Is Nancy Pearl America’s most famous librarian? “Ms. Pearl’s fame has its roots in the most elementary function of the librarian: pressing a book into a patron’s hands and saying, ‘Read this.’ She fills many roles, but in each of them Ms. Pearl returns to the same transaction. At the Washington Center for the Book, part of the Seattle Public Library and a sponsor of author readings and events, she oversaw the ‘If All Seattle Read the Same Book’ program, which is essentially one gigantic book recommendation. (The program has since been tried by other cities, including New York and Chicago.)”
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Carnegie, NYPhil Talks Never Really Got Off The Ground
Talks for the proposed merger between Carnegi Hall and the New York Philharmonic never progressed very far because the two sides couldn’t agree on the basics. “The talks about artistic control, shared finances and combined boards came apart mainly over dividing up performance and rehearsal time in the main hall, Isaac Stern Auditorium.”
Carson Wins The Forward
“Ciaran Carson, the Belfast writer who has spent his life pondering the perfect fry – bacon, eggs, sausage, black pudding with fadge [fried bread] and soda farls, cut in triangles, washed down with Punjana tea, and a cigarette – wins the Forward Prize, poetry’s answer to the Booker.”
Art-Marking
Looking to permanently identify that piece of art you’re fond of? New marking systems bring technology to bear. “One is the microchip, which can be embedded in the piece, but the company also makes a synthetically-produced DNA, which can be a powder, liquid or glue. This can be applied directly or during conservation, for instance as a small area of varnish on a painting. It can also be incorporated into microdots.”
An Old Debate Renewed
In Canada, as in the U.S., battles over controversial images have often been waged with the definition of the term “artistic merit” at the center. Now, a bill is being debated in the Canadian Parliament which would remove the “artistic merit” defense from the federal law banning child pornography, in favor of a requirement that an artwork be proven to be a “public good.” Kate Taylor says the change would have a crippling effect on Canadian art and freedom. “The artistic-merit defence can at least be argued by bringing artistic peers, critics and academics into court, but how do you prove the public good of an individual art work — no matter how much you might believe in the public good of art in general?”
Detroit’s Culture Czar
As Detroit continues a concerted effort to remake its image and turn its fortunes, the arts and culture have been playing a big role. But according to Karen Dumas, the city’s newly appointed Director of Cultural Affairs, what’s still missing is a sense of cohesion among Detroit’s arts groups. A marketing specialist, Dumas says that her goal will be to find ways to connect the area’s larger arts organizations, such as the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, with smaller, more flexible groups, in an effort to craft a cohesive arts strategy for a city on the mend.
An Underground Musician With Tips For The Music Industry
The recording industry is at war with its consumers. But “the industry’s efforts are counterproductive. About 60 million people in the United States have already swapped copyrighted material over the Internet, and that number isn’t likely to shrink. The times are a changin’, and record companies should learn to how to profit in this new environment.” A musician who sells his music in the New York subways and makes a good living at it has some tips for the industry.
The Grandfather Of Art Critics
Dave Hickey is an unusual icon in the art world, a critic who flatly refuses to embrace either academic jargon, or what he calls the “Art Brit-tabloid sleaze” now in vogue as a way to supposedly reach young people. According to Hickey, art’s problems are just society’s problems writ small. “Art’s just not that important or that fashionable anymore. It’s not cool. Not only that, it’s not intellectually serious… What do you do with an art world in which the normative work of art is a giant C-print of three Germans standing beside a mailbox? What’s that? Stop it, please.”
Rice Wins Shortlist
“Irish singer-songwriter Damien Rice took home the third annual Shortlist Music Prize, beating out acts such as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Floetry and The Black Keys for an award that celebrates the best non-commercial music artists.”
Blogging Your Way To Stardom
The phenomenon known as “blogging” is creating a new breed of writer, and a new way for magazines and publishing houses to identify their future stars. “Back in the Dark Ages, starting out in journalism used to mean late nights covering school board meetings or writing features about the circus coming to town.” But many young writers are bypassing this early part of the typical journalistic career trajectory by getting themselves noticed with cheap and popular online repositories of their work.