The facade of San Francisco’s new deYoung Museum has not been a big hit with members of the public, some of whom have suggested that it looks like an aircraft carrier. But Kenneth Baker says that art lovers should reserve judgment until they’ve seen the whole museum, and that includes the inside. “The new de Young deploys its resources to encourage our recognition that the meanings of art, even of the decorative arts, lie neither wholly within the art object nor wholly outside it.”
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Rebirth of an Indie
Earlier this year, a much-beloved independent bookstore in Menlo Park, California closed, bowing to the same competitive pressures (from big chain booksellers and online retailers) that have taken out indie bookstores across the country. But in this case, the bookstore’s community didn’t sit idly by and mourn the passing – they passed the hat. “Local entrepreneurs developed a business plan to improve the store’s long-term standing and also invested cash… $500,000 was raised from 17 individuals, who each pledged at least $25,000 to become shareholders. About 370 local residents also signed up to volunteer time to help the store.” As a result, Kepler’s Books and Magazines will reopen for business this weekend.
PBS Gets An In-House Critic
Under increasing pressure from right-wing politicians and its own funding body, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, PBS has announced that it will hire Washington Post ombudsman Michael Getler to handle complaints about its programming.
NC-17 As A Promotional Stunt?
If you’ve heard anything about Atom Egoyan’s latest film, you’ve likely heard that it contains an explicit three-way sex scene that garnered the film an NC-17 rating from the MPAA. Egoyan loudly appealed the rating, but the ratings board refused to grant him the more mainstream ‘R’ rating he so desperately wanted. Or did he want it after all? ” In recent weeks, there have been suggestions that the appeal… was launched as a sort of ‘Banned-in-Boston’ tactic to generate some pre-release fizz.”
Famed Chinese Scroll To Get First Viewing
“One of the most famous — and longest — paintings of Chinese antiquity will go on display this month in its entirety for the first time ever. Engineers at the Beijing University of Technology have built a 52-foot-long case weighing 5 tons and costing $247,000 to display ‘Qingming Shanghe Tu,’ or ‘Qingming Festival on the River,’ the official China Daily newspaper reported. The 12th Century work has long been praised for its realism and historical detail in portraying social and commercial life in an ancient Chinese city. Yet, its size, and fears of damage to the delicate colors and silk on which it was painted have prevented it from ever being shown publicly. The original painting measured more than 16 feet long.”
Getting Past The P-Word
The recent run of writers and historians facing allegations of plagiarism surfaced has seen some of America’s best-loved authors and journalists exiled to the hall of shame that also includes steroid-popping baseball players and former Enron executives. But some writers seem to have an unusual ability to bounce back from such charges, even when their veracity seems indisputable. Take the case of presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, who is embarking on a major book tour three years after she paid an undisclosed sum to settle an embarrassing lawsuit alleging plagiarism. Why is a major publisher still taking it’s chances with a known copier? “Because she has a charming personality, because she has powerful friends, and not least of all because she writes like a dream.”
Six (8th) Blackbirds At Ten
There are plenty of new music ensembles wandering the classical music world, but few ever manage to achieve serious longevity or catch on with any measurable percentage of mainstream listeners. But after ten years of diligently honing their craft and cultivating audiences with a unique blend of high energy and disarming informality, the sextet of young musicians known as “eighth blackbird” are knocking on the door of new music success previously known only by the Kronos Quartet.
We Can Think Of Some Poets We’d Like To Send Into Space…
The UK’s Poetry Society has conducted a poll to determine which poem Britons would most like to see shot into space – not as a way to get rid of it, you understand, more as a tribute to the spirit of poetry. The winner, announced in advance of Thursday’s National Poetry Day celebrations, is “Human Beings,” a poem by Adrian Mitchell. It’s worth noting that there currently are no plans to actually shoot the poem into space, and a copy of it will reside at the UK’s National Space Society for the foreseeable future.
Saatchi’s Landlord Wants Him Out
“The landlord of the London art gallery where Charles Saatchi houses his world-famous collection is seeking to evict him in a High Court battle. Japanese company Shirayama Shokusan is accusing the operators of the Saatchi Gallery of continually breaching the terms of its lease. It alleges the gallery hung works of art in off-limit areas and had immediately tried to renegotiate rent. Mr Saatchi is planning to move his main artworks to a new gallery in Chelsea.”
Alsop To Stay On In Bournemouth
The UK’s Bournemouth Symphony has extended the contract of its principal conductor, Marin Alsop, through 2008. Alsop’s contract had been set to expire at the end of the current season, and her international profile was recently raised when she was named as the next music director of the Baltimore Symphony, beginning in 2007.