The new Cambridge History of Twentieth-Century English Literature weighs in at nearly 900 pages (and costs $160). This self-described “authoritative narrative” consists of forty-four long essays by academics renowned (Ronald Bush, e.g.) and obscure (most of the rest). How many trees do you suppose perished in order to bring this (according to the flap copy) “major event for anyone concerned with twentieth century literature” into being? It must be said that the index is only the beginning of what is wrong with this waste of wood pulp.”
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Light Out – How To Fix Your Flavin
“Collectors and museums are investing in Dan Flavin’s work like never before. So where exactly do they go when the bulbs in his installations blow? US companies such as General Electric and Mercury stopped producing the bulbs Flavin himself used for his works shortly after his death in 1996.”
Young Conductor On The Move
“With classical music on the defensive, a new breed of maestro has emerged – confident enough to reinvent the past, communicative enough to appeal to a wider audience. But they still have one hurdle to overcome before they pass the test of maturity, and it’s a test 30-year-old Edward Gardner is acutely aware of.”
Why Movie Grosses Are Meaningless
Weekend box office numbers for movies are completely bogus. “Once upon a time, when the studios owned the theaters and carted away locked boxes of cash from them, these box-office numbers meant something. But nowadays, as dazzling as the “boffo,” “socko,” and “near-record” figures may seem to the media and other number fetishists, they have little real significance other than to measure the effectiveness of the studios’ massive expenditures on ads.”
Is The Art Market Finally Slowing Down?
“Since May 2003, combined sales at Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips doubled from $109 million (about £60 million) to $220 million last November. But last week they rose to just $225 million. Like a giant pot-bellied pig, the market is lying on its back, enjoying its excesses, but with little room left to expand.”
Eye On A Wheel Of Art
On the longest day of the year (June 21), artists are taking over the London Eye – the giant ferris wheel. “On that date, each of the 32 capsules will host a performance by a different artist, musician, dance troupe or acting company in an effort to highlight the campaign for fair trade with the third world.”
Possible Actors Strike Against Video Game Producers
Actors are considering striking against video game producers. “The companies have refused to open the door to any form of profit participation for those actors who lend their voice, likeness and/or performance to a video game.”
Cannes And The Anti-America Movies
Films about the dark side of America are everywhere at Cannes this year, including a scathing portrait by Danish director Lars von Trier: “We are all under the influence — and it’s a very bad influence — from America,” said the 49-year-old Dane. “In my country everything has to do with America. America is kind of sitting on the world. “America has to do with 60 percent of my brain and all things I experience in my life, and I’m not happy about that,” von Trier said. I’d say 60 percent of my life is American so I am in fact an ‘American’ too. But I can’t go there and vote or change anything there. That is why I make films about America.”
Is PBS Headed For A Political Storm?
PBS is headed for a political showdown with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. “CPB’s drive for political balance on the air could lead to a public or private showdown with PBS over editorial standards. The corporation’s annual production aid to PBS, worth $26.5 million next year, will depend on its approval of the PBS standards on balance and other journalistic issues, now being reviewed by a panel of outside journalists. Further conflict could be expected if CPB hires Tomlinson’s reported candidate for president, Patricia Harrison, a former co-chair of the Republican National Committee who is now an assistant secretary of state.”
“Rings” Advance Sale Goes Crazy
The new Lord of the Rings musical doesn’t open in Toronto for 9 months yet, but tickets are selling like crazy. “Tickets for The Lord of the Rings went on sale yesterday on the Internet only and were expected by midnight to reach an impressive total of nearly $1 million (all figures Canadian). Add to that the $3 million in advance group sales and it means that close to $4 million or roughly 40,000 tickets have been sold before the box office opens to the general public today at 9 a.m.”