Hopes had been high that Ontario’s government would increase the province’s $25 million arts budget this year. But when the budget was announced, there was nothing new for the arts. Arts leaders are disappointed – the amount has stayed the same for the past five years. “We had made some very strong arguments for the value of the arts and the contribution they make to life in Ontario. There appears to be nothing in it for the arts. The community is going to be very disappointed.”
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A New House For Jazz
America’s best jazz clubs present great artists, but to small audiences. Lincoln Center’s new jazz complex – a collaboration between architect Rafael Vinoly and acoustician Russell Johnson – now being built at Columbus Circle, will be a versatile institution meant to promote jazz in many forms.
The Best Case Against Media Consolidation
When the CEO of the second largest chain of radio stations in America decided to ban the Dixie Chicks from his airwaves because of political remarks one of the group’s mambers made, the Chicks’ airplay vanished. “The downside of media consolidation is that we now allow a few people’s overreaction to become policy. It opens up a very dangerous can of worms. In this case, one of the CEOs decided he wanted to make a statement. . . . But consolidation means that group ownership can do anything it wants . . . .”
Trading Up – Boston’s MFA Sells Art To Buy Art
Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts is selling a Renoir and two Degas pastels, hoping to raise $12-17 million so the museum can buy an [unnamed] 19th Century painting it wants to acquire. “It will be by far the most money raised through a sale in the MFA’s history. It will also mark the museum’s highest profile deaccession since 1984. That’s when the MFA traded two Renoir pastels and a Monet painting – plus $600,000 – to a New York dealer for a Jackson Pollock painting. It was a controversial move, and an assistant curator resigned in protest. But this week, MFA officials stressed that support for the deaccession was unanimous from the five curators in the art of Europe department, the 27-person collections committee, and the 70-member board of trustees.”
Crowds Change The Art Experience
Epic lines at New York’s major museum shows make going to see some art a confusing and difficult experience. “You either have to get in the very front, in which case you get pushed, or in the very back, in which case you can’t see. It’s not like you can stand in front of a painting and wait. You’ll get trampled.”
When Ideas Exceed Needs
Building in a sustainable way is a cultural problem. For example: “The idea of a tall building has existed since architecture’s beginnings and came to fruition in the Gothic era with the race towards the tallest nave and spire, and again in the United States during the early 20th century. Developing countries like Malaysia and China have now entered the global competition for the tallest building, indifferent to the building type’s ecological footprint and vying for the longest time holding the height record. The cultural footprint of a building of this kind then by far exceeds its ecological footprint. It is unlikely that rational argument will ever deter clients and architects from pursuing goals like the tallest buildings, goals that are deeply lodged in mental landscapes and reinforced by various media over decades or centuries. Similar forms of competition exist in other areas of architectural discourse.”
The Hermitage In 90 Minutes
Filmmaker Alexander Sokurov’s film tribute to the Hermitage is unexpected and amazing. “Russian Ark was made in a single hour-and-a-half-long shot, unedited. It took that hour and a half to film (after two years of preparation) and takes the same time to watch. It is the first film to be made in this way, exploiting digital technology not to bend reality but to do justice to it – no film on celluloid could continue unbroken for this amount of time.”
Banking On Building A Good Board
One of the biggest challenges for arts organizations is finding good sound board leadership. “Tony Scotford, a Sydney lawyer and outspoken arts advocate, has an innovative solution – a board ‘bank’ where the best talent can be matched with the neediest companies – on the cards as part of the Australian Business and Arts Foundation’s future projects. If it works like the health industry’s sperm and blood banks, why not? So many of our boards are the result of mateship, or favours, or a reward for sponsorship.”
Theatre – Going One-On-One
“On stage, there may be no more daunting task than the solo performance. The show is you – and you’re the show. But actors continue to brave this special kind of high-wire act. Some of the reasons are economic: It makes for a short line at the pay window. But the more profound lure is artistic: the chance to have the audience all to yourself, to shape an intimate show that’s entirely personal.”
Trying Harder As Money Gets Tighter
As money gets tighter, American arts organizations are rethinking their operations. “To survive, cultural establishments nationwide are pooling resources, taking artistic risks, and stepping up outreach – rethinking everything from fundraising tactics to show times to get people back to the box office. In a time of financial famine, the arts are getting creative. ‘These organizations are like farm animals in the 1930s dust belt. They have less and less to sustain them’.”