Why are corporate donations to the arts dropping in New Jersey? Part of the reason is corporate mergers. “Arts leaders point to the merger activity as a prime reason why corporate donations are on the decline. When two corporations merge, a plus b never equals c. C somehow turns out to be less,” “In the past, you were getting money from two, three, or four companies and now you’re getting one. That’s especially true in the banking community.”
Tag: 04.23.06
Pulitzer Doesn’t Often Launch Great Theatrical Careers
The theatre world is buzzing angrily about the Pulitzer board’s decision not to hand out a drama award this year. “But does it matter to Joe or Jane theatergoer? Though the Pulitzer carries a cash prize and a snoot-full of prestige, it’s hardly a guarantee that your play is suddenly and immediately going to be staged across the country… In journalism, a Pulitzer Prize is a gold-plated invitation to write your own ticket… In theater, the small-but-tasteful crystal trophy that comes with the Pulitzer Prize makes for a great tchotchke to mark a thrilling moment. But a career maker? Not so much.”
British Library To Shift Its Intellectual Focus
China and India – already braced to become two of the world’s greatest economic powers – are now expected to become two of its most important academic powerhouses. The British Library – renowned for collecting books, journals and artefacts from across the globe – is set to shift its focus from Western Europe towards China and India, to ensure Britons have access to the most important research. Staff will outline the new strategy on Tuesday along with their predictions that the two countries could overtake the West as intellectual and cultural hotspots.”
Taking The Art World To Task
A prominent British pop artist is accusing the UK arts establishment of treating young artists like prostitutes and strippers, and of ripping off up-and-comers who don’t know any better. “When I went into the art world, I didn’t have any knowledge of the little systems, all of the details of the interaction between you and the dealer. I just thought, if you make great art, you can put it anywhere, the environment is irrelevant. But it’s not about that, it’s about the psychological exchange. The art world is really exactly the same as the sex industry: you have to be completely on guard, you will get shafted, f****d over left, right and centre. And you will also meet charming, wonderful people like a rainbow at the end of the day.”
The Risk Of The Broadway Crossover
Broadway stages continue to be cluttered with Hollywood stars. But are such crossovers really worth it for anyone involved? ” For a variety of reasons — challenge, prestige, New York media exposure, time on their hands, a desire to really act, for once — these stars can be persuaded to work for not much money at all… But there are serious risks for all concerned. Celebrities may or may not be any good. They’re under enhanced scrutiny. And if they embarrass themselves, a lot of people lose in a lot of different ways. And there’s no big payday to wipe away the pain.”
What Is The iPod Doing To Film Cuture?
As iPod’s video capability continues to gain credibility in the marketplace, Ty Burr wonders where movies are headed. “This could be insanity. Or it could be the way our kids may someday watch movies: if not on an iPod, then on a similar portable device bigger than a postage stamp and smaller than a kitchen television. Rend your garments and wail over the death of the big-screen experience all you want, movies are slowly and unstoppably becoming disassociated from the theaters in which we’ve been seeing them for more than a century.”
Was Bach Fronting For His Wife?
“A study by an academic who has spent more than 30 years looking at Bach’s work claims that Anna Magdalena Bach, traditionally believed to be Bach’s musical copyist, actually wrote some of his best-loved works, including his Six Cello Suites… He points to what he regards as the uniquely symmetrical nature of the work, and to the fact that the manuscripts included many corrections and adjustments, suggesting that they were original composing scores.” Scholars are intrigued, but several prominent performers are skeptical.
Donor Fatigue Comes To The O.C.
Cultural business is booming in Orange County, California (a suburban enclave near Los Angeles,) but all the big plans may be too much even for the residents of America’s wealthiest county. Non-profit organizations in the area are fundraising up a storm, and are hoing to raise more than $1 billion between them. The goals may be worthy, but donors are quickly getting tired of being solicited.
BSO Debuts Podcast
Following in the footsteps of other American orchestras which have recently begun to embrace new technologies, the Boston Symphony is launching a free series of video podcasts as part of its two-year focus on the music of Beethoven and Schönberg. “The videos, which range in length from one to five minutes, discuss important works by the two composers, illustrated with still photographs, paintings, images of scores, video, and musical examples. They originated on the orchestra’s ambitious web site as part of its three-year-old Online Conservatory project, but are now available through Apple’s iTunes music store.”
Is Manhattan Still King?
Within New York’s famously provincial cultural scene, the world has always begun and ended with Manhattan. Good things could happen in the other four boroughs, of course, but until you’d made it in Manhattan, you weren’t really going to be taken seriously. So can it really be possible that Manhattan has suddenly become, well… uncool? “Is hipness a zero-sum solution? If Heath Ledger digs Boerum Hill and the Bronx is busy with poetry readings, does that mean Manhattan is becoming the plodding parent to these boisterous boroughs?”