Twenty-five years ago Graham Sutherland was one of the most-praised artists in Britain. “At that point Sutherland was undeniably top of the heap. So why is the centenary of his birth, which falls this year, being celebrated in such a niggardly fashion? How did this disastrous decline come about? The first answer is that he died at the wrong time. At his death in 1982, at the age of 79, preparations were well advanced for a major retrospective at the Tate. It became his memorial show and was given surprisingly short shrift by most critics. You could see why. It was undeniable that Sutherland had been rather resting on his laurels in his final years…”
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Viñoly: Architect To The World
By any account, architect Rafael Viñoly was something of a prodigy. He’s racked up a series of high-profile projects around the world, and has developed a reputation for sensitivity to the needs of the project. “You don’t simply accept the client’s program at face value, as if your job is to be some kind of short-order cook. What you really want to do is figure out the underlying needs, which the client may never have fully understood. Then you work to define the program. You are not going to get a pre-cooked meal but something especially prepared.”
Ballet With Regional Accents
Ballet is ballet, right? Just as in music, a global sensibility has eradicated national styles, right? Not exactly. “Variations in ballet style make life for balletgoers more interesting, by reminding audiences that companies from different countries and schools have very different, culturally inflected ways of performing a codified technique that is generally thought to be the same everywhere.”
War Fears Discourage Movie Shooting
“Concerns about the prospect of a war in the Middle East have forced most major productions shooting overseas to take out supplemental insurance to guard against the possibility of a war-related shutdown or terrorist incident.” Some – like a new production of “Fiddler On The Roof” have canceled shooting altogether.
Working On A Piece Of Lincoln Center
A fix-up of New York’s Lincoln Center is said to cost $1.2 billion. Many are skeptical the money can be raised and the designs agreed upon by the arts center’s many constituents. So maybe another way to get the project underway is to take a piece of it and make it real. With that in mind, plans are being developed to open up West 65th Street and make it more accessible and inviting. Even this plan costs $150 million, and in this fundraising climate…
Movie Studios, Electronics Firms Meet To Combat Piracy
Holly wood movie studios and electronics companies are meeting to find ways to stop illegal copying of movies. “The new group will explore ways to use electronic watermarks and other signaling techniques that could remain embedded in a program after it’s converted to analog. Many DVD recorders already incorporate one such technology, which hides copying restrictions within an unused portion of a standard TV picture.”
Are Our Public Universities Endangered?
“Slashing support for public colleges, of course, is part of the ebb and flow of economic cycles. In bad times, state lawmakers use public higher education to balance their budgets, knowing that the institutions can raise tuition rates. Then, in good times, lawmakers funnel money back to the colleges to make up for the down years. It has worked that way for decades. But this time might be different.” Is a wave of privatization of public universities in the works?
Movies Without The Books
Is it important to read the book that a movie is based on before seeing the movie? Not at all. In some cases, knowing the book may make it difficult to enjoy the adaptation. “A film may be well able to stand on its own without comparison to its source. To dwell on changes from the origin can load the film with obligations that may be aesthetically irrelevant.”
Parting Company?
“Companies have become part of the furniture of our lives. Most of us work for them. They make almost everything we buy. Most of our savings are tied up in them. Yet now the furniture seems uncomfortable, broken or downright dangerous. Companies are cutting back jobs and slashing pensions. Far from proving a reliable source of future wealth, they seem to be picking the money out of our pockets. Above all, many who have worked most of their lives in companies have suddenly discovered that they are curiously impersonal things…”
Arts Are Worth Investing In
“Do the states have budgetary problems? Absolutely. Do they need to sacrifice because of the shortfalls? Absolutely. Do important programs need to be trimmed? Yes, without question. But wipe out arts budgets altogether? No. The arts are a medium into our future. They are our vehicles for introspection, enlightenment and pleasure. They can’t be manufactured, reproduced or legislated. We need to identify the new artists, nurture their gifts and support them, irrespective of how difficult it will be to afford them.”