Second-hand record stores – the kind die-hard vinyl collectors love – are disappearing, as more and more customers turn to the internet to find rare recordings. “The switch has taken its toll on some specialist retailers and record dealers, prompting them to turn their attentions to sites such as eBay in search of profits without the overheads. And as the appetite for downloads hits new album sales, some observers are predicting the death knell for the bigger bricks-and-mortar multiple record stores, too.”
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Tate Janitor Accidentally Throws Away Artwork
A janitor has thrown away a bag of trash that was “part of a Tate Britain work of art. The bag filled with discarded paper and cardboard was part of a work by Gustav Metzger, said to demonstrate the ‘finite existence’ of art.”
Of Playwrights And Politics
In the UK, playwrights have been energized by politics. “It is a remarkable moment for political theatre. Not only have 9/11, the Iraq war and the Bush administration energised playwrights, the acoustic has never been so good. People want from political theatre a clarity they are not getting from politicians. Harold Pinter claims: ‘We live in a country the government of which is totally discredited, in a poisonous atmosphere in which everyone is under the weather’.”
Myths Of Art-Theft-For-Order
“Wherever The Scream is now, it is almost certainly not in a billionaire’s study. Except in movies, thieves are seldom connoisseurs. In the eyes of a typical art thief, the most dazzling of paintings is simply a multi-million dollar bill hanging on a poorly guarded wall. Those who steal art are surprisingly casual about the details of how they might turn their newly acquired paintings into money. In my interviews with art thieves, they talked lightly about “Arab sheiks” or “South American drug lords” sure to want a bargain-price Van Gogh.”
Hans Vonk, 63
Conductor Han Vonk has died of a rare neurological disease. “Vonk became the St. Louis Symphony’s music director in 1996 and continued in that position until his declining medical condition forced his retirement in April 2002.”
New Orleans Phil Looks For New Music Director
Now that Klauspeter Seibel has left the job as music director of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra in New Orleans, the search is on for a replacement. This season is being given over to possible candidates for the job…
Understanding Bones
Why is the care of Hawaiian ancestral remains such an emotional issue? Recent news of artifacts and remains being illegally sold on Hawaii’s Big Island has reopened controversies. “This sanctity is violated, Native Hawaiians believe, when remains and artifacts are removed from the sacred caves, whether by grave robbers or archaeologists.”
X Rated: Ugly Buildings? Knock ‘Em Down
An English architect preoposes a new classification for buildings. It’s an “X” rating thta would be awarded for buildings considered public eyesores. “I want the government to introduce grants for destruction. How often has a bad piece of architecture marred a beautiful view? In every town there are three or four buildings that are universally disliked.”
The Kennedy Years – Lots Of Heat, But…
Brian Kennedy came to run the National Gallery of Australia in 1997, and filled the landscape with his controversial opinions. Now he’s leaving and “colleagues and observers within the art world choose their words carefully to give a positive public summing-up of his time. Perhaps it was a cultural misunderstanding: humour in one national argot can be seen as brusqueness or querulousness in another. In any case, when he leaves his job tomorrow, after weeks of goodbyes, Kennedy will bequeath his successor an institution in need of artistic, political and social resuscitation.”
In Search Of Classical Radio (There’s Plenty Of it)
Looking for classical music on the radio? Traditional broadcast radio isn’t likely to do it. But the web has become a goldmine for music fans looking for variety…