Plans for the Museum of Scotland won praise and awards in 1998 when they were unveiled. “But recent changes to the £50m Museum of Scotland have been labelled as crude, perverse, wretched, and tacky by leading figures in the architectural community.”
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Canadian Art-For-Taxes Scheme Disallowed
A Canadian court has disallowed a scheme whereby investors could buy art at a low price, then claim an inflated value by donating it to museums and universities. “It’s been estimated that the scheme, called Art for Education, resulted in tax-credit claims of more than $65-million. In December last year, Canada Customs and Revenue announced it was eliminating the tax shelter, saying that henceforth, purchase price would be considered for donations being made for tax purposes.”
The Marine/Rancher Poet Laureate
Cleatus Rattan is a former Marine and rancher. He’s currently Texas’ Poet Laureate. “Writing poetry in Texas, though, doesn’t win you many friends. In fact, he says, his poems about how dead his hometown of Cisco is (population: 3,183) have made him unpopular there. It’s a town, he writes, ‘with no plans to rebuild. The streetlights dim’.”
Debating The Tunnel Through Stonehenge
The approach to Stonehenge is a miserable affair. So there’s a proposal to dig a tunnel to remove cars from the immedtiate area. But there’s controversy about the tunnel, so an inquiry’s being held. “Although the proposed tunnel will take the road out of sight of the stones, its entrance portals will still be within the Stonehenge world heritage site, which many archaeologists regard as one vast, man-made, sacred landscape. The inquiry will pitch the partners in the Stonehenge Project against one another.”
Book Groups Petition To Get Rid Of Patriot Act Provision
The American Booksellers Association, the American Library Association, and the writer’s group PEN American Center are mounting a signature drive to petition lawmakers to remove the section of the Patriot Act that allows law enforcement officials to see records of what library and bookstore patrons read.
English National Opera Trying To Get On Track
The English National Opera has had a rough couple of years. Perhaps it’s coming out of its slump (and a string of bad luck). But there’s plenty of work needed to recover. “It seems crucial for the company to strengthen its sense of purpose and identity, particularly at a time when not only is the Royal Opera on a high, but impresario Raymond Gubbay is launching his cheap and cheerful Savoy Opera in the West End, featuring young voices performing opera in English.”
Met Closes Tombs Again After Crowds Get Too Big
The Metropolitan Museum in New York opened the insides of some ancient Egyptian tombs last month but has suddenly had to close them. The “museum had removed protective glass screens from the tombs of Raemkai and Perneb Jan. 29, allowing visitors full views of interior limestone carvings for the first time in 90 years. But a crush of some 24,000 visitors since the unveiling has put the humidity at unacceptable limits.”
Why Did Chicago Museum Suddenly Close?
An architecture and design museum in suburban Chicago suddenly closed its doors in December, and no one seems to know why. “Village officials have been trying to reach Christian Narkiewicz-Laine, director of the Chicago Athenaeum Museum, since the museum closed its doors without notice. Artworks were left outside the museum, exposed to the elements and potential theft, and dozens of lights were left on in offices.”
Pasternak To Be Published In Russia Again
The works of Boris Pasternak were banned from publication for 30 years by the Soviet government. Now the writer’s complete works will be published in Russia. “All 11 volumes are set to be published by February 2005 to mark the 115th anniversary of Pasternak’s birth. The first two volumes, including poems written between 1912 and 1959, have already been printed by Slovo publishers. The nine others will also be published before February next year.”
When Biographers Over-Identify With Their Subjects
A biography of Alcoholics Anonymous founder Bill Wilson leaves Daniel Asa Rose distrustful of biographer Susan Cheever. “Can a biographer be said to have so much understanding that she overidentifies with her subject? Is the biographer’s function to plead her subject’s case (“he was not a perfect man, but he was the perfect man for the job,” his “humanness does not diminish him, it makes him a writer, guide, and teacher,” etc.), or to let the unvarnished facts speak for themselves? When does discretion become a veil? Is there such a thing, in a biographer, as too much heart?”