Director of the Ashmolean at Oxford: “The £7.83 million, though a substantial sum to be found, is a mere fraction of the picture’s actual worth and it would therefore be an enormous disappointment if it could not be saved for the nation.”
Author: ArtsJournal2
Howard Kissel, 69, Theatre Critic For The Daily News
“A friendly, often bemused and droll man whose silver curls and precise, deliberate manner of speech made him indelible to anyone he met, Kissel was chief theater critic at the News for 20 years. … Kissel was the only person to chair both the New York Drama Critics Circle and the New York Film Critics Circle — reflecting the fact that even in the sometimes tense world of high culture, he got along with everyone.”
How To Green Up British Theatre – Strings, And Water Conservation, Attached
“Arts Council England is to incorporate eco-friendly clauses into its funding agreements with national portfolio organisations, making it the first arts funding body in the world to have environmental sustainability as a requirement of subsidy.”
What Was Naughty, Or At Least Vulgar, In 1811? Ask The Internet
Britain’s Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, first published in 1811, is back – for free, online, and wildly popular.
Globalization Saved India’s Block-Printing Artisans, But The Environment Now Threatens Them
“Centuries ago, block-printing washers settled in Sanganer because of its flowing river. Today the river is choked with sewage; washers have moved to man-made washing areas on roadsides. Wells are running low.”
NEA Pulls For Community Art, But Broke California Pulls Away
When the NEA gives money to community arts projects but California’s budget wipes out the state agencies that fund the same types of projects, what’s the message to communities and artists? (Pretty mixed.)
The Mousetrap: Dear God, Will It Ever End Its Run? (Probably Not)
“It is the sort of play one imagines a play ought to be if one has seen very few. It lends itself to an elaborate if conventional set design: dark wood, chintz chairs, a large bay window, a staircase, and multiple doors allowing for the entrance and egress of the various suspects from kitchen, cellar, parlor, and upstairs bedrooms.”
With Music, You Know More Than You Think You Know
Even audiences intimidated by classical music can figure out what’s important in a piece, says a neurologist. “Just as a baby’s cry or an alarm elicits an emotional response, music causes reactions, Outwater says, adding, ‘It’s beyond emotion, it’s really hormones and chemicals.'”
Is British Theatre Afraid Of The Avant-Garde? (And Is That Even A Real Term Anymore?)
“Theatregoers who seek a warm communal chuckle have never been so well served by the West End. Rival comedies are selling out across the capital. … But this glut of consoling fare is provoking unease in some quarters.”
City Ballet Music Director Stepping Down
The New York City Ballet music director has become too popular, and too overworked, in France. “Mr. Karoui said that until now he had been able to manage his commitment to City Ballet ‘with the rest of my artistic life, but this is no longer possible.'”