The UK’s richest art prize for contemporary art has taken a turn for the serious. “Beck’s Futures is experiencing the post-September 11 blues, and this year’s selection reflects a darker, more critical mood now gripping many contemporary artists. Indeed, Beck’s itself seems to be wracked with gloomy self-doubt, its poster campaign heckling you with the question, ‘If corporate sponsorship is killing art, want to come to a funeral’?”
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US Libraries Vs US Patriot Act
American libraries are taking steps to guard patrons’ privacy from the US government. The US Patriot Act allows law enforcement to pry into the library habits of citizens. “The American Libraries Association calls the provisions a present danger to the constitutional rights and privacy rights of library users. The association fears library patrons or bookstore customers could become targets of suspicion simply based on what books they are reading. More importantly, they say they fear a chilling effect that could make people fearful of reading particular books or Web sites to avoid becoming targets of suspicion.”
B&N Cranks Up Its “Classic Books” Line
Not content to simply sell books, superstore Barnes & Noble is expanding the line of titles it publishes. “The superstore chain announced Monday it was upgrading and expanding its line of ‘classic books’ such as ‘Moby-Dick’ and ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.’ Editions from the new imprint, Barnes & Noble Classics, will start coming out in May, with 100 different titles expected by June 2004.”
Saddam Palaces – What $2 Billion In Decorating Buys
American soldiers entering Saddam Hussein’s palaces see evidence of the reported $2 billion spent on decorating. But money doesn’t equal taste. “With Saddam Hussein, it’s not about taste, but size. The interiors are monumental, gilded and dreadful,” and the palace interior “looks sad and corporate. It’s too bad he turned his back on his own culture, which has amazing architecture and design, and his own people, who, politics aside, are wonderful artisans.”
Stolen Pompeii Frescoes Recovered
Two frescoes stolen from Pompeii last week have been recovered by Italian police. “The 1st Century frescoes were found at a construction site close to the historic city, after roadblocks were set up across the whole of Naples province. The authorities said they had already been packed, and that the aim may have been to smuggle them abroad. Both panels were damaged during the theft.”
University of Texas Buys Watergate Papers
“In one of the largest such purchases in American history, the University of Texas at Austin has bought the Watergate papers of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein for $5 million, the university announced today… As part of the extraordinary deal to purchase the materials, the university agreed to honor Woodward and Bernstein’s long-standing commitment to protect the identity of a number of confidential sources until their deaths, including ‘Deep Throat,’ the Nixon administration official whose deep-background information was crucial to The Post’s pursuit of the Watergate story.”
Canada Stands Up For Greece
The British Museum says it’s a dead issue, but Canadian Greeks are applying all the pressure they can to the UK in an effort to force the return of the Elgin Marbles to Greece. This month, the Canadian House of Commons passed a resolution calling on the British Museum to return the marbles, which have been in Britain for over 100 years. The Canadian push follows similar resolutions by other governments around the world, but the UK has repeatedly said that the marbles will stay right where they are.
Wanna Dance? Better Stay Young.
India has an enviable tradition of government support for the arts, a system which requires a large bureaucracy and intricate rules to administer. A recent Delhi High Court ruling, however, threatens to establish a maximum age for performing dancers, a move which, according to Lewis Segal, would be devastating to the counry’s dance community. The court “ruled that dancers over 45 cannot be said to give performances, merely lecture-demonstrations. The ruling came in response to a petition filed in the court by Komala Varadan, a 62-year-old classical dancer insisting that she be listed as a performing artist in the files of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.”
Back On Stage, But Still In Crisis
The Houston Symphony is performing again, following a bitter 24-day strike, but the organization’s financial woes are far from resolved. “Executive director Ann Kennedy came on stage Saturday to welcome back the audience and to laud the musicians, who then received a strong standing ovation from the crowd (which, due to the perennial problem of no-shows, filled only about two-thirds of the auditorium). With music director Hans Graf on the podium, the musicians then demonstrated through superb playing exactly what is still at stake in the financially desperate organization.”
Macfarlane Walter & Ross To Cease Publication
Another Canadian publishing house is going under. This time, it’s the “elite nonfiction” publisher Macfarlane Walter & Ross, which had been operating as a division of McLelland & Stewart since 1999. MW&R had been put up for sale by McLelland & Stewart, but no buyer has been found, and publisher Doug Gibson says that MW&R will cease publication at the end of the month. However, Gibson also said that most if not all of the titles slated for publication by MW&R will be put out by McLelland & Stewart.