Eyes on the Prize, the acclaimed documentary series focusing on the civil rights movement, has not been seen in more than a decade, due to copyright laws governing snippets of film and music used in the series. “In late January, members of Downhill Battle, a group of four young activists, appalled that there is so little access to the film, made a digitized copy of the series available through its website.” But the activists are now drawing the ire not only of copyright enforcers, but of the filmmakers themselves, who are preparing to renew their expired rights.
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Hunter Officially Tapped To Succeed Sills
On the same day that a published report appeared naming Christine Hunter as the frontrunner to succeed Beverly Sills as chair of the Metropolitan Opera, the Met announced Hunter’s official nomination to the post. “She already serves as chairwoman of the executive committee and has been on the board for 22 years. During that time her loyalty was divided between the Met and the Washington National Opera, where she had top jobs from 1974 to last year, including president and chairwoman.”
Gunplay As Art?
“Joseph Deutch, a 25-year-old graduate student at the University of California, Los Angeles, was the last student to perform a final project in a seminar taught by the performance artist Ron Athey on Nov. 29. According to witnesses, Mr. Deutch, wearing a coat and tie, pulled what appeared to be a handgun from a paper bag, loaded it with a single bullet, spun the cylinder, aimed the pistol at his head and pulled the trigger. When the gun failed to discharge, he left the room and, seconds later, the seminar members heard the sound of a shot.” So is Deutch a dangerous individual with suicidal impulses, or can a game of Russian Roulette really be legitimately construed as art? Believe it or not, there is some precedent for this…
Caught In The Righteous Crossfire
The recent controversy over an episode of the children’s program Postcards From Buster, which featured the main character learning about sugar mapling from a family with two women at its helm, has sent PBS scurrying for cover, and has conservatives once again suggesting that public broadcasting is incurably liberal. Caught in the middle of the firestorm is an 11-year-old girl from Vermont who was to be the star of the episode. The “immoral” family featured in the show is her family, the two mothers are her two mothers, and she doesn’t quite understand what is so objectionable about her demonstration of how to tap a maple.
Ossie Davis, 87
Ossie Davis was far more than a great actor, although he certainly was that. Together with his wife, the actress Ruby Dee, Davis fought tirelessly to expand the opportunities available to black Americans both on the stage and off. He delivered Malcolm X’s eulogy, served as master of ceremonies for the 1963 Civil Rights March on Washington, and at the same time earned a reputation as one of the nation’s most accomplished and intellectual stage actors. Davis died this weekend in a Miami hotel.
Moscow Biennale Kicks Off Amid Sighs Of Relief
The Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art, a monthlong extravaganza designed to revive Russia as a center of modern art, launched last week, the first such festival to be held in Russia since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. “Until the biennial actually opened, there were doubts that it would. Although the project was more than a year in the planning, its exhibitions were selected and installed in a desperate scramble, its organizers and curators having encountered innumerable obstacles, not the least the conservatism of Russia’s cultural bureaucracies.”
The New Christian Bands
“Within the last several years, there have been a number of very popular bands – including P.O.D., Evanescence, Switchfoot, Sixpence None the Richer and Mercy Me – that got their start by signing with Christian record labels or by playing at Christian music festivals. These bands have succeeded in large part because, unlike Petra and the other successful Christian rock bands of the 80’s and early 90’s, they have avoided being too preachy and yet found a way to keep God between the lines.”
Talk About The Passion
One of the most frequent modern criticisms of classical music and the people who play it is the aloofness of the form; the grand, formal presentation of performers who don’t speak, don’t interact with the audience, and acknowledge accolades with only a stiff bow. Offering the counterpoint to that perception is cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who seems to delight in passing on his passion for music to the next generation of young performers, and thinks nothing of offering a starry-eyed 17-year-old a chance to play alongside him.
New Library Takes Wing In Minneapolis
A new Cesar Pelli-designed central library is rising in downtown Minneapolis, and residents are beginning to wonder about the thoroughly modern design, particularly how it will fit in in a city not known for its bold architectural tastes. Everyone’s first question: what exactly is that giant wing floating above the avenue? “Is it a giant letter opener? A paper airplane? A loading dock from Star Wars?” Actually, it’s just supposed to make you look at it. “The library lacks a grand entrance, so the wing acts as a spectacle that announces its presence.”
Sotheby’s To Auction Off Versace Collection
“The art collection of murdered fashion designer Gianni Versace could fetch up to $17m when it is auctioned in New York and London later this year. Among the pictures for sale are works by Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol and Henri Matisse… The auction, at Sotheby’s, will feature 45 contemporary, impressionist and 19th Century paintings. One of the highlights of the sale is Roy Lichtenstein’s Blue Nude which has been given an estimate of $3.4m.”