The US Supreme Court hears arguments on whether public libraries should be required to filter porn sites on their computers. “The case pits free speech rights against the government’s ability to protect the public from the seamy side of the Internet. Solicitor General Theodore Olson argued that libraries don’t have X-rated movies and magazines on their shelves and shouldn’t have to offer access to pornography on their computers. Librarians and civil liberties groups contend that filters are censorship and that they block a vast amount of valuable information along with the pornography. Some of the justices seemed skeptical of the challenge to the Children’s Internet Protection Act.”
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US Prosecutors Crack Down On Art Buyers Trying To Avoid Taxes
US prosecutors are going after art buyers who have made deals with galleries to avoid sales taxes. So far, “34 Manhattan families had coughed up $6 million in back taxes on art purchases since June, when former Tyco International CEO L. Dennis Kozlowski was indicted on charges he evaded sales taxes on $13 million in art in a widely publicized case. Art dealers say they believe the government is looking for quick ways to collect revenue in a weak economy.”
Did Fire Alarm Cover Jail Art Theft?
Did security guards at Riker’s Island jail stage a fake fire drill las weekend to cover the theft of a Dali painting? “The rare middle-of-the-night drill was held Friday, hours before two officers noticed that the painting, last appraised at $175,000, had been replaced with a fake.”
Bacon Heir’s Death Leads To Speculation About The Artist’s Paintings
What will happen to a number of important paintings by Francis Bacon now that the painter’s primary heir has died? “John Edwards, who died in Thailand on Wednesday aged 53, was Bacon’s friend and muse for many years. He inherited the artist’s £11m estate when Bacon died in 1992.”
A Plan To Help Museums With Insurance
Since the Sept. 11 attacks, U.S. museums have struggled to obtain works for major exhibitions from overseas due to skyrocketing insurance rates and jittery art lenders who fear losing their pieces in a terrorist strike.” Now legislation has been introduced in the US Congress that “would raise the amount of indemnity coverage that can be provided at any particular time from $5 billion to $8 billion. It also increases how much coverage the program – run through the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) – can provide to one exhibition, from $500 million to $750 million.”
Does How We Applaud Say Something About Who We Are?
It is “one of the truisms of London cultural life: standing ovations are rarely seen in the theatres, opera houses or concert halls. Across the Atlantic, however, leaping to your feet is almost the norm. Could it be that national character informs the way that we applaud? Or does our reception of a performance have a direct bearing on our attitude to culture?”
Melbourne’s Arts Funding Woes
Melbourne’s arts institutions are suffering from underfunding they say. “Critics of the Government have questioned its commitment to the arts, saying there is no obvious cultural policy and that it is operating in a policy vacuum.”
That Arts Degree Will Earn You Less
So you have that arts degree and feel you’re not earning what you should? Turns out the statistics are against you. Researchers have concluded that university graduates with arts degrees – including history, English and sociology – “should expect to make between 2% and 10% less than those who quit education at 18.”
And The Winner Is…Musicals
“For the second year in a row, musicals are creating a big buzz in Hollywood. Last year, it was Baz Luhrmann teaching audiences a whole new way to envision musicals with ‘Moulin Rouge!’ This year ‘Chicago’ heads into the Academy Awards as the front-runner for Best Picture, and it’s up for a dozen other awards. In the theater world, the hope is that this high-profile attention will spike interest in seeing musicals on stage – and that it will help nurture a new generation of theater-goers.”
DVD Burners – What, Me Worry?
DVD recorders are here. But the movie industry doesn’t seem to be greatly concerned. “The reason? Hollywood has learned from the piracy woes of its music-industry cousins. Unlike music CDs, DVD movies have encryption codes that make them almost impossible to burn. And the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has aggressively prosecuted pirates like Norwegian teenager “DVD John” Johansen, who publicized on the Net the copyright-protection code of a range of DVDs.”