Category: issues

“Los Angeles has been hated and disrespected for a long time, publicly and privately, by people who live here, by people who visit, by newcomers and old-timers, by writers and commentators and immigrants and transients. For a city that has produced so much art — in film, painting and literature — it remains the place, as Woody Allen famously noted, whose ‘only cultural advantage is that you can make a right turn on a red light’.”

Actor-comedian Michael Richards’ explosive onstage use of the word “nigger” has ignited a movement to obliterate the term and substitute the euphemism “the ‘n’ word.” The idea has comedians debating the power of language, and some, like Dick Gregory, are pointing to the danger of sanitizing speech. ” ‘Calling it “the ‘n’ word” is an insult,’ said Mr. Gregory, whose 1964 memoir was titled ‘Nigger.’ ‘It should be just as much an insult to Jews if they started changing concentration camp to “the ‘c’ word” and swastika to “the ‘s’ word.” You just destroyed history.’ “

Contemplating the Ian McEwan plagiarism accusations, Charles Isherwood nearly sighs aloud. “Doesn’t it seem wearying, this stream of ‘gotcha’ stories trumpeting the news that a novelist or a lyricist or a playwright has used a few turns of phrase or the curves of somebody else’s life story without proper accreditation, or with improper specificity? I half expect to read of a lawsuit brought by a journalist covering last year’s plagiarism scandal against a journalist covering this year’s, asserting copyright infringement.”

Times have been good for North America’s science museums, as blockbuster traveling exhibitions and commercial tie-ins bring in unprecedented crowds. “But the popularity of these branded shows may be exaggerated,” and some say that museums have no business promoting commercial enterprises, regardless of whether the sponsor manages to wedge some educational content into the bargain.

This weekend, a provincial election was held in Alberta, Canada’s most conservative province, and a strange political push was observed among those who work in the arts. Traditionally a monolith of liberalism, Alberta’s artists, musicians, and other cultural workers are “throwing [their] support behind Jim Dinning, the moderate conservative and front-running candidate who has promised to double the budget of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts to $40-million in the next two years.”

“Canadian Heritage Minister Beverley Oda is announcing Monday that her department will provide what sources say is $100-million to repair and upgrade six national cultural institutions in the Ottawa region. Oda will make the announcement at the Canadian Museum of Nature, one of the institutions benefiting from the infrastructure aid package. Other buildings receiving assistance include the National Gallery of Canada, the Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Que., National Battlefields Commission, Science and Technology Museum and the National Arts Centre.”

“A new report from UCLA’s Chicano Studies Research Center suggests struggling women and minority actors might want to bring something extra to their next audition besides a head shot: a civil rights lawyer. Some casting calls that specify gender and ethnicity could violate federal anti-discrimination laws, according to the report by Russell Robinson of the UCLA School of Law, who examined Breakdown Services’ listings of national movie casting calls from June 1 to Aug. 31 and analyzed roles compiled by online movie sites. Robinson’s report concludes that 69% of available acting roles are designed for white males….”

“Cardiff’s St. David’s Hall and New Theatre have reported huge financial losses following the opening of the Wales Millennium Centre, a £106 million performing arts venue on Cardiff Bay that opened in November 2004… The two halls, which are managed together by the Welsh capital’s municipal government, ran up losses totaling £5.2 million in the 2005-06 fiscal year, up almost £900,000 from the previous year. Both venues are expected to lose an extra £283,000 in 2006-07.”

“Sir Nicholas Serota heads a list of eminent museum directors, curators and historians who have signed a petition against the prosecution of Henry-Claude Cousseau, a French colleague who has been accused of exhibiting child pornography as art… His alleged crime is staging an exhibition of provocative and explicit images, including a painting by Gary Gross of a young girl in a bath, heavily made-up and looking seductive, a video piece by Elke Krystufek, in which a girl performed a graphic masturbation scene, and photographs by Annette Messager of young children with their eyes scratched out.”

The debate over how major arts groups should be funded in Wales is continuing, as a review rejecting the notion of “direct funding” by the government is published. “Instead, the review recommends a new arts board with representatives from the arts council, assembly government and other public bodies. The board, chaired by the culture minister, would oversee arts strategy… Much of the practical element seems to amount to the creation of the new arts board – yet another committee, something we are all too familiar with.”