Just as England has been wondering about the health of its pop music business, there are those who wonder if Irish music has also taken a dive. But, writes Neil McCormick, “reports of Ireland’s musical demise have been greatly exaggerated. Ireland is a musical country, something that shows no sign of abating. There is intense activity on every level…”
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More Books, Fewer Reviews
“This is an interesting time for books. While there are three times as many books being published now compared to 25 years ago, many magazine and newspapers that publish reviews have faced page cutbacks. A few have increased coverage—both the Los Angeles Times and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution have fattened their review sections recently. And there are new arrivals to the scene. Last year Speakeasy, affiliated with the Loft literary center in Minneapolis, and Readerville, the print version of the Web site of the same name, were launched. In March of this year McSweeney’s introduced the Believer, a four-color monthly with long reviews (of poetry as well as fiction) and interviews. The overall trend, though, has been toward what one New York Times editor recently referred to as ‘the incredible shrinking book review,’ the result of a weakened economy and an accompanying decrease in advertising for the media industry.”
Rogues Gallery
Wonder where those garish statues of former dictators end up? “Nearly 20 statues of leaders and heroes of authoritarian regimes occupy the rolling private garden of Harlan R. Crow, a Dallas real estate investor. Heavyweights like Stalin, Mao and Lenin stand among lesser-knowns like Klement Gottwald, the first Communist president of Czechoslovakia. Many of the statues, some as tall as 20 feet, were bought from the sculptors or from public officials as regimes crumbled. A few, like the large bust of Princip, were acquired as bullets whizzed by.”
Conflicts of Interest At The Barnes
In a report withheld for three years, an audit of the troubled Barnes Foundation is deeply critical of the way the foundation was managed. It is particularly critical of former director Richard Glanton. “Under a section titled ‘Conflicts of Interest,’ the audit outlined a series of Barnes transactions that it said Mr. Glanton engaged in with outside business partners, without informing the foundation’s board. It said he ran up more than $225,000 in travel and entertainment expenses; tried to barter the foundation’s banking business for support on the board; and let two women live in Barnes properties under unusual circumstances.”
Canaletto For A Day
A couple of London brothers have won a contest to hang a rare Canaletto painting in their home for a day. The program is intended to win new audiences for art, and the painting arrived with a curator and security guard. One of the brothers “admitted he had not been a huge fan of Canaletto before winning the painting. He said he now thought Canaletto was ‘awesome’. Though the painting is returning home in the evening, Alex said the art fund was giving them a copy as a reminder of their day as blue-chip art collectors.”
Minnesota Fringe On The Edge
The Minnesota Fringe Festival is the biggest in the country. But its future is in dancer. “The festival is confronting a triple whammy of a continued slumping economy, uncertainty from corporate sponsors and the loss of $20,000 in funding from the Minnesota State Arts Board. ‘The problem is not that people are saying no to us, it’s that they’re not saying either yes or no. We’re literally going to print with the program tomorrow night and we still don’t have the final word from some of our sponsors. As you can imagine, that makes forecasting difficult’.”
NY Theatre’s Future – Off Broadway?
Broadway theatre is a license to lose money. “Off Broadway meanwhile teemed with invention. Partly this has to do with economic reality; it simply costs less to put on a show Off Broadway, so the risks are smaller and the fund-raising is less onerous. But partly it’s also about sheer creative energy…”
New York Restores Some Arts Cuts
New York has restored some of its planne arts budget cuts. “While the arts budget will be cut by more than $11 million, another $16.2 million in planned cuts was restored, leaving cultural institutions surprised and relieved. ‘It’s a significant restoration. It will prevent us from having to do things like charging New York City school groups, closing galleries and closing days’.”
Arts Advocates To Sue Missouri For Funding?
Arts advocates are considering suing the state of Missouri for more funding for the arts. “The state budget for the fiscal year that started Tuesday includes no money for Missouri arts, so the Missouri Arts Council had to dip into a separate trust fund to keep local arts programs going.”
Big Media, Bad Business
Tv media giants may be dominating the airwaves, but they sure haven’t figured out how to find a winning formula for programming. “While it’s taken for granted that TV’s oligopoly wants to further consolidate its power, it’s equally clear that networks aren’t any more adept at tapping into the public zeitgeist when production stays all in the family. In fact, the ratio of shows that stick around at least four seasons — generally the cutoff to be deemed a hit, ensuring there will be enough episodes to run in perpetuity — has consistently stayed around one in six since the early 1990s. Although a hit can pay for a lot of flops, that percentage wouldn’t exactly qualify for the hall of fame, or even the Dodgers’ batting order.”