“In the 1970s, one of the most important influences on art and art criticism was the impact of feminism. A burgeoning women’s lib movement had gone on the rampage. Launching a full-scale assault on a male-dominated art world, it burnt its bras on the cultural centre-stage. But, if women’s lib were personified it would be hitting about 40 now. It would be reaching the end of its child-bearing years. And does that therefore mean that it’s losing its relevance? Is it in mid-life crisis? Or does it remain a focus?”
Category: issues
Self-Appointed Avenging Angels: They Sit Among Us
“With higher ticket prices and higher stakes – and not just at La Scala, but on the recent Barbra Streisand tour, for example – hecklers claim the power to hijack a public event, besides giving an artist who may already be in distress a very bad day. And that heckler power comes with no responsibility. In a huge crowd, who can find you?”
Showtime Contract Blocking Access To Smithsonian?
“Two filmmakers were refused access to the Smithsonian Institution’s collections for their projects but researchers generally have not been restricted so far by the Smithsonian’s semi-exclusive deal with a cable network, congressional investigators said. The public has justifiable concerns nonetheless about the 30-year contract between the Smithsonian and Showtime Networks Inc., a cable network owned by CBS Corp., according to the Government Accountability Office.”
Aussie Court: Scalpers Can Use eBay
An Australian court has ruled that concert promoters can’t block eBay from selling scalped tickets. A promoter “had included a provision on the back of each 2007 ticket stating that the ticket would be canceled “and the holder refused entry” if it were resold for profit, or scalped. Online auctioneer eBay Inc. challenged the provision in court, saying it was misleading and deceptive.”
Are We Getting Less British?
“Blaming foreigners for an imagined decline in Britishness is a terrible but commonplace calumny. In fact, as a handful of the more Enlightened traditionalists have noticed, immigrants are more likely to uphold Victorian values of family self-sufficiency, modesty, reserve, piety than native-born British libertines, who never pray, can’t keep their trousers on and vomit on tradition.”
Outclassed – Does Class Matter In The Theatre?
“There is a huge gulf in content between the upper and lower-class shows: the top and bottom are more satisfying because they share a shameless clarity of intention. The middle way, where many of us belong, tries to appeal widely and ‘correctly’. The result is muddled and tame.”
The Slur As Entertainment
A number of recent entertainment projects suggest that “old-school mockery, refitted for a new, post-politically-correct era, is making a comeback.”
What Will Be South Bank?
London’s South Bank is suffering a creative crisis. “The building and the complex surrounding it is still supposed to be the heart of London’s cultural life and a key element in creative plans for the 2012 Olympic Games, but a shortfall in the money needed to complete a £110m refurbishment is not the only obstacle it faces.”
GAO Signs Off On Smithsonian/Showtime Deal
The federal government’s General Accountability Office has announced that it could find no evidence that the Smithsonian Institution’s controversial deal with the Showtime cable networks was hampering the abilities of other researchers to access those same materials. “The GAO review, begun last June, said its inquiry had prompted the Smithsonian and Showtime to make clear that researchers’ ideas do not have to be presented first to Showtime to gain Smithsonian access.”
Study Ranks San Fran #1 For Arts
The Urban Institute, a Washington-based think tank, has released a study ranking 60 U.S.cities by the cultural vitality they display. San Francisco came out on top, followed by New York, and then a collection of other arts hubs such as Boston, L.A., Nashville, Seattle, and Minneapolis.