A strike by the Philadelphia Orchestra could cripple the organization and severely hurt other Center City businesses. Moreover, a work stoppage seems purely unnecessary, given the other options available. “Neither side need surrender – simply stay at the table and hammer out what they both say they want: a financially responsible future that preserves the artistic integrity of one of the world’s most beloved institutions… But management cannot expect players to absorb a combination of new rules, pay and benefit changes… without putting something beyond job guarantees on the table. These people aren’t making widgets… They deserve more respect.”
Blog
Beijing’s Bad Buildings
“The construction boom that has been remaking Beijing has attracted famous architects from around the world. But the cityscape is hardly the stuff of a glossy design magazine. For every Zaha Hadid tower in the works for the capital, there are hundreds of forgettably mediocre buildings already in place, displaying the sort of mirrored-glass facades and gilded decoration that went out of style in America sometime in the 1980’s.” The plague of bad architecture is so bad that a website has been launched to chronicle the worst examples.
Is Montreal Next?
The musicians of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra have been playing without a contract for over a year, and have announced that they will skip the first two rehearsals of the season in protest of the lack of progress in negotiations. The action, which will not cancel any concerts, has led to speculation that a strike may be looming if an agreement is not reached soon.
Getting Past “The Tonto Syndrome”
Americans have always had ridiculous notions of how the native population of North America looks, acts, and lives. In fact, the absurd stereotypes heaped on the American Indian are so pervasive as to be a cultural phenomenon in themselves. But you won’t find any reference to such racist blather in Washington’s new Museum of the American Indian, with organizers hoping that “the sheer beauty and tone of the place will dispel the inaccurate mythology, jokes and war whoops that visitors grew up with. That basically includes anyone who watched TV or had a social studies class in the 20th century.” But is ignoring the misperceptions really the way to go?
Fleeing The Fringe
“Leah Cooper, who helped the Minnesota Fringe Festival become one of the largest such events in the country, will step down as executive director next August, following the 2005 festival. Cooper announced her departure after a four-year tenure in which the attendance has grown 72 percent. The 2004 festival hosted a record 902 performances of 175 shows at 24 venues, drawing more than 50,000 people. Cooper also was instrumental in professionalizing the management of the festival and in bringing stability to the fast-growing festival’s financial organization.”
Chicago Lyric At 50
Lyric Opera of Chicago turns 50 this year, and stands as one of the world’s most successful companies, and as one of Chicago’s most enduring arts institutions. When Lyric began presenting opera in 1954, Chicago had been without opera for eight years, and had never been host to a company of national stature. But a combination of good timing, top-notch staff, and high demand catapulted the company to national prominence almost immediately, and it’s been in the spotlight ever since.
Philly Theatre Cuts 3/4 Of Season
Philadelphia’s Freedom Theater has cancelled three of the four shows it planned to mount this season, citing the pressures of a $4 million debt. The company, which is “one of the city’s foremost African American cultural organizations”, has struggled to stay solvent while dealing with cost overruns on the construction and maintenance of its 300-seat theater, which opened five years ago. The theater plans to resume its full schedule in fall 2005.
Writing Their Own Election Script
“By Tuesday morning Hollywood screenwriters, working without a contract for the last half year, will have decided whether they are ripe for revolution. Under the eye of the Labor Department, the 8,000-member Writers Guild of America, West, is to conclude on Monday night a mostly mail-in election to choose a president and 8 of 16 board members. The presidential contest is between a ferocious reformer… who not only wants to fire the group’s paid executives but is also assisting a legal assault on the guild’s high-stakes system for settling film and television credits disputes – and the incumbent… who believes the members need institutional peace.”
A Unique Studio Prepares For An Uncertain Future
United Artists has always been a bit of an odd duck in the world of big-money Hollywood studios: founded and run for decades by actors, unconcerned with churning out blockbusters, and focused first and foremost on creating great works. Now, with UA’s parent company, MGM, about to be absorbed by Sony Pictures, the little studio that could is in danger of fading away, or at least having its mission twisted beyond recognition.
What A Long, Grainy Trip It’s Been
“Video art has come such a long way since it began nearly 40 years ago that it has already, in its purest form, been threatened with extinction. Like any 20th-century product that has an in-built obsolescence factor, the video camera has developed at such a rate that the original model has long been consigned to history. So has the art it produced; outdated but unforgotten by younger artists working today.” Still, the advent of digital technology has advanced the art more than it has made past work obsolete. Indeed, the genre has developed and evolved so quickly that its 40-year history is as extensive as many centuries-old art movements.