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SAATCHI’S NEW CREW

Though one might not appreciate Charles Saatchi’s taste in young artists, usually there’s some attitude to sink your teeth into. But the group of Europeans gathered in Saatchi’s new show, are a puzzling lot. What exactly is so “ground-breaking” about them? Indeed, they seem derivative, portentous and dull, writes one critic. – Financial Times

LEGACYQUEST

  • Livent showman Garth Drabinsky was a spinner of dreams and high ambition. Among them was Chicago’s Oriental Theater, which he said would be the centerpiece of a North American empire of theaters to create and house new touring productions. The City of Chicago invested $13 million in the Oriental, but since Drabinsky crashed and burned, there’s little going on there. Is there a market to keep the place lit? – Chicago Tribune

A MATTER OF PRIORITIES

What happens when a theater company’s artistic director, its life’s force, leaves – but the money supporting the theater stays? In the case of one Scottish theater, it drifts on for a couple of seasons, then folds. Maybe National Arts Council policies expect too much in the way of numbers and not enough in the way of art? – The Herald (Scotland)

THE NEW ARTIST

Though artists have occupied various ranks of the social ladder throughout history, in the 19th and most of the 20th centuries they were considered specialized members of high culture whose primary mission was to hone their expressive skills. That is changing. “Being an artist now includes things like being an articulate advocate, and ambassador and an educator.” – Orange County Register

BALANCING ART AND POWER

Recent experience of the past hundred years says that art commissioned by government is usually a mediocre affair. But step back a few centuries and it’s a different story. Without the Vatican, the Italian principalities and the royal courts of Vienna, Paris, Madrid, London and Brussels, among others, Europe’s artistic heritage would be a great deal poorer. – New York Times