Want to know what a person is really like inside? A new study says looking at a person’s music collection will give you the best idea. “Almost anything about a man or a woman – from their looks, intelligence and fitness, to politics, wealth and even conversational ability – can be gleaned from the tunes they enjoy most. In the study, psychologists from the University of Texas questioned 3500 people about their individual musical preferences and then matched them with their personality traits.”
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It’s Official – It Seems No One Liked This Year’s Venice Biennale
Director Francesco Bonami had idealistic plans. He handed over the reins to 11 other curators, two of whom are artists. “He didn’t create a team of co-curators working together but gave all of them complete autonomy to do their own thing. He bestowed an idealistic title on this exhibition of exhibitions: ‘Dreams and Conflicts: The Dictatorship of the Viewer.’ And somehow, despite the best intentions in the world, he fell, metaphorically, flat on his face with the biggest, sloppiest, most amorphous biennial ever. As we ought to know by now, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Am I the only one who hits a snag at the notion of the, uh, dictatorship of the viewer? Isn’t that what happens at art fairs? Isn’t that what Hitler proposed when he outlawed art criticism? Quite apart from that little conflict between the dream of individual freedom and the idea of dictatorship, the Abdication of the Director would have been far more precise.”
Stalling Out On DC’s African-American Museum
Seventy-seven years ago Congress authorized the creation of a new African American Museum in Washington DC. More recently the project has seemed to gain momentum in Congress. But that momentum may be illusory. “The main concern is an age-old one—location, location, location. The commission would like to put a new building on the Washington Mall, near the Capitol. But the Senate bill ignores the commission’s existing recommendation, instead charging the Smithsonian’s Board of Regents with picking a spot. Perhaps more ominously, it grants the board 18 months to make a decision, a lifetime given the ever-changing balance of power in Congress. Meanwhile, the uncertainty puts a crimp in any fundraising plans.”
Making Headway In Pittsburgh
The financial crunch at the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra may be easing a bit, with orchestra officials announcing that they have closed their budget gap for the fiscal year just concluded, and are having good success with new fundraising tactics designed to make donors feel more involved in the PSO’s season. “For donors of amounts under $250, we used to just give them a receipt for taxes. Now [we give] them thank-you cards and invitations to events and prints their names in programs or on its Web site. We are doing some very simple things better, and for a fund-raising program in transition, with a lot of staff turnover, it is a big success.”
Big Effort, Small Results in South Florida
When a small band of plucky choristers and musicians from the nearly-disintegrated Florida Philharmonic launched an independent effort to save their orchestra, they raised a million dollars in pledges in only a couple of weeks, and their apparent success was trumpeted across the region. But now, with a bankruptcy deadline fast approaching, the revitalization effort has seriously stalled, with an additional $1.5 million still needed to bail the organization out.
Big-Time Canadian Magazines Take A Public Hit
The Canadian Heritage Minister has announced a shift in the way that the nation subsidizes its periodical industry, and the fallout from the decision will cost large magazines CAN$16.7 million in public funding. The intention is to increase the ministry’s support for small, independent, and aboriginal magazines which have received little public money in the past.
Animation Festival Gets A Stay Of Execution
“The Ottawa International Animation Festival has gotten a reprieve from its possible demise after Telefilm Canada decided to reinstate its annual funding for at least for one more year. The $52,000-a-year cheque from Telefilm, which represents a critical 25 per cent of the festival’s budget, will likely mean that the next biannual animation festival scheduled for September, 2004, will go ahead as planned.” Still, the future of the festival, which claims to be North America’s largest animation festival, is still quite uncertain.
Annie Get Your Resume Together
Local productions of classic Broadway shows generally aren’t expected to measure up to the New York originals, even in sophisticated theater towns, but a new version of “Annie Get Your Gun” currently playing in Denver is drawing some uniquely ugly reviews, and more than a few snickers from the audience. “When Annie’s gun sticks but a dead bird falls from the sky anyway, what are we to do but cringe? And when the band resorts to banging on drums to cover misfiring guns, what are we to feel but mawkish empathy?” And the problems don’t end with misfiring rifles.
Boston Wants More Public Art
Boston is an old city, by American standards, and most of its public art seems to be nearly as old as the city itself. “Boston often is criticized for lacking a bold or effective plan to develop new public sculpture. But some long-overdue appointments could change that. In May, artist Sarah Hutt was named director of public art for the city. Hutt now oversees the Boston Art Commission, which recently has been revived with an all-new membership. The four-member commission hasn’t been active since Director Mildred Farrell resigned two years ago. Even before that, the group frequently was criticized for a lack of discrimination and being out of touch.”
Adler: Louisville Ain’t Fixed Yet
When the Louisville Orchestra struck a last-minute contract deal with its musicians last month, everyone involved cheered publicly, and congratulated each other on their success. But Andrew Adler sees little to get excited about. “We’ve heard all of this so many times before, whenever castastrophe for this orchestra has been barely averted. A contract is signed, three or four years of labor-management-board harmony is promised, a new day is at hand, etc., etc.” Labor peace aside, the Louisville Orchestra’s endowment remains far below what it needs to be, there don’t seem to be any real big-money donors for classical music in the city, and artistically, the ensemble has chosen an infuriating “play it safe” strategy which sacrifices anything but the most innocuous music.