Category: issues

Game of Thrones producers “Benioff and Weiss apologized in their own statement, explaining that they rent prosthetic body parts in bulk and that, after the scene was shot, someone pointed out the head’s resemblance to Bush.”

“In Nova Scotia, academic, Mi’kmaq and Acadian groups have come forward to say the move should be abandoned, because the decision came without consultation, and because they believe artifacts should remain near the ancestral grounds where they were found.” The minister: But it’s more cost-effective to store them in Quebec.

“The provocative exhibition was the annual Le Printemps des Arts, the Northern African country’s largest visual arts show, which took place in the Tunis suburb of La Marsa. The exhibition featured a work that spelled out the word ‘Allah’ with a string of ants, as well as other pieces that depicted the city of Mecca.”

The Brooklyn Academy of Music’s new Richard B. Fisher Building, with a flexible 250-seat “black box” (it’s actually blue) auditorium, “represents a significant step forward for an organization that for years has craved a dedicated smaller stage for more experimental work.”

“A federal appeals court affirmed Thursday that a 2008 South Park parody of a real-world video – ‘What What (In the Butt)’ – did not infringe on the YouTube video of the same name … [The] the outcome affirms the right that you can get an infringement case thrown out of court – via a fair-use defense – without having to go through an expensive trial.”

“Opposing the arts – then reversing one’s position after recognizing the huge outcry against such a move is (especially for GOP candidates) often a win-win situation. They appease the base then placate the opposition. They look tough, then moderate. And in the process the arts yet again spend valuable time, energy, money and soul defending their very existence and consider their survival a real victory. Meanwhile as Richard suggested, they move the arts towards the private sector version of creativity, and valuable only as an economic stimulator.”

“I mean, this was thousands of advocates who worked really hard over the last year and a half to explain why the arts were important in their communities, to explain what this meant in their lives. And I really believe that that voice was heard by the governor and by legislators.”

“Despite what seems to be an innate preference for more or less literal representation of the visible world, the abstract idea remains to this day both seductive and perennially relevant. Why?”

High-level staff departures, persistent deficits, artists pulling their work from exhibitions, fundraising shortfalls, an entire floor sitting unfinished and unused, and what many see as an excessive reliance on outside rental income – it’s messy down there …

“Even in this increasingly crowded field the new $240 million Tianjin Grand Theater stands out for the boldness of its ambition … Unlike many other grand theaters – an unfortunate number of which stand empty their first few years – the Tianjin Grand Theater also has a performance-packed opening season and a clear vision for its future.”