Blog

In Praise Of Good Design

“We might think of design as a marriage of form and function. Yet the ratios often shift to produce the absurdity of, say, a Philippe Starck lemon squeezer – great styling, but the juice goes everywhere. Design has a job to do, and now more than ever. We are learning to integrate it into our lives with a greater sophistication and understanding. And the more the consumer responds to the product, the better designed it becomes.”

Massachusetts Bracing For More Arts Cuts

Massachusetts’ governor will propose a state budget this week, and arts groups are fearful. Last August, former acting Gov. Jane Swift slashed the Massachusetts Cultural Council budget by 62 percent – from $19.1 million to $7.3 million – the most drastic cut to an arts agency nationwide. The agency eliminated 27 percent of its staff positions, dismantled eight of its 13 grant programs and cut funds distributed through the remaining programs by about 62 percent.” Now the state faces a $3.2 billion deficit, and further cuts are being planned throughout the state…

Philadelphia Museum Of Art Expands

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is starting construction of phase I of a long-range $200 million expansion which will take 15 years. The first phase expansion, when it opens in 2006, will, in essence, become a new wing of the city’s largest museum.” The museum hopes its long-term expansion will “boost its attendance from around 800,000 visitors each year to more than 1 million. The museum has raised $171 million of a $200 million capital campaign to pay for the construction, increase its endowment, and expand its programs. It hopes to raise the rest within 18 months.”

Leadership Void – Arts Jobs Go Begging

“Filling the top jobs at major cultural institutions has become increasingly difficult. The pool that you fish in is a very small pool, and that pool is shrinking. As the jobs become more difficult, there is a shrinking group of people, and the pool is not being replenished by people coming up from the ranks. At the same time, these posts have grown in visibility and importance to the local economy.” Oh yes – the salaries to run the big organizations are tiny compared to corporate America.

Terry Gross At Bargain Basement Prices

Terry Gross is host of Fresh Air, one of America’s public radio top interview shows. But WHYY in Philadelphia, where the show originates, doesn’t list Gross among its top-paid employees. In 2001, Gross earned $85,000, making her one of the lowest-paid national hosts. “In an interview, Gross said she had considered herself underpaid compared with other hosts of nationally aired public radio shows. Since then, though, the station has raised her salary ‘substantially,’ she said. ‘I’m satisfied,’ she said.”

History Through London’s Statuary

For hundreds of years Central London was the center of public sculpture. More recently, of course, “many people, including some serious art historians, have thought it’s artistically retrograde and uninteresting.” A new book maintains that the statuary tells the history of the city. “What is incredible about the sculpture in the Square Mile is its sheer diversity. It reflects the different roles of the City: the preoccupation with the sea because London was a major world port and the heart of the Empire; journalism, publishing and the media because of Fleet Street; the trades because of all the markets; finance because of the banks and the Stock Market.”