In a speech, Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm apologizes for declining state support for the arts. “About this disconnect between art and politics: It is true that politics ends up flattening down the artistic edge. For in this line of work, you are either a zero or a sum. You are a Democrat or a Republican. You are pro-this or anti-that. There is little room to be nuanced, textured, deep or subtle. So, I think that we just ought to elect more artists. Not just wrestlers and movie stars, either, but musicians and painters, dancers, filmmakers and poets. Just don’t run for governor for another 7 years.”
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Lost In Translation – Why Americans Don’t Translate
Less than three percent of all the books published in the US are translations from other countries. As for translated literary books, the number probably amounts to about 150 out of the 150,000 books published in the US each year. Whose fault is this? Let’s move beyond the cliche explanations, writes John O’Brien: “There is no hope whatsoever that philanthropy in America is going to get smarter, nor are the book review editors and other media going to become more interested. If change is to be set in motion, it will have to be through the foreign governments themselves.”
Rediscovering Sartre
“When Jean-Paul Sartre died in 1980, some 50,000 people turned out for the funeral of France’s most famous modern philosopher. Six years later his lifelong companion, Simone de Beauvoir, joined him here in Montparnasse. The stream of people coming to pay tribute has never really dried up. Growing interest in Sartre is by no means an exclusively French phenomenon. Strangely enough, his philosophical writings may now be receiving more scrutiny in the United States than in his native country.”
Turner Colors Result Of Bad Eyesight?
An ophthalmic surgeon is “convinced JMW Turner was slightly colour-blind, and this particularly affected his perception of red and blue. The blues are all wrong, either too dark or too bright, and the reds get stronger and stronger, which is exactly what you would expect. And I have no doubt that later in life he had untreated cataracts, which would have made the centre of his field of vision very blurred, with some objects at the edges in focus – and with exactly that effect of dazzling shimmering light we see in the paintings.”
Poetry And The $100 Million Gift – A Year Later
Ruth Lily’s $100 million bequest to Poetry Magazine last year has resulted in nicer offices and financial security for the publication. But the magazine certainly hasn’t gone on a spending spree. “In some ways, there is an oil-and-water mix to poetry and money. Poets just are sort of ill at ease around a lot of money. This thing has been a shoestring operation for years. I don’t think anyone wants to get too fancy. You know, it tends to make me nervous to go out and buy a lamp or something.”
World’s Biggest Retailer To Launch Online Music Store
Wal-Mart is planning to launch an online music store. “It is unclear what Wal-Mart’s pricing strategy will be for music downloads. Prices on existing services range from 79 cents to 99 cents per song. But Wal-Mart, which accounts for roughly 20 percent of U.S. music sales, typically sells music at a loss to attract customers to its stores.”
Canadian True Crime Writer Faces Charges For Publishing
Canadian true crime writer Stephen Williams is facing 94 charges and has had his computer confiscated by Ontario police after defying a publishing ban with his two books analyzing the case of the brutal sex killings of Canadian teenagers. The Writer’s Union of Canada has called for a public inquiry into the police treatment of Williams and his wife, award-winning humor author Marsha Boulton, saying that the actions of the authorities are an unwarranted attack on freedom of expression.”
Franchise – Curator Plans French Museum Chain
A French curator plans to build a chain of private museums across France. “Privately owned museums may be commonplace in the United States, but in France the government owns, subsidizes and operates all but the smallest museums. So Mr. Restellini’s initiative is at the very least unusual. But he runs up against still more entrenched attitudes when he argues that it is also possible to make money out of private museums and glitzy exhibitions.”
Potter Past 250 Million
Sales of the Harry Potter books have passed the 250 million mark worldwide. “The series has been sold in more than 200 countries and translated into 60 languages from Hindi to Ancient Greek. The fifth book, The Order of the Phoenix, sold 1.78 million copies on its first day in the UK alone.”
Is The White Cube Dead?
Is the “white cube” approach to showing art still viable? “The question is not the death of the white cube, the question is how we work with artists in order to find the right way to make each work of art a glorious experience, and there is no general rule here: some need just a space in the mind; others a web site; some a sumptuous hall of mirrors; some a white cube.”