The art market is humming. But can it continue winning? “In the art world, there’s a clear delineation between those who experienced the last crash, in the early nineties, and those who didn’t. ‘This market is fueled by collectors who have never been through a correction,’ says art adviser Darlene Lutz, active since the eighties. ‘The generations who did are watching this with disbelief. It’s like teenagers who have unprotected sex thinking they’ll never get pregnant. And then, whoops . . . look what happened’!”
Tag: 03.27.06
Of Thee I Sing – Musicals Bloom In West End
London is poised to be awash in musicals on an order no one can remember.
The Smartest Countries In Europe (A List)
Germany comes out on top in a new study, followed by the Netherlands. Researchers say “that populations in the colder, more challenging environments of Northern Europe had developed larger brains than those in warmer climates further south. The average brain size in Northern and Central Europe is 1,320cc and in southeast Europe it is 1,312cc.”
Da Vinci Code Hype (Get Ready)
The book seems like a license to print money. “It certainly has meant ‘print more books.’ Now it also means “print movie tickets, paperbacks, store displays, posters.” Think of a tickertape parade with all that paper raining down: Dan Brown’s controversial thriller about a murdered art curator and a centuries-old Vatican conspiracy is going to generate heaps of paper in the next two months. And a lot of it will be green.”
The Mystery Of Da Vinci Code’s Success
On the eve of the release of the Da Vinci Code in paperback, Julia Keller wonders: “why is “The Da Vinci Code” such a hit? What accounts for its sensational success?”
The Woman With The Perfect Memory
A woman named AJ remembers everything that ever happened to her. Everything. “Give her any date, she said, and she could recall the day of the week, usually what the weather was like on that day, personal details of her life at that time, and major news events that occurred on that date.”
The Most Powerful Woman In British Publishing
As co-director of Cactus Television, Amanda Ross is described as “the most powerful woman in British publishing. All the other reasons can be summarised in two names and three words: Richard and Judy.”
Orange County PAC Embezzler Sentenced
A former accounting employee at the Orange County Performing Arts Center has been sentenced to ten years in prison after admitting she embezzled $1.85 million from the center. She “started working at the center in 1995 and from September 2000 to September 2005 pocketed cash that was supposed to be deposited into bank accounts. She then created false records to show that the money had been deposited, prosecutors said. She was ordered to pay back the money, plus 10 percent interest.”
Broadway Gets Back To Pre-9/11 Box Office
“During the 2004/5 season, 1,302,590 international visitors attended a Broadway show. That total is on a par with figures for 1999-2000 of 1,320,617. It marks a significant improvement on figures from 2000/1 to 2003/4, which were 1,106,284, 525,834, 651,093 and 1,241,786, respectively. Additionally, internet purchases of theatre tickets have drastically increased over the last five years, with 29% of those surveyed mentioned that as the preferred method of purchase, up from 7% in 1999-2000.”
Ballet Meets West African
Cincinnati Ballet is learning African dance. “Essentially, ballet is an attempt to reject gravity. Almost everything a ballet dancer does is trying to deny the existence of it. Leaps, pirouettes – even pointe shoes themselves. They’re about giving an appearance of weightlessness. In much African dance gravity is an ally, a force to work with, not against.”