Anna Somers Cocks, founding editor of The Art Newspaper, is leaving the publication after 13 years. “Over the years I have learnt how much the art world is interconnected: how, for example, an academic publication in one country can lead to an exhibition in another that then boosts the market for a certain category of art.”
Blog
The Making Of A Prodigy
Twenty-one-year-old pianist Lang Lang is the brightest of young stars. “Lang Lang’s story, like that of many athletic and artistic prodigies, is emblematic of an entire generation of Chinese parents and their only children, and their high expectations and extreme sacrifices for those children.”
Leonardo Theft – Opportunity Waiting To Happen?
Last week’s theft of a Leonardo in Scotland makes obvious the lack of security for artwork in many museums. “In recent years, the UK has become a target for the international gangs, who have learned that security of artworks in Britain is largely a matter of trust between owner and visitor. There are two famous stories about the Duke of Buccleuch that exemplify this. It is said the duke was once asked where the toilets were in the castle and he replied: ‘Along the corridor and turn right at the Holbein’.”
My Day As A Conductor
Pianist Susan Tomes is pressed into service as a conductor unexpectedly: “At first I stood at the foot of the stage with the score propped on a chair, and gave an upbeat. Astoundingly, they all came in together and, even more astonishingly, they kept playing; all the musical fragments fitted together in the correct places. I even found that I could make them speed up and slow down where indicated without losing them. There was something poignant about being the only person in possession of the whole map…”
Trashing The Booker Judges
Longtime Booker Prize administrator Martyn Goff unloads about various personalities that have been involved in judging over the years. “He recalled how one year Salman Rushdie threw a tantrum, telling Goff to ‘Fuck off’ before storming past. He listed the failings of numerous eminent judges, branding last year’s chairwoman, Lisa Jardine, as ‘bossy’ and accused her colleague, David Baddiel, of saying ‘stupid things’. Gerald Kaufman and Fay Weldon also came under fire, but Goff’s prize for worst-ever Booker chairman went to John Bayley, widower of Iris Murdoch.”
Latin Music’s New Global Beat
There’s something new apparent in the lists of nominees for this year’s Latin Grammys. “Call it the globalization of Latin music. Not in the sense of a particular Latin genre hitting it big with non-Latins, i.e. salsa being hot in Europe or Latin-flavored American pop hitting it in the United States. This is about Latin music taking its place as an essential part of the world pop music pantheon.”
Ripping Off A 93-Year-Old Author (Then Offering Money)
A critic discovers a book re-published without securing rights from the original publisher or author. After tracking down the 93-year-old author, the critic contacts the publisher. “Two weeks ago, it wrote, effusively, to Miss Lovett saying that 7,588 copies of her book had been sold, and that, should she be willing to give retrospective permission, a cheque for $4,530.04 was on its way.”
The Kennedy Center Problem
Catesby Leigh doesn’t like the Kennedy Center’s Rafael Viñoly plans for a $250 million addition to Washington’s Kennedy Center. At all. “For starters, the public space created by the eight-acre deck (including the roadway) is absurdly overblown. The plaza will be a desolate, windswept space. Moreover, an open-air stairway to the Potomac promenade from the Center’s existing terrace would be far preferable to the one Mr. Viñoly proposes. And his futuristic buildings may end up looking like airport terminals. The deck and the new buildings on it must be designed to provide inviting, humanely scaled public spaces. Mr. Viñoly’s scheme does not even begin to grasp this issue.”
Afghan Treasure Surfaces
Much of Afghanistan’s cultural heritage was destroyed during the country’s civil war and rule of the Taliban. But “Afghanistan’s legendary 2 000-year-old Tillya Tepe Bactrian gold hoard is safe and sound after lying hidden in a bank vault for the past 14 years, President Hamid Karzai said on Friday. The priceless collection of gold ornaments dating back about 2 000 years was safely stored in a presidential palace vault throughout the civil war and Taliban regime.”
Why The BBC Is Making It Free
The BBC is planning to “digitise and offer for download, for free, as much of its back catalogue of programmes that it can legally do, from the earliest radio reels to nature documentaries to educational programmes. Anyone will be allowed to re-use, re-edit and mix this material with their own, provided it’s for non-commercial use.” But why? Because it is in the public broadcaster’s interests…