Paul McGuinness said he believed the Silicon Valley culture and its ecosystem had to undergo a cultural shift, noting the original “hippy values” of the west coast technology pioneers in the late 1970s and their internet equivalents in the late 1990s. “Embedded deep down in the brilliance of those entrepreneurial, hippy values seems to be a disregard for the true value of music,” he said.
Tag: 01.29.08
Federal Stolen Art Investigation Broadens Nationally
“On Thursday, the same day federal agents raided four Southern California museums suspected of displaying stolen art, authorities also searched the private museum of Barry MacLean, a trustee of the prestigious Art Institute of Chicago. The newly revealed allegations have significantly raised the stakes of the ongoing investigation, suggesting that a suspected network of illegal art dealers extended far beyond Southern California and included objects far more valuable than those previously revealed.”
Smithsonian – A Need To Reconcile Business And Art
“We clearly need to restructure the Smithsonian Business Ventures. We want to make sure that decisions are not only driven by profit but also by the mission.”
Task Force Recommends “Course Correction” For Smithsonian Business Unit
The troubled for-profit side of the Smithsonian has has a rocky relationship with the museum side. Acting Secretary Cristian Samper “said the restructuring and renaming, as well as putting the museums’ mission before profit, were more than cosmetic changes. He emphasized that the new structures would make the museums ‘shareholders’ and would lead to stronger oversight and empowerment of the museum directors.”
And People Don’t Read Books Anymore?
“The book world has always had an invisible asset that makes up for what it lacks in outsize revenue and profits: the passionate attachment that its authors, editors and most frequent customers have to books themselves. Indeed, in this respect, avid book readers resemble avid Mac users.”
Justice For All (In A Building)
“Historically, architects expressed judicial power by building massive neoclassical temples decorated with inspirational quotations and noble statuary. The results were often fortresses that intimidated the innocent and the guilty alike. By contrast, Rafael Vinoly imaginatively mixes dignity and welcome, even in a two-block-long, nine-story structure that leaps over a side street.”