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Poland Pressures Cleveland Museum To Return Nazi-Looted Drawings

“Poland is putting new pressure on the Cleveland Museum of Art and other major museums to return a widely dispersed collection of Albrecht Durer drawings looted by the Nazis during World War II. The 27 drawings, three of which are owned by the Cleveland museum, were removed by Nazi officers in 1941 from the Ossolinski Institute in the city of Lviv, which was then in Poland.”

Blockbuster Toronto Shows Fail To Blockbust

Attendance at three blockbuster shows at Toronto museums was respectable but not great. “The numbers, while respectable, weren’t record-smashers, and remain an indication that the city is still trying to shake off the effects of the SARS crisis of 2003 and the reluctance of tourists, especially those in the United States, to travel in the wake of the terror attacks of 2001 and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.”

Chris Burden Quits UCLA Over Gun Incident

“Internationally known artists Chris Burden and Nancy Rubins have retired abruptly from their longtime professorships at UCLA in part because the university refused to suspend a graduate student who used a gun during a classroom performance art piece, a spokeswoman for the artists said Friday. ‘They feel this was sort of domestic terrorism. There should have been more outrage and a firmer response’.”

The Incident That Led To Burden Resigning UCLA

“A picture emerges of a crisis that began on November 29, when in the course of a performance for a class taught by visiting instructor Ron Athey, a graduate student entered a classroom at UCLA’s Warner building where roughly thirty other students were gathered. The student, wearing a coat and tie, produced either a gun or a convincing replica of one, put what looked like a bullet into the weapon, spun the cylinder, and held it to his head, Russian-roulette style. He pulled the trigger, but the gun did not fire. The student then left the room; while he was out of view, a shot was heard, at which point he returned, now apparently unarmed.”

Small Endowment – Why David Has A Small…

“As every visitor to Florence will know, the modest dimensions of David’s “pisello” are a running joke with Italians, and the stuff of irreverent postcards. But, in a paper to be published at the end of this month, two Florentine doctors offer a scientific explanation: the poor chap was shrivelled by the threat of mortal danger. Michelangelo’s intention was to depict David as he confronted Goliath.”

Movie Studios At Oscar Time – MIA

“It’s a funny thing, but today’s movie studios are no longer in the Oscar business. If there’s one common thread among this year’s five best picture nominees, it’s that they were largely financed by outside investors. Most of the nominees aren’t even classic outside-the-system indie movies. They’re artistic gambles financed by entrepreneurs. If you want serious cash on the barrelhead for an Oscar picture today, you have to find yourself a cinematic sugar daddy willing to foot the bill.”

Studios: Kids Yes, Oscar-Quality No

So where are the movie studios at Oscar time, asks Kenneth Turan? Off making money with the kids. “To see how completely the studios have abandoned the adult audience — for what are Oscar-type films, if not films made with those people in mind — just look at the origins of the five pictures with the most nominations. For the reality is that none of them have any but the most tangential relationships to the majors, if they have any relationship at all.”

Politics And Oscar’s Best Picture?

Why were Fahrenheit 911 and “The Passion of the Christ” left off Oscar’s Best Picture list? “As with almost everything to do with both of these pictures, few can agree about why they were left out. While arcane academy rules and the vagaries of Oscar campaigns seem to have worked against Moore and Gibson, some insiders argue that Oscar balloting is a relatively straightforward meritocracy — the community simply liked other pictures better. Others point to a lingering distaste among some voters for Mel Gibson’s public pronouncements during the film’s release publicity campaign.”