“Latino” art and artists are hot right now in the US. But what is “Latino” art? “The gross American simplification of grouping into one ethnic and cultural qualifier the nearly 30 New World nationalities and two European ones that currently make up the uniquely American term ‘Latin’ or ‘Latino’ is beyond me.”
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Reconsidering Communism (Again)
It’s not like Communism wasn’t given a chance. But even though most of the major governments that followed the ideology have failed, Marx isn’t discredited. “Indeed, it is suggested, Marx was right about a good many things—about a lot of what is wrong with capitalism, for instance, about globalisation and international markets, about the business cycle, about the way economics shapes ideas. Marx was prescient; that word keeps coming up. By all means discard communism as practised in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe (and China, North Korea, Cuba and in fact wherever it has been practised). But please don’t discard Marx.”
Corporations – Collectors For Our Times
Why do corporations collect art? “Apart from the profits and tax relief such sales and donations generate for companies, they also produce what social theorist Pierre Bourdieu has called “cultural capital,” the prestige and importance that come with a reputation for high-mindedness and civic responsibility. Cultural capital is especially important for companies that make things that can hurt people, such as tobacco and alcohol. It’s no accident Philip Morris and Seagram have two of the most respected corporate art collections.”
The Incredible Shrinking Play
One of the phenomenons of Broadway in recent years has been that “you can now sell the public a 70- or 90-minute play on Broadway for $75 and they swallow it as readily as they do spaghetti in oil and garlic, though it may be far less nourishing or tasty. This only becomes a problem when Tony nominations loom and there aren’t enough American plays to fill the Best Play category. Filling the category these days is a more important question than the quality of the work.”
Swarming Onto What’s Happening
Used to be you went someplace where people were to find out what was going on. Now “swarming” makes it more efficient. People broadcast text or cell phone messages to get people to a location where something is happening. “Swarming reverses the idea that geography, in an Internet age, has become irrelevant. The whole point is to bring people together in one location for face-to-face contact. Swarming also is leading to such social developments as ‘time-softening,’ ‘cell dancing’ and ‘smart mobs’.”
Latin Music’s New Starmakers
For years, Miami’s Latin music scene was a one-man show. No longer. As Latin music has increasingly penetrated the mainstream US, a new generation of producers is wielding power.
Erasing The Past By Demolition
Los Angeles issued 1,211 demolition permits in 2001. This ‘erase-atecture,’ as some architectural historians call it, gives builders room to press forward with their perpetual reinvention of the city, and it often protects the public from unsafe structures. But nobody knows just how much valuable history the wrecking balls obliterate each year, because in most cases, nobody’s keeping track. About 85% of the city’s standing structures have never been surveyed for historic or cultural significance.
Gehry To Redesign Lisbon Theatre District?
Is Frank Gehry going to redesign a rundown theatre district in Lisbon? “According to Associated Press, Lisbon officials want to build two modern theaters, a film complex, a museum, stores and offices. ‘I’m just going to see what they’re up to. If it’s real, it’s a wonderful project’.”
Can LA Live Without TV Car Chases?
Since OJ’s low-speed freeway chase, the car chase has been a staple of LA’s TV news shows. Local stations often devote large chunks of their shows to police car pursuits. But the LA Police Department is “considering asking television stations to eliminate or significantly reduce their coverage of live police chases. The broadcast of police pursuits is more entertainment than informative, [police chief William] Bratton has said publicly and in informal discussions with local news executives, and could be interpreted as encouraging criminal activity. Such a change would mark a distinct shift for local TV stations.”
UK Theatre – A Changing Of The Guard
Many of the UK’s biggest theatres are getting new leadership this year. “The appointments have been common currency for some time, but it’s only now, with an unprecedented flurry of handovers just around the corner, that mouths are beginning to water at what lies ahead. The players who dominated the scene during the 1990s are making way for fresh blood.”