One of the biggest British arguments for keeping the Parthenon Marbles in London has been that keeping them there has protected them better than if they had been left in Greece. But “a distinguished Cambridge scholar says the sculptures would have been just fine if Lord Elgin had left them in Athens. Following a sophisticated 11-year conservation program in Athens, the 14 slabs that Lord Elgin did not manage to remove are now showing surprisingly bright original details.”
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When Historians Copy The Past
In the past few years there have been several high-profile cases of historians plagiarizing. “Their cheating ways go right to the ailing heart of the history profession, which, to its detriment, has dropped the ball on governance. There’s something very wrong in the house of history when the right-wing Weekly Standard passes as the profession’s whistleblower and chortles over careless mistakes by liberal historians.”
Tenor Attacked
Italian tenor Giuseppe di Stefano, 83, is being treated in intensive care in Kenya after being attacked by unknown assailants last week.
Deller Wins Turner Prize
Jeremy Deller wins this year’s Turner Prize with his video “Memory Bucket, a documentary exploring Crawford, Texas, and the site of the Branch Davidian siege in Waco. Video art dominated the 2004 shortlist, with Kutlug Ataman, Langlands & Bell and Yinka Shonibare also nominated.”
Turner Winner A Popular Pick
“The 38-year-old Londoner (Jeremy Deller), who describes himself as ‘not a technically capable person’, is almost unnaturally well-liked both by the art world and the general public. After the shockers of previous years – unmade beds, elephant dung and copulating sex dolls – Deller’s most startling revelation was that Laura Bush likes a deep fried jalapeno chilli with her burger.”
Art Basel Hope To Turn Profit In Third Year
Art Basel Miami Beach has yet to turn a profit, even though it has been a hit in the art world. “In budget documents, the Swiss art show listed a $145,000 shortfall from last year, a loss it hopes to erase this weekend with higher exhibitor fees and ticket prices and more dollars from corporate sponsors. ‘This year will be the first year when we see a little black’.”
Why Copyright Matters
America’s major entertainment unions and associations are taking a hard line on copyright infringement. “The question is not whether the technology is good or bad — it simply is. The question is how we create a model which allows consumers the widest access and choices while ensuring that individual artists can sustain a career and continue to create. It is easy to attack the ‘establishment’ and the litigation-based solutions they are employing to try and deal with piracy. What is harder is to reconcile the fact that free access has a direct link to loss of income for individual actors and recording artists which, in turn, can result in everything from the loss of health and retirement benefits to the inability to continue to support a family or pursue a chosen career. “
A Christmas Fantasy
All these Christmas shows. Really. There are too many of them. And how can you see most of them in a busy season? So why not put them all on a rolling parade and let people sit in one place while their favorite festivities roll by. Let’s call it “Let’s Roll.” Tom Proehl, organizer of “Let’s Roll!” and managing director of the Guthrie Theater, said, “The aesthetic synergies and economies of scale will benefit both audiences and arts organizations alike. Instead of deciding which of the many holiday shows to see, patrons can get the best of the Twin Cities performing arts in one sitting.”
Attack Of The Killer Logo
The new Connecticut uber-agency on culture and tourism needed a logo. So a design firm came up with an abstract logo meant to evoke the agency’s diverse mandate. Now there are big protests. “Instead of criticizing the art (“Have a conversation about art? Not me!”) they attacked the cost. “This thing cost $10,000!” Of course, focusing on the final price tag disregards that such designs can cost much more (Hartford Stage’s new logo went well above $10,000); that the fee included months of meetings with state committees; that this was a Connecticut designer with a world-class reputation giving a deep discount.
Beijing Bans Public Intellectuals
“Late last month, reports began to surface on foreign newswires that hard-liners in the Chinese government had banned public discussion of thinkers and scholars guilty of taking “arrogant” (read: independent) positions on political and social affairs. In mid-November, Beijing’s Publicity Department, which is responsible for “ideological control,” issued an order to prohibit state-run newspapers, magazines, and TV stations from creating lists of such persons.”