a fresh consensus. It has prompted the predictable cooing from wishful insiders, burbling vaguely about newfound introspection and gravity.”
Author: Laura Collins Hughes
Shortlist For UK Prize Honoring Good Public Design
“An environmentally friendly ringroad and a school sports hall made from recycled freight containers are among the 24 finalists competing for Britain’s top public architecture prize. One of the projects, picked from 125 submissions of new work from the public sector, will be chosen to win the ninth Prime Minister’s award for Better Public Building in October.”
Teen Will Tweet Ring In Seattle Opera ‘Confessions’
“Seattle is seeking to make its venerable ‘Ring’ sparkle for younger generations with its reality-style video project ‘Confessions of a First-Time Opera Goer,’ which will chronicle 19-year-old Cassidy Quinn Brettler’s first experience attending the ‘Ring.’ … Brettler, a double major in acting and broadcasting at Boston’s Emerson College, will post her updates on the action on her personal Facebook and Twitter accounts, as well as tweeting on Seattle Opera’s Twitter account.”
A Car Parked Outside The Opera House? Bad Advertising!
“Walking past a new-model vehicle with its showroom sticker affixed to the windshield to get into concert halls and opera houses is a common international phenomenon. Last time I was at the tony Salzburg Festival, a flashy Audi, if I remember correctly, was parked in front of the Grosses Festspielhaus. And now the pristine, white new Opera House in Oslo, a year-old and already a landmark, has a pristine, white Mercedes messing up the building’s sculptural minimalism.”
Even After Digital-TV Delay, 3 Million May Lose Signal
“Major U.S. television stations complete their switch to digital transmissions tomorrow, a move that may cut off signals for almost 3 million unprepared homes. Beginning early in the morning and ending by midnight, 974 TV stations, including those in the largest cities, will stop sending the analog signals used since the birth of TV, according to the Federal Communications Commission.”
Feds Charge 24 In Looting Of Native American Artifacts
“Striking at a longtime practice in the Four Corners area, federal authorities Wednesday unsealed indictments against 24 people in what they called the largest investigation ever into the looting of Native American artifacts on public lands. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced the charges at a Salt Lake City news conference and said in a telephone interview that many of the stolen items, valued at $335,000, came from sacred burial sites.”
In Agency Picks, Obama Avoids Controversy (And Change)
Jim Leach, tapped by President Obama to lead the National Endowment for the Humanities, and Rocco Landesman, Obama’s pick to head the National Endowment for the Arts, “are probably not the choices initially expected from a president who was being lobbied just a couple of months ago to do something as bold as create a cabinet-level department of arts and culture. These are the choices, rather, of a president who doesn’t want this to be a political fight.”
Well-Respected Arcade Publishing Files For Chapter 11
“The small Manhattan publishing house that has published books by famous foodie James Beard, film director Ingmar Bergman, Israeli president Shimon Peres and other authors from around the globe filed for Chapter 11 protection several months after the death of its owner. Arcade Publishing Inc. on Friday filed for bankruptcy in Manhattan.”
Sweden To Disband Century-Old Film Censorship Board
“Sweden is putting a blue line through film censorship. The government has decided to close the board of film censors, Statens Biografbyra, in 2011, 100 years after it was founded. From then on, any film will be able to be released in Sweden, as long as it does not break laws governing such things as child pornography.”
Charge: Star Supported Royalties, So Stations Banned Song
“Which top-selling artist purportedly had a new single yanked from some radio stations[‘] playlists in retaliation for supporting royalties for musicians? No one involved will name the recording artist, but the no-play treatment by several radio stations is alleged in a complaint filed with the Federal Communications Commission and obtained by the Associated Press. The complaint claims recording artists are being threatened and intimidated.”