Author: Matthew Westphal

A Lot Of Art Galleries Lose Money – This Man Says He Can Fix That

“In a slim, Day-Glo orange book that caused a furor when it was published in Germany last year, … a 31-year-old German entrepreneur/professor/art adviser named Magnus Resch … argues that most galleries are undercapitalized and inefficient, and moreover, that with McKinsey-like business strategies … the entire art market could be turned into a profit-generating machine.”

How Performers Are Paid for Performance Art

The artists Gerard & Kelly “saw performer compensation ‘as a blind spot in how performance was entering [museum] collections’… They learned that the going rate museums paid performers in major 2010 exhibitions was about $20 an hour, which they found low and arbitrary. (This includes Marina Abramovic’s piece at the Museum of Modern Art, they said, and Tino Sehgal’s at the Guggenheim, the first performance piece that museum acquired.)” So they negotiated a wage formula for performers in their latest work, and included it in the license for any museum that wants to present it.

Orchestra That Just Fired Conductor Fires Executive Director, Too

The executive committee of the [San Luis Obispo Symphony’s] board of directors voted unanimously to terminate Feingold’s employment and he was let go Friday … Feingold’s departure comes less than three months after the ouster of former Music Director Michael Nowak, who had held that post for 31 years and was widely considered the public face of the symphony.”

It’s Time To Start Liking Tom Cruise Movies Again

“Somewhere along the way Cruise went from being the biggest star on the planet to his own films’ worst enemy.” (We all remember the Oprah Couch-Jumping Incident.) “There was something about Tom Cruise’s … well, Tom Cruise-ness that felt like it needed to be brought down a peg.” But Bilge Ebiri, after watching all of his movies for an assignment, argues that Cruise is an underrated, and sometimes ingenious, actor.

Bolshoi Ballet Won’t Renew Contract Of Director Who Suffered Acid Attack

“Sergei Filin, the Bolshoi Ballet artistic director whose sight was maimed two years ago by an acid attack organized by a disgruntled dancer, will lose his job when his contract expires next spring. Bolshoi Theatre chief Vladimir Urin announced yesterday in Moscow that he is abolishing Filin’s position and replacing it with a more management-focused director, indicating that artistic decision-making is to be taken ‘jointly’ with the theatre directorate.”

What Drives Trophy Hunters Like The Man Who Killed Cecil The Lion?

“The question, then, is why? What motivates Palmer and other trophy hunters, as they’re called, to fly thousands of miles and spend tens of thousands of dollars, all for the sake of killing an animal like Cecil? The answer is complex, but, largely, it can be thought of as a demonstration of power and prestige, says Amy Fitzgerald, a sociologist at the University of Windsor.”