“Just the name ‘subversive literature’ has a provocative, candle-under-the-bedcovers feel. In communist East Germany — perhaps the most spied-on nation in history — however, almost everything fell under that dicey rubric. Poetry about freedom? Anti-utopian sci-fi? Political satire? All blacklisted. Now, 16 years after the Soviet puppet state crumbled, two former citizens have unearthed the vanished nation’s hidden literature and — adamant that it no longer be submerged in anonymity — are pushing to get it published.”
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The Cranky Font
“Typography, it turns out, is not always such dumb fun. Graphic designers, who often have fonts to sell, can be cranky about where their p’s and q’s come from, and they seem to be getting crankier by the minute. Maybe it’s because there is less and less demand for original typefaces; free fonts are easy to come by on the Web.”
A Conceptual Art Day Camp In The Shadow Of New York
“On Saturday, with the help of the Public Art Fund, the artist Allison Smith and more than 100 other artists commandeered [New York’s] Governors Island to create a kind of conceptual art version of day camp. Or maybe a Dadaist’s dream of a craft fair. Or else a mini-Woodstock in which music was replaced by artists taking the stage in mock-military style to declare that they were fighting for causes like “sequined religious figures,” “the right to sing sentimental songs in full,” “the right to be scared” or more straightforward causes like financial support for AIDS research and ending overfishing of the oceans.”
Opera Idol In Montreal
Two hundred singers entered the 2005 Concours Musical International de Montréal. Now it’s down to the finals. “The competition used to be a triumvirate of voice, violin and piano. But that’s all changed. Voice is undoubtedly the star of the event at the Centre Pierre Peladeau, where music fans mingle with voice teachers and coaches, as well as aspiring singers from the Conservatoire, McGill and the Atelier lyrique of Opéra de Montréal. ‘Voice is where it’s at. Piano and violin are important, don’t get me wrong, but everybody wants to know who the next great tenor or bass or mezzo is going to be’.”
Benedetti Debuts At No. 2
Seventeen-year-old vilinist Nicola Benedetti has a hit. Her self-titled new album has landed at No. 2 on the classical charts after only a week on sale. “It is the highest ever position in the classical chart for a debut violinist in the first week of sales. In the popular charts, the album has achieved a position in the top 75 – also a record-breaking first week of sales for a classical violinist.”
Searching For Media – The Next Big Thing?
Sure, there’s plenty of music and video online. But how do you filter it all so you can find what you’re looking for? “This desire for a better multimedia mousetrap has led Internet firms large and small to respond with search engines that can filter results by media type like music or video, similar to how they can for images or news today. Such functionality represents the next battlefield of the Internet search wars, and a potential opportunity for those challenging Google’s crown.”
Insta-Answer Changes The Class
Tecahers are finding that devices that instantly register student answers to questions in class, change the dynamics of a class. “The devices, which the students call “clickers,” are being used on hundreds of college campuses and are even finding their way into grade schools. They alter classroom dynamics, engaging students in large, impersonal lecture halls with the power of mass feedback. Clickers ease fears of giving a wrong answer in front of peers, or of expressing unpopular opinions.”
Saving Buildings Of The Soviet Avant Garde
Important historical buildings are being threatened in Moscow. Preservationists are “concerned about the legacy of the Soviet avant-garde, the buildings designed in the 15 or so years following the 1917 October revolution, perhaps the most fertile period in Russian architectural history. These buildings range from the expressionistic forms of architects like Konstantin Melnikov to the machine-inspired, functionalist structures of the Constructivists. They are stunning for their eclecticism, yet they were united by an unfaltering optimism. The goal was to overthrow centuries of cultural history and to replace that past with an architectural order that would embody the values of a new, modern society.”
Rolf To Paint Queen
Queen Elizabeth has agreed to have her portrait painted by TV painter/entertainer Rolf Harris. “She will have a formal sitting with the Australian entertainer for a Rolf on Art special for BBC One. Harris said he was “thrilled to bits”. When the BBC put the idea to Buckingham Palace, they were told the Queen would be delighted to take part.”
Scottish Parliament Warns National Gallery About Spending
A Scottish parliamentary committee has warned the National Gallery after it was disclosed that the museum had used money allocated for buying art to cover running expenses. “The committee launched hearings this spring after it emerged that in 2002-3 and 2003-4, first £400,000 and then another £1.15 million was diverted from the galleries’ acquisitions fund for buying new art to running costs. Without it, the galleries would have run up a combined deficit of over £1 million.”