As the rebuilding of New Orleans begins, concern is growing about the direction the reconstruction will take, and whether it will benefit the city’s poorest and darkest-skinned residents. In particular, New Orleans jazz musicians have begun to raise their voices against what they fear will be the “Disney-fication” of the cultural scene. “And if the plans for the future of the city don’t include its humblest residents, I fear that the communities that created jazz in the first place will be dispersed — and the country will have lost a good bit of its soul.”
Blog
Reinventing Comic Books For A Darker, More Cynical Age
“DC Comics is in the midst of a major effort to revitalize the company’s fabled superheroes for the 21st century and better connect with today’s readers. The undertaking, which began in 2002, has involved a critical look at DC’s characters – from Aquaman and Batman to Zatanna – and developing story lines that sometimes have heroes engage in decidedly unheroic deeds… If fans embrace the new DC superhero universe, the gamble will be worth it. Last year, the comic book industry generated nearly $500 million in sales.”
Florence Biennale Wraps Up In Typical Style
“The Florence Biennale is predominantly an Old Master paintings fair, although a few dealers venture into the 19th century and one, Tornabuoni Arte, showed modern works by Lucio Fontana. Most of the mainly Italian visitors have conservative tastes and come in search of traditional paintings, drawings, sculpture and furniture produced by artists and craftsmen from their country… Despite efforts by the fair to promote itself internationally, most overseas visitors this year were Americans and Britons who have second homes in Italy. This left the field largely clear for Italian collectors.”
Beamish Binge
Sally Beamish is officially “Britain’s most prolific composer of concertos,” a distinction that frequently puts her in the position of composing especially for some of the world’s finest musicians. This fall, Scottish concertgoers will have a chance to hear what all the excitement is about, and then some. “What is about to happen is probably unprecedented in Scotland, outside of a festival context. Within a period of six weeks, five of Beamish’s concertos will be played, including one world premiere and one Scottish premiere.” And it’s not even her 50th birthday or anything! (That comes next summer, along with what will surely be an even larger wave of performances.)
A Spectacle of Theatrical Boxes
Rachel Whiteread’s new installation of 14,000 white boxes in Tate Modern’s massive Turbine Hall was one of the most anticipated new works of art to hit London this year. Of course, no one knew what it would look like until yesterday, but hey, buzz is buzz. Still, Whiteread was deeply worried that the simplicity of the design would cause the notoriously fickle British arts press to jump on her, and is well aware that a backlash could still happen. “I don’t think it’s going to be like a room full of cardboard boxes. It’s going to be a room, I would imagine, full of light and space and built elements, and you’ll figure out what they are, but it might take a bit of time to do that. It’s going to be a spectacle, and theatrical, and it has to be.”
Rethinking Sarah Kane
It’s been six years since the brilliant young British playwright Sarah Kane committed suicide, and time has done nothing to diminish her impact on the UK’s theatre scene. But as is so often the case with artists struck down in their prime, the myth has begun to overtake the reality, and her entire output is frequently viewed through the lens of her final, desperate act. “Kane’s work wasn’t just some outpouring of the soul. It was immensely crafted… There’s a danger that we see all of [her] work as one long preparation for suicide. [Instead,] we should look at the plays as the work of a writer of great anger, of sardonic humour, who saw the cruelties of the world but also the human capacity for love.”
Tate Britain’s New Love For Shutterbugs
“London’s Tate Gallery used to be famous for its perverse refusal to collect or exhibit photography. Photography could only darken its doors as an auxiliary medium… All that has changed, probably in a deliberate attempt to stake a position in the shifting balance of power as Britain’s photographic institutions finally edge painfully towards sorting themselves out. There are new photographic museums afoot in Britain (not a moment too soon) and Tate wants a piece of the action. Its record on photography has been dreadful. Now it is performing a spectacular volte-face.”
What To Do With The CBC?
In the wake of the weeks-long CBC lockout, some bold proposals to reform Canada’s public broadcasting system are being floated by insiders and outsiders alike. Some observers even want to blow up the CBC and start fresh. But such dramatic changes could create as many problems as theyr solve, and when it comes down to it, Canadians are unlikely to embrace a wholesale change to the country’s largest broadcast institution.
Great (And Possibly Unfair) Expectations
The subtext of the debate surrounding Marin Alsop’s appointment to lead the Baltimore Symphony goes well beyond the orchestra’s internal politics. At the heart of the issue is the groundbreaking nature of the appointment, and the desperate hope on the part of many that Alsop will blaze a trail for future female conductors to follow. But Peter Dobrin suggests that such hopes may be unfair, both to Alsop and those who will come after her. If a new Brahms recording is any indication, the BSO “is getting neither a master nor an incompetent, neither a revelationist nor charlatan. What if Alsop turns out to be – dare we say it – merely a good conductor? Or a very good conductor?”
This American TV Show?
Ira Glass’s popular public radio program, This American Life, is getting a tryout as a television show on the cable network Showtime. If it gets picked up, which seems likely, Glass and his crew would produce 10 hourlong episodes while continuing to turn out the radio version, albeit on a reduced schedule.