Can the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation (based in Scottsdale, Arizona) be saved? “The foundation has been beset with financial woes, revolving-door management, turmoil on its board of directors and faculty and student turnover in its famed architecture school.” One solution being proposed to to try to work with the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy…
Tag: 03.19.05
Gioia: Democratizing The NEA
Dana Gioia’s biggest accomplishment as chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts? “I would say that the major reform I’ve made at the endowment can be summarized pretty easily. Historically, the National Endowment for the Arts thought of itself as a federal agency that served artists. Today, the NEA sees itself as a federal agency which serves the American public by bringing the best of the arts and arts education to all Americans.”
Why NPR Canned D’Arcy
Arts journalists have been buzzing about NPR’s decision to sever its relationship with arts reporter David D’Arcy. Why is D’Arcy out? “An NPR spokesman who asked not to identified said the reporter was fired not for the substance of his report but for failing to observe two of the network’s reportorial guidelines: He allegedly interviewed Lauder on one topic — the general issue of art seized by the Nazis — then used it in a piece about another specific issue, the Schiele case. Moreover, according to the spokesman, D’Arcy made no direct effort to secure MOMA’s response to “specific attacks on its integrity that he intended to broadcast in the piece. NPR requires that the most strenuous efforts be made to do just that and he didn’t do it.”
Imax Operators Defer To Religious Zealots
“Several Imax theaters, including some in science museums, are refusing to show movies that mention [evolution] – or the Big Bang or the geology of the earth – fearing protests from people who object to films that contradict biblical descriptions of the origin of Earth and its creatures. The number of theaters rejecting such films is small, people in the industry say – perhaps a dozen or fewer, most in the South. But because only a few dozen Imax theaters routinely show science documentaries, the decisions of a few can have a big impact on a film’s bottom line – or a producer’s decision to make a documentary in the first place. People who follow trends at commercial and institutional Imax theaters say that in recent years, religious controversy has adversely affected the distribution of a number of films.”
New Contract in Utah, But Controversy Remains
The musicians and management of the beleagured Utah Symphony & Opera have reached tentative agreement on a new contract, after spending the better part of the season in “play-and-talk” mode. The new contract is unlikely, however, to quiet the controversy surrounding the organization’s business model, which has been under fire since the results of an independent study questioning the wisdom of merging Salt Lake City’s symphony and opera company were made public a few weeks ago.
Axelrod Awaits Sentencing, Could Get Three Years
New Jersey philanthropist Herbert Axelrod, who pled guilty to tax evasion and has been accused of defrauding the New Jersey Symphony in the $17 million sale of a collection of supposedly rare string instruments, will be sentenced for his crimes on Monday, and faces a possible 3-year prison sentence. The 77-year-old Axelrod fled the U.S. shortly after being indicted, and was eventually captured in Germany.
Saudi Censorship Starting To Crumble
“Pioneered two decades ago by men whose work is banned here, a genre of politically charged fiction in Saudi Arabia is now being produced by more writers and in greater quantity than ever before. It marks an artistic advance in a society in which writers have long confronted the deadening effect of state censorship, and a milestone in a desert kingdom where most people were illiterate a generation ago. The writing reflects the rising discontent in the kingdom and across the Middle East, where young populations increasingly exposed to Western ideas are demanding more social and political freedom. By taking on the powerlessness of women, the tyranny of tribal society and the role of religion in the birthplace of Islam, the writing is slowly undermining the cultural conventions that have kept provocative fiction off bookshelves here for years.”
Taking The Measure Of Merce
Merce Cunningham is old, and there’s no getting around that fact. At 86 years old, he is a physical shadow of his former self, unable to dance or even walk without a lot of assistance. “But if his body no longer wishes to do his bidding, his mind continues to inspire people who rightly regard him as the enemy of cliché and the champion of difference. The fact that one of America’s greatest universities has mounted its largest-ever interdisciplinary arts project under the title Encounter Merce bears eloquent witness to the potency of his influence… And who better to embody creativity in the arts than a man whose entire career has been devoted to taking the path less travelled by?”
Casting the Canadian LoTR Dream Team
So Toronto will play host to the first theatrical staging of Lord of the Rings. That’s all well and good, but who exactly is going to headline such a blockbuster show? If we know Canada, the best bet to sell tickets will be to pack the cast with Canadian superstars, so what about Christopher Plummer as Gandalf, Jim Carrey as Gollum, Martin Short as Bilbo Baggins, or even (wait for it) Celine Dion as Legolas? Hey, it could happen…
Free Market Competition Comes To Academia
“In the academic world, the Chronicle of Higher Education is the newspaper of record. From stories of embattled administrators to the latest faculty appointments, its 140-plus pages have provided readers with industry news, job listings and similar information each week for nearly 40 years. Last January, three ex-employees challenged the Chronicle’s grip on academic news by going online with a free, Web-based rival, insidehighered.com… In the coming months, insidehighered.com plans a major marketing campaign that will include advertising and direct mail,” with the focus on the versatility and publication speed of the online model. The site’s founders even expect it to turn a profit in the not-too-distant future.