“How can we look directly at things and not see them? The answer is that your brain perceives the world through what amounts to a mental ‘soda straw.’ When it aims that straw at one thing, all other objects—even those within your direct field of vision—recede into the background. Cognitive psychologists call this phenomenon selective attention, a neural process by which the ‘volume knob’ on one set of sensory inputs is turned up at the same time the intensity settings of all other stimuli are turned down.”
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NY Warns Venues To Drop Added Ticket “Fees”
New York State is going after venues that add on fees to ticket prices. “When the consumer sees a ticket price advertised for $100, that should be the price you pay. We don’t want the consumer exposed to a situation where they are led to believe that the ticket price is $100 and then you get to the box office only to be told that there’s a $1 restoration or a $2.50 convenience charge or whatever the venue calls their added-on fee. If the theatre feels it needs a dollar to go to a restoration fund, that’s their business, but they should advertise that the ticket costs $100 or $101, whatever the total is. The rest is accounting.”
NY City Council Overturns Mayor’s Veto Of Cell Phone Ban
Last year New York’s City Council passed an ordinance prohibiting use of cell phones in theatres and concert halls. The mayor vetoed it. Wednesday, the council voted 38-5 to override the veto. Henceforth, in New York City, “talking on a cell phone, dialing, listening or even having one ring during a performance will constitute a violation punishable by a $50 fine.”
Arts Council To Give Arts Funding Big Boost
The Arts Council of England says it will “nearly double” the amount it gives to individual artists, increasing spending to £25 million per year. The council also said it “would increase funding of the groups it already supports by a further £70 million, to £300 million by 2006. The Arts Council says the drive is designed to place ‘the arts at the heart of national life’.”
New Name, New Logo, Less Staff – Arts Council England Relaunches
The Arts Council of England has relaunched itself as Arts Council England, with a new logo and 100 fewer staff. Now there will be just the Arts Council, with regional offices, one telephone number and one application form for artists, replacing more than 100 different grants schemes.” The council says the changes would “save almost £20m over the next three years, and £8m a year after that, all to be ploughed back into the arts.”
You Send Me – The Top Ten Most Romantic Albums
Just in time for Valentine’s Day – What are the top ten most romantic albums ever recorded? The Telegraph’s pop music critics have their say… (Roberta Flack? Really?)
The First Titian Show In 400 Years (In Britain)
Titian was one of the great painters of the Renaissance. The great biographer Vasari concluded that “Titian had invented a new form of art ‘made up of bold strokes and blobs, beautiful and astonishing because it makes paintings seem alive.” Every painter that has followed him has been influenced by his work in some way. So why, in 400 year, has there never been a British exhibition of his work? Now London’s National Gallery has managed to beg and borrow more than 40 of Titian’s finest paintings for an exhibition of his work.
Miramax Dominates Oscars Like No Studio In 50 Years
After grabbing three of the five Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Miramax Studio has dominated the Academy Awards like no studio has in 50 years. “That achievement is all the more significant because Miramax is not one of the major studios, like Warner Brothers or Columbia Pictures, but an indie start-up begun in 1979 by a pair of hustling, film-loving brothers from Queens, Harvey and Bob Weinstein. Their company grew steadily through the 80’s, became an independent division of Disney in 1993 and after today has to be considered the equal of any of the major studios in Hollywood.”
At Least He Won’t Have To Talk To Joan Rivers
The last time Roman Polanski was nominated for an Oscar, Jimmy Carter was in the White House and disco wasn’t quite dead yet. But just because Polanski’s film, The Pianist was given a Best Director nod, don’t expect to see the reclusive filmmaker on the red carpet. Polanski is officially still a fugitive from American justice, having fled the country in 1978 after having pled guilty to having sex with a minor, and the Los Angeles D.A. says that he would not hesitate to make an arrest, should Polanski choose to attend the Oscar ceremony.
Muschamp Uncensored
New York Times architecture critic Herbert Muschamp has been one of the loudest voices in the debate over what should fill the huge space currently known as Ground Zero. But now, some observers are charging Muschamp with promoting the designs of architects to whom he has close ties. “Critics love to provoke, of course, but with the Ground Zero discussion down to a pair of finalists chosen by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, another question is being asked: Is Mr. Muschamp—long a lightning rod for criticism—getting too cozy with his advocacy? Some within the architectural community think so.”