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And Soon, No Eating And No Talking!

Chicago’s lakefront Millennium Park has drawn plenty of raves from art critics and other journalists since opening a few years back. But some in Chicago have begun to notice some strangely un-parklike (and downright unfriendly) rules in place amid the statuary. For instance, who’s ever heard of a park where playing catch is banned? More to the point, what’s the purpose of having a huge public park that thinks it’s a museum?

Making Geekdom Safe For All The Little Hipsters

“To those who dwell in the design universe, Apple Computer has accomplished the near-impossible: making nerdy computing products seem hip and friendly. Sleek, ergonomic, and accessible, first their computers and now their iPods have gained raves and a cult following, and they have brought terms like “nano” out of geekdom and into everyday use… Now, with the opening of an architecturally audacious retail store in Manhattan, Apple has crossed another design threshold. The Apple Store Fifth Avenue has made the ultimate statement of design and product packaging by morphing the design of Apple products with the design of the building that houses them.”

UK Orchestras Saved From Crippling Insurance Bill

Orchestras in Great Britain won’t have to pay a potentially disastrous health insurance bill that could have pushed several of them into bankruptcy. “Many orchestras are formed of self-employed musicians and have not paid national insurance on the income paid to them, as they would have had to for permanent staff… Revenue and Customs has advised the chancellor that the orchestras do not have to pay the contributions, thus averting not only the back tax bill of £33m but an annual future bill of £6m.”

Now That’s Audience Building

Dressed up in tuxedos and hard hats, the Nashville Symphony gathered this week to pay tribute to those without whom their glittering new concert hall would never have been built. No, not the high-rolling donors, or the architect, or even the politicians who approved the funding plan. The audience for this private concert was made up entirely of the construction workers whose part in the success of such venues is frequently overlooked.

Expense-ive Tastes

Valencia’s impressive new opera house, known as Palau de les Arts, designed by architect Santiago Calatrava, was hailed as an unqualified success at its opening last year. But controversy has sprung up over the high salary and expenses run up by the hall’s superintendent. Helga Schmidt earns over €180,000 a year, far more than her counterparts at other Spanish opera houses; and in the last two years, she has reportedly racked up nearly €300,000 in travel, hotel, and car service costs. Whether such costs are actually out of line is up for debate.

Apparently, God Hates The Guitar

Pope Benedict has denounced the modernization of church music, particularly that including (shudder) guitars, and has ordered Catholic churches worldwide to reacquaint themselves with Gregorian chant. “What this cultural authoritarianism completely overlooks is how radically the congregations for liturgical worship are changing. The single, central kind of music heard in church in the past has, as in so many areas of our life, been completely overtaken by a huge variety of styles and tastes: who is to say that different generations cannot worship to the music of Palestrina or pop, Josquin or flamenco?”

McDonald’s – An International Refuge?

“Despite its vaunted reputation as a juggernaut of American culture, McDonald’s has come to function as an ecumenical refuge for travelers of all stripes. This is not because McDonald’s creates an American sense of place and culture, but because it creates a smoothly standardized absence of place and culture — a neutral environment that allows travelers to take a psychic time-out from the din of their real surroundings. This phenomenon is roundly international.”

Finding The Balance Between Art And Entertainment

“Where museums were originally established with the responsibilities of, simply, housing and looking after the objects from which the public was encouraged to learn, today’s museums (and their funders) want to provide an experience – and not just of the art. They want the museum to have more broad appeal. As museums become more businesslike in their efforts to appeal to the public, there is a fear that they will distance themselves from those characteristics that make them desirably different from commercial businesses: That entertainment (glitzy blockbusters) will replace study (scholarly small-scale discoveries), liveliness replace quiet contemplation, and communication replace communion.”