Peter Dobrin says that the settlement between the Kimmel Center and architect Rafael Viñoly is filled with elements of “pure fantasy” that don’t begin to hold up under scrutiny. “It is a stunning fantasy to call the Kimmel Center a wonderful civic space. It could be a wonderful civic space. Nothing in the architecture prevents it from becoming one. But in its current state, there’s nothing wonderfully civic about the center’s gorgeous, oft-deserted rooftop garden and ground-level plaza… The Kimmel won’t be done until it has an appropriate amount of money – that is, an endowment – to make it fully come alive.”
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Baltimore In Trouble
The Baltimore Symphony ran a staggering deficit of $7.3 million in fiscal 2005, and expects to tally another $4.5 million in red ink this season, raising the organization’s accumulated debt total to a whopping $16.2 million. The numbers represent some of the largest deficits of any American orchestra in the last decade, even though Baltimore’s annual budget ($30 million) is considerably smaller than those of orchestras in Cleveland and Chicago, which have faced similar-sized deficits in recent years. Oh, and the musicians’ contract, which already included financial concessions meant to reduce debt, expires this September.
Trailblazing Director Dies
Photographer and filmmaker Gordon Parks, who broke down racial barriers throughout his career, has died at 93. “He was the first black person to work at Life magazine and Vogue, and the first to write, direct and score a Hollywood film, The Learning Tree (1969), which was based on a 1963 novel he wrote about his life as a farm boy in Kansas. He also was the director of the 1971 hit movie Shaft, which opened the way for a host of other black-oriented films.”
Louisville Orchestra Exec Director Resigns
Louisville Orchestra executive director Scott Provancher has resigned from the beleaguered organization. He “said that felt really good after the initial sessions but he became disappointed that the players decided to conduct a full vote on one of their initial offers before he felt that the offer was fully vetted.”
Meet The Blooker – The First Blog Book Prize
“Dubbed the Blooker Prize, the contest is for those bloggers who have turned their episodic journals into something more substantial. British entries on the Blooker short-list include the intimate diary of a prostitute and a guide to the UK’s best ‘greasy spoon’ cafes.”
The Dancing Computer
Microsoft is showing off a computer interface that is controlled by dancing in front of it. “The dance pad has designated arrows and buttons that are normally used to correspond to beats in the game, but for Microsofts system it will be used to navigate and scroll through a wide variety of applications.”
London’s Theatre Museum On The Brink
London’s Theatre Museum is in danger of closing down after its second bid for £2.5 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund was turned down.
Arts As Weapon?
“New Labour has been pouring money into the arts, not just because this is a good thing but because of the belief that the arts will heal communities, reduce crime and raise the aspirations of those not educated enough to know whether they like Bartók or Birtwistle. The arts have long been used as a weapon. In the Cold War they were a beacon of intellectual freedom of expression, in stark contrast to the repression of dissent in the USSR. Now the enemy is what Andrew Brighton calls ‘the limitations of working-class culture’.”
Video Games – A Cure For Aging?
Can video games help stave off old age? Millions of Japanese believe so. “Players have to complete puzzles as quickly and accurately as possible, including reading literary classics aloud, doing simple arithmetic, drawing, and responding rapidly to deceptively easy teasers using voice-recognition software. The player’s “brain age” is then determined. A physically fit, yet cerebrally past-it 30-year-old might be told after his first few attempts that his brain is into its 50s; a retired woman could, over time, end up with a brain age 20 years her junior. The challenge, to reduce one’s brain age, is proving addictive among Japan’s baby boomers.”
Pixar Has Its Most Profitable Year
“2005 marks Pixar’s 10th year as a public company and, I’m pleased to report, our most profitable year ever,” Pixar chairman and chief executive Steve Jobs said.”