“An oil painting by Mark Rothko has set a new world record of $22.4m for any post-war work sold at auction. The work, entitled Homage to Matisse, was sold at Christie’s post-war and contemporary art sale in New York on Tuesday evening. New records were also set for Roy Lichtenstein, Francis Bacon and several other artists. Lichtenstein’s In the Car sold for $16.2m, while a Willem de Kooning untitled work from 1977, sold for $10.66m, far above the high estimate of $6m. The sale took a total of $157.4m, exceeding the pre-sale high-end estimate of $145m, with only four of the 70 lots on offer failing to sell.”
Blog
Black Ink In Detroit, But Challenges Remain
The Detroit Symphony ran a $100,000 surplus for the 2004-05 season, and raised the most money in its history to help pay down a $2-million accumulated deficit. “The single biggest factor in the orchestra’s fund-raising success was a challenge grant that led to 3,100 new or increased gifts to the orchestra from individuals and businesses totaling $2.2 million… The DSO slashed expenses the last two seasons through negotiated pay cuts for the musicians and cuts in staff salaries, jobs and administrative costs. But this year, increases in musician salaries will drive up the budget by nearly $1 million.”
Australia’s Alsop
Simone Young, who will shortly become only the third woman ever to conduct the notoriously all-male Vienna Philharmonic, is no stranger to controversy, or to taking on the challenge of leading Europe’s best (and most difficult) orchestras. “Since Young’s controversial departure from Opera Australia, the maestro has further consolidated her reputation in a variety of work, including guest conducting for Placido Domingo’s Los Angeles Opera and at the Opéra Bastille in Paris. Young recently took the management and artistic reins of the Hamburg State Opera… In several interviews over the years she has talked frankly about the jeers and sexist attitudes of male colleagues. She stands her ground – in high heels, of course – and invariably wins them over with her focus, authority and style.”
Rodin Coming To Raleigh
A collection of 22 Rodin sculptures valued at $25 million is to be given to the Raleigh-based North Carolina Museum of Art as part of a major donation from the Cantor Foundation. The museum will house the collection in a new $75-million wing it plans to build, and will establish a companion study center.
Chicago Theatres To get Regulatory Break
The City of Chicago is creating a new ordinance to ease licensing on theatres. “The new rules will cut much of the red tape associated with current applications for Public Place of Amusement licenses, whose guidelines would continue to govern larger theaters. “This will make it a lot less cumbersome for theaters to go through the licensing process. It is just much more sensible and user-friendly to look at small spaces in a different way from movie theaters, bowling alleys and nightclubs.” In November 2003, inspectors from the city’s Revenue Department abruptly closed down a number of off-Loop theaters and cited them for an array of previously unknown violations.
NBC Study: Measuring The IP Industry
Trying to make its case for protecting copyrights, NBC Universal commissioned a study to measure the economic impact of the “intellectual property” industry on the US economy. “The report estimates that growth in U.S. gross domestic product from 2002-2010 would be reduced from $3.1 trillion to $2 trillion without the contribution of the IP industry. ‘Digital piracy is an issue that goes far beyond illegal downloading of music or movies. Theft and counterfeiting of intellectual property of all types is a serious and growing problem for the U.S. economy. This study provides important empirical evidence of just how much is at stake’.”
Senator Prude To Hold More Hearings On TV Content
The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee plans later this month to hold more hearings on pogramming it feels is “indecent” and to “determine how to proceed on potential legislation to limit such material.”
Venice As If You Were There (You Are)
“Nearly 14 million visitors troop through Venice each year, turning parts of the 1,500-year-old former island republic into a clichéd tourist destination. Locals grumble that day-trippers have transformed the Rialto Bridge and St. Mark’s into an Italian Disneyland. But outlying neighborhoods like Castello see few tourists. The nearly two-hour tour, dubbed History Unwired, features five recordings by local residents – ranging from a glass blower to a ska musician – along with flash animations, maps, and movie clips, all uploaded onto a PDA. Three Bluetooth sensors peppered along the route trigger a virtual tour of a Venetian home and two art installations, one projected on a building, another on hanging laundry.”
Turners By Rail
The four artworks shortlisted for the Turner Prize are being sent on a tour of rail stations. “A mini-tour of UK train stations will give travellers the chance to comment on the works vying for the big prize. Commuters will be able to write their thoughts on the work – good or bad – on a giant wall.”
Did Italian Police Offer Deal To Art Smuggler To Give Up Museums?
A Rome prosecutor is said to have offered reduced jail time to an antiquities smuggler if he would testify against big museums like the Metropolitan and MFA. “If you accuse the Metropolitan and Getty and the Berlin Museum, Boston, Cleveland, Copenhagen and Munich — one piece each – – I can make this go away,” prosecutor Paolo Ferri said two weeks ago, according to the smuggler, Giacomo Medici.