Over the last decade, 380 young women have been brutally raped, tortured, murdered, and dumped along a remote stretch of the Texas-Mexico border. 800 more women are missing, with no real attempt being made to find them. “But now, a proliferation of art is emerging from the tragedies amid the blood and sand of the dusty industrial border town across from El Paso, produced by artists and performers fuelled by moral outrage and responding to what has become a human rights crisis and a bi-national scandal.”
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San Francisco Jazzer Vernon Alley Dies
“Vernon Alley, the most distinguished jazz musician in San Francisco history, died Sunday after a long illness. He was 89. A man who broke down many racial barriers in his lifetime and played with the greatest musicians of his generation, Alley could have become one of the most famous names in jazz, but the bassist chose instead to spend his career in his beloved hometown.”
Nixon Nixed in Norway
Three portraits of former U.S. President Richard Nixon have been removed from the walls of the Norwegian parliament, after MPs complained that they were inappropriate, disquieting, and generally “shocking.” The head of the parliament’s foreign affairs committee insists that he’s all for freedom of expression, but doesn’t feel that the disgraced former president is an appropriate symbol for a governmental institution.
Putin’s Crackdown On Free Expression
As Russian president Vladimir Putin continues to consolidate power around himself, the country’s artists, authors, and journalists are becoming alarmed at what seems to be a return to Soviet-era censorship. Books are being confiscated by government agents, media outlets are almost completely under the thumb of the Kremlin, and authors are facing official harassment, even prosecution, for expressing controversial opinions.
Spending Money To Make Money
“After nearly two years of debate over how to spend a $120 million gift from pharmaceutical heiress Ruth Lilly, Americans for the Arts has decided to spend a small slice of it to start a citizens’ movement for the arts. The organization’s officials are expected to announce today in Washington that they are creating the Americans for the Arts Action Fund, a membership group that will adopt the fundraising and lobbying tactics of the Sierra Club and the League of Women Voters to build support for arts and arts education.” The program is expected to cost $1 million.
Iranian Hardliners Cancel Outreach Concerts
“A series of concerts organized by foreign embassies in Iran have been cancelled at the last minute, apparently due to increased curbs on cultural events by the Islamic republic’s hardliners, diplomats said yesterday. Two jazz concerts organized by Italy’s embassy were cancelled last week just hours before the Italian performers — who had flown here for the event — were due to take to the stage… In addition, diplomats said a series of Swiss embassy-sponsored classical music soirees due to take place this week were ordered to be cancelled without any explanation.”
The Matriarch of 20th Century Music
Composing may still be a predominantly male profession, but the individual who had arguably the greatest impact on the American musical landscape of the 20th century was a woman, Nadia Boulanger, with whom more than 130 American composers studied their craft. “Unlike Schoenberg, she did not try to create followers who hewed to a set style or compositional approach. That is clear from the diversity of her students, ranging from famed atonalist Elliott Carter to Joe Raposo, who wrote music for Sesame Street.“
Are Reggae Protests Hiding Racist Undertones?
Several prominent reggae artists have recently faced widespread protest and condemnation for their antigay lyrics, and some have even found themselves disinvited from events and awards shows. But many of the same groups that have been so furious in their condemnation of the exclusively black reggae singers seem to take a wholly different tone when dealing with the viciously homophobic (but blond/blue-eyed) rapper Eminem. Could there be a twinge of racism behind all the protest?
Ignore the Masses, Find A Niche
The days of mass marketing in the entertainment world seem to be swiftly drawing to a close. As new technologies give consumers an increasingly diverse array of options, niche marketing is the wave of the future, and marketing to the bland middle as a way of reaching everyone is no longer the most reliable route to profitability. “Unlimited selection is revealing truths about what consumers want and how they want to get it in service after service, from DVDs at Netflix to music videos on Yahoo! Launch to songs in the iTunes Music Store and Rhapsody.”
BAM’s Big Boost
The Brooklyn Academy of Music has long struggled to maintain fiscal solvency in the face of slack attendance and an underfunded endowment, but in recent years, BAM has begun a turnaround that will culminate this fall with the completion of an $8.6 million restoration. In addition, the academy has announced two major gifts totalling $30 million, which will double the size of its endowment. Still, the organization’s long-term success seems to be inextricably tied to the fortunes of Brooklyn as a whole.