Blog – Page 2499 – ArtsJournal Wayback

Restoration Of Chartres Cathedral Is As Transformative, And As Controversial, As That Of Sistine Chapel

“This is its most substantial renovation since Chartres was rebuilt between 1194 and 1225. In the intervening 800 years, the building has changed almost beyond recognition, as smoke from burning candles, oil lamps and fires darkened the walls, the statues and the exquisite stained glass. The restoration aims not only to clean and maintain the structure, but also to offer an insight into what the cathedral would have looked like in the 13th century. Its interior was designed to be a radiant vision, as close to heaven on earth as a pilgrim might come, although many modern visitors have responded more with shock than with awe.”

Professional Ballet Is Back In Indianapolis, 12 Years After Old Company Suddenly Collapsed

“In November 2005, the city’s oldest professional ballet company, Ballet Internationale, was preparing for its annual Nutcracker performance at the Murat Theater when the company suddenly closed their doors – canceling the upcoming show and leaving professional dancers in Indianapolis out of work. For Victoria Lyras that was the beginning of a long twelve years to bring professional ballet back to the Circle City.” (video)

Berlin’s Fabled Staatsoper, Daniel Barenboim’s House, Finally Reopens (More Or Less)

“The work took much longer than expected – the company was originally scheduled to move back from its interim residence across town in the Schiller Theater four years ago – and the renovation costs spiraled from an estimated 239 million euros to 400 million ($473 million), half of which was covered by federal funds.” Even so, after a new production next month, the theater will close for another two months so technicians can master the new high-tech equipment.

Walter Becker Of Steely Dan Dead At 67

“Steely Dan sold more than 40m copies of nine studio albums, won four Grammy awards and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. Their music – slick and catchy, with wry, observational lyrics – was all-pervasive for much of the group’s first period of activity, between 1972 and 1981.”

A New Director Has Revolutionized – Or Upended – Canada’s Shaw Festival

Tim Carroll is “preaching the gospel of ‘two-way theatre'” – expanding the company’s repertoire well beyond George Bernard Shaw and plays that debuted during his lifetime, presenting $5 late-night shows, doing “Secret Theatre” pop-up performances to which audiences are alerted by email on short notice.

Ontario Gov’t Directs $50 Million In Extra Funding To Arts

“In a statement issued by the Office of the Premier, the Ontario Arts Council (OAC) will be issued $50 million in additional funding over the next four years. This is in addition to the existing governmental amount, bringing the total to $80 million per year by 2020-21.”

Mexico Creates New Federal Police Division To Fight Trafficking Of Art And Antiquities

“Mexico has been criticized for failing to register the theft of stolen cultural antiquities and for a lack of coordination among authorities responsible for preserving the items. Many church paintings are replicas of the two- and three-hundred year old paintings that have been stolen. According to official figures last year, 90 percent of stolen cultural objects, including archaeological pieces, liturgical objects and religious art, are never recovered.”

Comedian Shelley Berman, 92

“[He] was among a group of comedians who emerged in the 1950s and early 1960s, including Mort Sahl, Bob Newhart and Elaine May and Mike Nichols, who built their humor around topical storytelling rather than the traditional setup and punchline. His routines about the frustrations of modern life, including pieces about airlines or about the difficulty of dealing with businesses and other institutions, were wildly popular and made him one of the first comedians with best-selling recordings. … [He also] had a late-career resurgence playing Larry David’s dotty father on Curb Your Enthusiasm.”

Summer Movie Box Office Was Terrible. But Hollywood’s Not Too Worried

Even so, studios are unlikely to shift gears anytime soon. Overseas audiences continue to devour what Hollywood serves up. And many studio executives dismiss the recent slump in North America, which remains the world’s No. 1 movie market, as a normal part of a cyclical film business. Box office behemoths, they insist, are just around the corner.