“While [Jasper] Johns mainly chose objects so familiar that they were overlooked, Warhol would take images so popular that they already had mass appeal – he would be as bold and brash as the advertisements and products surrounding him in Manhattan.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Lap-Dancing Is Not A Tax-Exempt Art Form, Says New York Court
“The owners of Nite Moves, an exotic dance club near Albany, New York, had sought to have pole dancing and private lap dances qualified as tax exempt since revenue collected from ‘dramatic or musical arts performances’ is not taxable under state law. But the Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, decided against the club in a 4-3 ruling handed down on Tuesday.”
Chicago Lyric To Try Mariachi Opera
Next April, Lyric Opera of Chicago will give the Midwest premiere of Cruzar la Cara de la Luna (“To Cross the Face of the Moon”), the first Spanish-language production in the company’s 58-year history. The piece was commissioned by Lyric general director Anthony Freud during his tenure at Houston Grand Opera, where it premiered in 2010.
The First Spider-Man Tell-All Book Is On The Way
“Glen Berger, the Off-Broadway playwright whose plum assignment to collaborate with Bono and the Edge of U2 on a Broadway musical turned into the media circus known as Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, has signed with Simon & Schuster to write a book about his experience.”
You’d Better Not Be Eating A Sandwich On The Spanish Steps
A new municipal ordinance “outlaws eating and drinking in areas of ‘particular historic, artistic, architectonic and cultural value’ in Rome’s center, to better protect the city’s monuments, which include landmarks like the Colosseum, the Pantheon and the Spanish Steps. Fines range all the way up to $650 for culinary recidivists.”
Meet Saturday Night Live‘s Cue-Card Guy (Yes, They Still Use One)
“For 22 years [Wally] Feresten has been perched next to the live-telecast’s camera, in a wide-legged athletic stance, holding at shoulder height white 14-x-22-inch poster-board cards hand-printed with lines for the performers. Attuned to the rhythms of each actor, Mr. Feresten lifts the cards and drops them into the hands of an assistant. He never looks away from the performer.”
Can Qatar Spend Its Way To Becoming A World Cultural Hub?
The kingdom “wants to be taken seriously as a cultural contender – not only by buying in artistic endeavours from around the world but also in home-growing fresh local talent from scratch in a pointed mark of difference to its flashy neighbours in the desert. … Never mind the social and political restrictions preventing criticism of the royal family or showing anything too controversial.”
Best British Novel Of The Century? Shortlist For ‘Best Of The Best’ Of UK’s Oldest Literary Prize
The James Tait Black Prize was established in Edinburgh almost a century ago, in 1919. “Now, … students at the university have chosen their six favourite winners of the prize to compete for the one-off accolade of best of the best.” The contenders: Angela Carter, Graham Greene, James Kelman, Cormac McCarthy, Caryl Phillips and Muriel Spark. (Missing: Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children.)
Anger At Royal Shakespeare Co. For Casting White Actors In Chinese Play
“Of the 17 actors cast in the forthcoming production of The Orphan of Zhao,” a play often referred to as China’s equivalent of Hamlet, “only three are of east Asian heritage. James Fenton’s new version of the fourth-century play … is the first Chinese drama the RSC has produced.”
Arthur Miller Estate Cracks Down On Rogue Sydney Production Of Death Of A Salesman
“Sydney’s Belvoir theatre company has been forced to reinstate the final scene of Arthur Miller’s famed Death of a Salesman after an anonymous tip-off to the US agent that handles the rights about changes made to the local production.” The director cut the script’s concluding “Requiem” and changed Willy Loman’s death from an auto collision to a suicide.