New instant communications technology links audiences in one part of the world with those in another. At Carnegie Hall “it was a simulcast music exchange in which 450 students in New York and 200 more in New Delhi listened to music together, chatted with one another and danced, with the help of a 22-foot-wide movie screen and some good speakers.”
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Turner Winner Longs For Normal Life Again
Jeremy Deller may be the artist of the hour with his Turner Prize win. But he’s ready to be rid of the attention and get back to work. “True, he may be £25,000 richer, he may have had the opportunity to make his parents proud and to thank friends and collaborators live on Channel 4, but the evening was not without its moments, or even hours, of torture.”
Crete Islanders Pool Resources For El Greco
Residents of the island of Crete are banding together hoping to buy a painting by El Greco that is up for auction. “He is the most important person Crete has ever produced. It upsets us that … so many think he is from Spain.”
Better Times For South Florida Arts
Arts funding is looking up in South Florida. “Here in South Florida, the Miami-Dade County populace voted on Nov. 2 to spend nearly $553 million for arts and culture. That was just one of eight categories on a $2.9 billion bond issue, each of which passed ballot muster.”
The Louvre: Coming To America
The Louvre is going to open an outpost at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta in 2006. “The two museums have been in discussions since spring and expect to sign an agreement next month. Under the terms of the collaboration, the French museum is to lend hundreds of its works to the High Museum for an indefinite period in return for an undisclosed sum, estimated at $10 million for the first three years.”
Art Helps Fight Sickness
“St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London has come under attack from medical professionals and politicians because of its decision to spend £250,000 ($467,000) on works of art for its new breast cancer screening centre. The hospital has defended its decision to purchase 12 paintings and installations—paid for with private donations and not through National Health Service funds—because, it says, there is evidence that, art will speed patients’ recovery by improving their spirits.”
“Reality” TV – The Art Theft
A gang of art thieves is assembled and set the task of breaking in to a gallery and stealing art. On TV. “In Channel 4’s The Heist, they plan to penetrate state-of-the-art security at the Business Design Centre in Islington and remove The View From The Bandstand by Andrew Gifford – described by critics as a modern masterpiece. Each of the ex-criminals was once notorious in a certain field before going straight – an armed robber, jewellery thief, gangster, extortionist and internet hacker.”
Australia’s Favorite Book
It’s Lord of the Rings, as named by voters in a national poll. “The book’s enduring popularity was confirmed last night when The Lord of the Rings was named Australia’s “favourite read” on ABC TV, its third victory in TV polls. It won in Britain and Germany. Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice was voted Australia’s second favourite, with the Bible third. The best-placed Australian book was Tim Winton’s Cloudstreet, which made fifth spot.”
Winnipeg Royalty Storms LA
Winnipeg’s Royal Art Lodge is an artist collective that’s getting some big traction outside the Coldest City In The World. “Usually one artist will start a drawing, throw it in a pile, and then others contribute, amend, appropriate, thus embarking on an ongoing dialogue until either a work reveals itself or is appropriately disposed of. ‘At the beginning of a meeting, I generally like to start drawings or paintings and then later on when my mind is working better I switch to finishing them. For me, there’s definitely more satisfaction in finishing. The works develop in a lot of different ways, but usually it is a lot easier to start a work than to finish one’.”
Basel Miami Eclipses Chicago
As Art Basel Miami has grown, the Chicago Art Fair has waned. “In recent years, Art Chicago, our own international art fair, has dwindled to near-irrelevance as Art Basel Miami has assiduously wooed away art dealers and artists from around the world. How did they do it? The hallmark of the success of the fair is a combination of institutional and private collaboration.”