” The Orange County Regisert’s new arts columnist writes that art is everywhere: “Whether we realize it or not, art is all around us. From the purple, inflated gorilla grinning atop a Dodge dealership along the Garden Grove (22) Freeway to murals in downtown Santa Ana, Huntington Beach and Laguna to the big, red ‘A’ that lights up after an Angels win, aesthetic images surround us. The trick is taking the time to see. We may think of some of these as eyesores more than art, and we may bemoan the lack of ‘real’ culture here in Southern California, Orange County in particular. But the truth is, the rest of the country – and the world – looks in our direction when they talk about the cutting edge of artistic and visual production.”
Blog
Scholastic Lays Off 400 – Just Before Harry Comes Out
The publisher Scholastic is laying off 400 employees on the eve of publishing the new Harry Potter. “Scholastic has been steadily tightening its financial belt since the beginning of the calendar year, following a terrible January when sales were particularly weak in the company’s trade and school book club divisions. In March, it announced for the second time in two months that sales and earnings in fiscal 2003 would not meet expectations. Scholastic has been hurt by the sluggish general economy and state budget pressures that have cut back school and library funding.”
Scholastic Lays Off 400 – Just Before Harry Comes Out
The publisher Scholastic is laying off 400 employees on the eve of publishing the new Harry Potter. “Scholastic has been steadily tightening its financial belt since the beginning of the calendar year, following a terrible January when sales were particularly weak in the company’s trade and school book club divisions. In March, it announced for the second time in two months that sales and earnings in fiscal 2003 would not meet expectations. Scholastic has been hurt by the sluggish general economy and state budget pressures that have cut back school and library funding.”
BookExpo: Lookign For The Next Big Thing
“During this year’s four-day BookExpo America, which ended Sunday at the Los Angeles Convention Center, the hunt was on for the next ‘The Lovely Bones,’ the debut novel and publishing sensation by Long Beach writer Alice Sebold, who was a breakout star at last year’s BookExpo in New York. In Los Angeles, the gathering drew more than 25,000 booksellers, librarians, publishers and others who traded the latest industry news (John Grisham’s next novel, about a high school football team in Texas, is due in September) and gathered up the giveaways. (Only supremely disciplined book lovers kept walking past the stacks of free books cluttering the aisles.) Part of the fun was to pluck a jewel from the 20,000 titles being unveiled.”
In The Middle East – War Destroying Valuable History
War in the Middle East is destroying some of the region’s most historic buildings. In Israel, “the damage to Nablus was awesome. The town was founded by the Romans in about 70AD – it’s about the same age as London – and it became an important Crusader town and, later, a trading centre for the Ottoman Empire. Buildings from these eras survive – or did, until a few months ago. Over 100 important historical buildings just aren’t there any more. Nablus was the most important historic town in the Middle East, and it has been devastated.”
NY Philharmonic To Move To Carnegie Hall
Forty years after it left for Lincoln Center, the New York Philharmonic plans on moving back to Carnegie Hall. “The move would give Carnegie Hall the oldest orchestra in the country and deprive Lincoln Center of the first cultural institution established there. For the Philharmonic, going to Carnegie Hall means it can exchange the flawed acoustics of Avery Fisher Hall for a stage of undisputed sound quality, without having to foot the bill for a costly renovation. It would also turn the orchestra, now led by Lorin Maazel, from a rent-paying tenant into a managing partner.”
NY Philharmonic Move – What Will Happen To Lincoln Center?
“The Philharmonic’s decision to leave comes on the heels of New York City Opera’s proposal to leave Lincoln Center, too, for a new site at ground zero. Simultaneously, the weak economy has forced Lincoln Center’s new management team to scale back plans drastically for the institution’s redevelopment — a project now expected to cost less than a third of the $1.5 billion originally projected.”
Musically, NY Phil Move Makes Sense
“Musically, the issues are straightforward: the Philharmonic has always had complaints about the acoustics at Avery Fisher Hall. The principal criticism is that sound onstage does not allow the sections of the orchestra to hear one another adequately. That, in turn, affects the performance heard by the audience. Visiting orchestras have supported the Philharmonic’s criticisms.”
Classical Music: Reports Of My Death…Are WRONG!
Stories abound about how classical music is sinking into obscurity – death, even. But “in the things that matter most, classical music is actually healthier than for decades.” The evidence, writes one critic, is compelling. “For a start, London is more than ever the uncontested classical capital of the world, with some 20 professional orchestras and five music colleges. Many of the world’s great soloists choose to make their home there, as do home-grown musicians in great quantity and quality. In 1985, for example, the Association of British Orchestras had just 12 members; now it has 50. Up to half of this growth has come from new orchestras.”
Protecting Art To Death?
Blake Gopnik and the Hirshorn’s Ned Rifkin talk about how museums protect artwork. “Is it possible that museums are actually too eager to preserve their art? That preservation, in a sense, has become fetishized to the point where it can detract from the art experience, rather than serving it? How should a museum strike a balance between protection and presentation?”