Renzo Piano’s expansion of Atlanta’s High Museum doubles the previous museum space. What effect has the extension had on the museum? “More than one-third of the High’s collection, including works by Gerhard Richter and the team of Coosje van Bruggen and Claes Oldenburg, was acquired after the museum announced its plans for expansion in 1999. Michael Shapiro, director of the High, attributes the stepped-up interest on the part of donors and patrons to Mr. Piano’s reputation for showcasing art. This is not the first time the High has used architecture to draw attention: in 1983, it unveiled a building designed by Richard Meier that is still considered one of his most important works.”
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Dancer Fernando Bujones, 50
“Although he reached the pinnacle of fame inside the ballet world, greater renown was denied him by mischance. In the summer of 1974, for instance, the great Russian ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov defected at nearly the same time as Bujones won his ballet olympics medal, overshadowing the young American’s triumph. ‘Baryshnikov has the publicity, I have the talent,’ Bujones said at the time. And he was half-right: Both had the talent, but in Cold War America, a defection from the Soviet Union created instant stardom like nothing else.”
Italians Meet With Met Museum Over Stolen Objects
Italian investigators were in New York last week to meet with officials at the Metropolitan Museum to talk about 22 items in the Met collection the Italians say were stolen. “In Rome, the Italian culture minister said yesterday that the Italian government had made overtures to the Met’s director, Philippe de Montebello, about a joint meeting to discuss ancient artworks that Italy claims were illegally excavated and exported before entering the museum’s collection of Greek and Roman art.”
Sony To Halt Making Antipiracy Software
Sony says it will temporarily stop making antipiracy CDs that can leave computers vulnerable to hackers. “The antipiracy technology, which works only on Windows computers, prevents customers from making more than a few copies of the CD and prevents them from loading the CD’s songs onto Apple Computer’s popular iPod portable music players. Some other music players, which recognize Microsoft’s proprietary music format, would work. Sony’s announcement came one day after leading security companies disclosed that hackers were distributing malicious programs over the Internet that exploited the antipiracy technology’s ability to avoid detection.”
Toronto Symphony In A Deep Hole
The Toronto Symphony closed its financial year with a $2.1 million defifcit. That “boosted the orchestra’s accumulated deficit to $9.47 million. The deficit stood at just over $7 million when the TSO teetered close to bankruptcy in 2001. Loan guarantees from the city of Toronto and the TSO Foundation helped stave off another near-death episode. The foundation also handed over $1.5 million in emergency financing, $1 million of which is repayable within five years.”
Salinas Voters Save Their Library
Last week voters in Salinas, Ca., approved adding half a cent to the sales tax to keep the town’s library open. Last year the public library almost closed after losing funding. “It really struck a chord on the national level, and we became a poster child for the decline and fall of Western civilization. There was the irony of it being Steinbeck’s hometown and all that stuff, and it did begin to represent something larger than just Salinas losing its libraries.”
Doing The Big Read
The NEA is launching ‘The Big Read, its plan to ‘revitalize the role of literature in American popular culture.’ Set to launch early next year, its pilot effort will fund book projects in six cities. Chairman Dana Gioia said it will be ‘the biggest federally run literature program in American history,’ a stunning comment from an administration that has pledged to shrink government. Shades of the Federal Writers Project! The inspiration behind ‘The Big Read’ is community-wide efforts in cities from Seattle to Pittsburgh that use novels to encourage public discussions on social issues.”
Italian Claim On Minneapolis Vase
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts is on the list of museums Italian authorities say have stolen art in their collections. “The Italians support their claim on the Minneapolis piece with a photo of a pottery fragment that appears to match the vase. ‘We’ve not received any notification from the Italians and have no proof that the object was looted,’ said William Griswold, the museum’s director. ‘If we have reason to believe an object has been stolen, we would absolutely want to respond in an ethical and legally responsible fashion’.”
Author Koontz Accused Of Racism
Dean Koontz is being accused of racism after the author recounted to an audience a story of his dispute with a Japanese executive over a movie.”Dear Mr Teriyaki,” he read to the audience. “My letter of 10 November has not been answered … I would assume your silence results from the mistaken belief that World War II is still in progress and that the citizens of your country and mine are forbidden to communicate. Enclosed is a copy of the front page of the New York Times from 1945, with the headline, ‘Japan Surrenders’.” In other letters Koontz talked about the Bataan Death March and Godzilla.
Italian Divas On Hunger Strike Over Proposed Funding Cuts
Italian opera singers have gone on a hunger strike over proposed government cuts in arts funding. “Culture minister Rocco Buttiglione has threatened to resign over the matter, while opera singers and others in Italy’s theatrical world came up with the idea of hunger strikes. Some people have gone on rotational one-day strikes, while others such as Vignudelli starved themselves for two weeks. She is also angry that Berlusconi claims La Scala employs too many people. Barbara Vignudelli has lost 13lb. ‘I am a person who is healthy and takes care of herself, so to do this is difficult,’ she said. ‘But it shows how strongly I feel’.”