The Tate St. Ives Gallery is very successful. So now the museum wants to expand (naturally). But “more than 2,000 local people have signed a petition against the expansion plans, many of them believing the gallery is losing touch with the town. Some protesters object because the proposed creative centre, which the gallery and Cornwall county council want built on land above the existing building, would mean a loss of views and car parking spaces.”
Blog
Pinter At 75 – Attention Should Be Paid
Harold Pinter is 75. In Dublin they’re throwing big parties. In London, nothing, really. “One way and another, Pinter’s 75th birthday will not go unremarked. It just seems suprising that an English dramatist, for whom London is a living presence, should be more honoured by the Liffey than the Thames. But perhaps, in the end, it’s the ultimate tribute.”
A Law That Protects Video Game Characters That Don’t Exist?
California’s new ban on violent video games is a joke. “Bill 1179 targets games in which you ‘virtually inflict serious injury upon images of humans or characters with substantially human characteristics in a manner which is especially heinous, cruel or depraved in that it involves torture or serious physical abuse to the victim.’ Does any of this actually describe what goes on in a violent game?”
Booker Announced Tonight
The winner of the Booker Prize is to be announced tonight. “But it isn’t for the $91,800 cash award that grown men threaten to shoot themselves. It isn’t for the unquestionable increase in profits from sales, likely film and foreign rights. It isn’t even for the glamour, though tonight’s announcement, televised throughout the United Kingdom, is more like our Oscars than any bookish ceremony.” It’s the prestige…
Men In Blue
The Blue Man Group has become a global brand. “What began as an experimental performance-art trio 14 years ago in the East Village has slowly grown into a small global empire. There are now “Blue Man Group” shows in Manhattan, Chicago, Boston, Toronto and Berlin. Today, Blue Man Theater, a 1,760-seat complex, is to open at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, where the group has previously performed at the Luxor hotel. Next month, the Blue Men will begin playing on the West End in London. All this expansion has meant that dozens of new Blue Men must be recruited and trained.”
In Trafalgar Square – An Atypical Addition
The latest sculpture to be added to London’s Trafalgar Square is not your typical model of a modern major general. “Alison Lapper Pregnant – juxtaposed as it is with the majestic figures of a king, two generals and the naval hero Lord Nelson – has fueled a sharp discussion here about art, the purpose of public monuments, and the appropriateness of displaying such a piece in such a singular public space.”
“A” For Art In Arizona Gets A “B” For Business
Arizona museum directors are taking a more serious attitude about running like businesses. They have to. They have expanded so much in recent years that “we’ve created a new museum here every five or six years.” “A national debate over the desired skill set for directors has been rekindled with job searches under way at more than 15 major art museums across the country, including the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.”
When Actors Take Over From Stars
“It used to be the case that you opened with a mega-star and then the casting got less starry as you went on. Nowadays that’s totally untrue – quite often you find the person taking over is just as prestigious as the person who created the role in the first place. Actors are no longer loath to take over from someone else. These days what happens is an actor often goes in and recreates the role in his own terms – he doesn’t offer a carbon-copy performance, but rethinks the role.”
Courting Relevance – Time To Matter
The West End’s Royal Court Theatre is turning 50. “But there’s no getting away from it: the home of angry young men is facing middle-aged spread; its position as standard bearer of the new is under threat.”
New Volley Of Plays Take On The Iraq War
“As the Iraq war approaches year three, a new volley of war-themed plays is landing on the stages of the United States and Britain, the countries that led the assault on Saddam Hussein. Most express strong opposition to U.S. and British policies. Many of these scripts will surely have a short shelf life. But most of the playwrights say that the theater offers ways of thinking and feeling about the war that go deeper than the images on TV — and that the communal experience of theatergoing is likelier to change attitudes than the solitary experience of looking at a screen.”