In Laguna Beach, California people create living tableaux of great works of art. “This experience in trompe l’oeil (fooling the eye), an artistic extravaganza once featured on ‘Ripley’s Believe It or Not,’ takes place not in Hollywood, but 50 miles south in the hilly coastal art colony of Laguna Beach. Quiet most of the year, and filled with white water, surfers, and artists, the village comes alive every summer as it hosts the Laguna Beach Art Festival and the internationally acclaimed Pageant of the Masters, where a cast of thousands have mastered the art of holding still – for about 90 seconds.”
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California Eviscerates Arts Funding
California slashes its arts funding from $18 million to a token $1 million, effectively shutting down the agency. “The new budget translates to less than 3 cents per person statewide. California will now rank dead last in per capita state spending for the arts. The national average is $1.10 per person.”
Movies Come To Afghans (On Mobile Trucks)
Eight mobile cinemas are hitting the roads of Afghanistan, bringing movies to Afghans, many of whom have never seen one. “Last year, the mobile cinema attracted 450,000 people in six weeks. This year the goal is ambitious; we hope to attract 900,000 Afghans.”
Does NY Anti-Smoking Ban Apply To Actors Onstage?
Does a tough new New York State antismoking law mean actors won’t be able to smoke on stage as part of a play? “Passed by the state legislature in March and effective Thurs., July 24, the measure bans the “burning of a lighted cigar, cigarette, pipe, or other matter or substances which contains tobacco” in a long list of situations, including theatres, auditoriums, and museums. The measure closely mirrors New York City’s own tough no-smoking ordinance, and in some ways is even tougher than the local law.” Theatres can apply for a waiver if smoking is required for a performance.
“Fortress America” As Visits To US Sharply Down
Travel to the United States this summer is sharply down. “Both tighter restrictions on getting into this country – and a strong disillusionment with the US abroad – are causing tens of thousands of people worldwide to forgo trips to America. Critics say the decline is evidence of a visa-screening process too restrictive, creating a ‘fortress America.’ But supporters see that process as essential to protecting the nation in a post-9/11 world.”
Tokyo Concert Hall Goes Free (For The Right Orchestras)
Tokyo’s Metropolitan Art Space was built in 1990, but has failed to attract the top international orchestras it hoped to book. So it has decided to offer the hall free to orchestras. Managers said “it would place short-term profits on the back burner and seek to attract top orchestras, including the Vienna Philharmonic, Boston Symphony and Berlin Philharmonic orchestras.”
Getting Right The Sweep Of History
The best writers prefer ideas to brand-name description. “Perhaps one could say that a classic novelist recreates an era from the inside out and concentrates on rendering rather than discussing the great social and political and intellectual currents of the period, whereas a lesser novelist attempts to make up for an insufficient grasp of the Zeitgeist by devoting himself or herself to its upholstery. Today the historical novel has been rehabilitated because it has radically changed its ways. The new historical novel is shorter or at least more crisply written than ever before, full of unexpected twists and turns in language, and rich in those ‘little true facts’.”
Chinese Harry Fans Give Up Waiting On Translation – Do Their Own
Chinese fans of Harry Potter are impatient. The book hasn’t been published in Chinese yet. “The English-language edition of the Order of the Phoenix was published worldwide in June by Bloomsbury, but an official Chinese translation is not due for publication until September. Chinese fans of the teenage sorcerer have decided they cannot wait and amateur translators have so far posted 35 of the book’s 38 chapters on the Internet.”
Handicapping The Field – Who Will Lead Frick, Whitney?
Two of New York’s most venerable museums – the Frick and the Whitney – are looking for new leaders this summer. “Speculation about who will lead these two prominent Manhattan museums has become the hot topic in the art world during an otherwise quiet summer.”
Does BBC Pump Out US Tunes Over Homegrown?
Does BBC Radio 1 favor playing established American hits over British performers? That’s the charge. “It is easier for programmers to play proven American hits rather than gamble on new UK tracks. I would question whether it was good for the UK music industry, the British public or for the BBC in the long run.”