The New York Philharmonic’s decision to perform in North Korea has sparked plenty of debate, and one artist says that all the arguing shows once again that Americans are simply too worked up over a) the two Koreas and b) our own supposed importance in the world.
Author: sbergman
New Director For Women’s Museum
Washington, D.C.’s National Museum of Women In the Arts has named its chief curator, Susan Fisher Sterling, as the institution’s new director. The museum “often does groundbreaking work but is just as often overlooked in the lineup of Washington museums,” and Sterling will be tasked with raising its profile.
Whitney Biennial Just Not As Bad As We’d Hoped
“At first, the 2008 Whitney Biennial seemed destined to be the bad mother of all major museum shows. This would be ideal, of course. Hating the Whitney – the Super Bowl of American art – is a time-honoured tradition, like dissing Darth Vader… Yet, once again, the Whitney Biennial has failed to deliver on its promise of badness.”
Replacing A Legend Is Never Easy
“With Judith Jamison’s announcement last month that she plans to retire as artistic director [of Alvi Ailey American Dance Theater] by 2011, the question for the company is who can possibly succeed her?”
Planning Philly’s Architectural Future
Philadelphia is going through a wave of downtown development, which is changing the look of one of America’s oldest cities. One developer is hoping to completely reinvent a moribund section of the area known as Center City with a pair of skyscrapers anchoring a street level complex. Commence debate…. now.
Quarterlife Still Alive & Kicking Online
When the web-based TV show “quarterlife” got a chance at a prime time slot on NBC, but was canceled after one episode, some critics saw it as a clash between new and old media. But the show’s creator sees it differently: “we’re doing just fine on the Internet, thank you very much.”
Is Vegas Finally Ready To Become An Art Town?
Las Vegas’s MGM Mirage has launched a $40 million public art program designed to position the gambling and glitter capital as a true destination for the art world. “For many people, the debate over whether fine art belongs in Las Vegas seems to be tired or over.”
Indie Kimmel Cutting Back
“Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, the producer of an eclectic string of upscale movies including “Lars and the Real Girl” and “The Kite Runner” but not a single commercial hit, said on Friday that it was scaling back its ambitions. The company now plans to make two or three movies a year, instead of five or six, and laid off its marketing staff and other workers.”
Tracing The Lineage of Literary Liars
In an era when the internet has made fact-checking easier than ever, it sometimes seems as if high-profile cases of plagiarism and faked memoirs pop up every week. “But the history of literary fakers stretches far, far back, at least to the 19th century,” and the hoaxes only become more incredible with time.
What’s Behind Choir Director’s Departure?
It’s becoming clear that there is more to the abrupt departure of the director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir than meets the eye. Craig Jessop apparently told choir members that he was “at a major crossroads in my life,” but neither he choir officials are saying much publicly.