The Palm Beach International Film Festival may not be Cannes, or even Toronto, but the event has been making big gains in prestige lately, and has even been ranked as one of the world’s top 25 film fests. “PBIFF has become a cultural asset in a state that is mentioned in nearly 11 percent of the Google hits returned by the search phrase ‘cultural wasteland.'”
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Lebrecht: Orchestras Need To Break With Stodgy Routine
Norman Lebrecht has been predicting the death of classical music for years, but lately, he has begun to wonder what, if anything, can be done to reverse the decline of orchestral popularity. The short attention-span thesis is popular, but doesn’t hold up when you consider the length of movies and rock concerts. Ticket prices, long thought to be a turnoff to potential concertgoers, are also not to blame, since price cuts at several major orchestras have failed to produce significant new audiences. Lebrecht’s latest theory is that the traditional formula of an evening concert beginning at 7 or 8pm and lasting two hours simply does nothing to attract modern youth. “In Madrid and Barcelona, concerts begin at 10 pm and are thronged by youngsters.”
The Bellow Legacy
“In a recent essay, one of our finer critics, Lee Siegel, asks what is it with Bellow and a number of non-American writers. Martin Amis had an almost father-son relationship with him (and it can’t be said that this was for lack of a literary parent). James Wood co-taught a class with him at Harvard. Ian McEwan’s Saturday pays homage to a Bellovian inspiration. What other American novelist has had such a direct and startling influence on non-Americans young enough to be his children?”
Public Broadcasting Chief Ousted
The president of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting has resigned less than a year into her tenure, and will be replaced on an interim basis by a close associate of the controversial former FCC chairman Michael Powell. Kathleen Cox was groomed for years to lead CPB, but she apparently fell victim to an increasingly political workplace as conservative politicians ratcheted up their anti-PBS rhetoric over the last year. One observer has described Cox as “an apolitical bureaucrat in an incredibly polarized agency,” an identity which may have been at odds with CPB’s desire to ingratiate itself to its critics in Congress.
Thompson’s Ashes To Be Blasted From Cannon
In keeping with his final wishes, Hunter S. Thompson’s ashes will be blasted out of a cannon. The gun-loving writer will go out with a bang from a cannon mounted inside a 16-metre-high (53ft) sculpture of his trademark “gonzo” fist – a clenched hand on an upthrust forearm with the word gonzo written on it. “It’s expensive, but worth every penny,” his wife, Anita Thompson, said. “I’d like to have several explosions. He loved explosions.”
Burning Out On Pop Culture
Pop culture is, by definition, fun. It’s fun to keep up with celebrities, fun to gossip with friends about the latest fashions, albums, movies, etc. But these days, there’s just so much pop culture to soak in that keeping oneself on the cutting edge is almost a full time job. “How [can] anyone find time to update their LiveJournals, finish reading the new Sheila Heti novel, or get tickets for the just announced M.I.A./LCD Soundsystem show in May? They had to stay up to the wee hours just to kill a few more soldiers in the new Splinter Cell or druggies in Narc. And who had time to wait for the perfect iPod Shuffle moment to magically appear?” Welcome to the phenomenon known as ‘hipster burnout.’
How Do You Please The New Yorkers?
When Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre headed to New York for a run of shows at the Joyce Theater two weeks ago, the company was hoping to please both press and public with a pop-influenced program featuring music of Bruce Springsteen and Sting. Instead, PBT garnered a mixed bag of reviews, and while ticket sales were brisk, phrases like “lightweight” and “blatantly driven by marketing” didn’t do much for the company’s national image.
Cincy Opera Posts Help-Wanted Sign
Cincinnati Opera is looking for a new artistic director, and that person should reflect the progress the company has made in the past decade. “I think vision is imperative. Someone who comes here has to be able to look at what we’ve developed and say, ‘This company can go to the next level.’ I’m not sure that 10 years ago you could have said that. We want this to be their primary job.”
FBI ‘Dead Wrong’ Yet Again
Steven Kurtz is an artist. That much, no one is debating. But Kurtz uses various legally acquired biological agents (read: farm chemicals) in his work, some of which also appear on an FBI list of chemicals frequently sought by wannabe terrorists. When Kurtz’s stash was discovered by authorities following his wife’s death, he was pursued, jailed, and charged with crimes which could net him 20 years in federal prison. Now the art world is coming together to defend Kurtz, and raise money for his legal defense.
Real Good, Fake Bad (But Why?)
“So just what is wrong with a fake? Certainly not enough to stop forgery becoming a multi-million dollar business. Across Europe, America and Asia, anywhere from 15 per cent to a staggering 80 per cent (in Africa and China) of artworks offered for sale are thought to be fakes. Cases such as the gang of French and Belgian forgers jailed in 2001 for reproducing Cesar’s “compression” sculptures make headlines. And the Impressionist forgers John Myatt or Elmyr de Hory became so well known that their works are sought after because of the forger rather than the forged.”