Hitler’s Mein Kampf still sells. A few weeks ago a signed copy sold at auction for £23,800. In Turkey, the book hit the bestseller list this year. It was the bestselling book of the 20th Century. “Mein Kampf is still available in the UK and the US, and sells enough to keep itself comfortably in print. Germany, by contrast, has – since 1945 – rigorously banned it. Israel, unsurprisingly, also favours suppression. In 1999 the Simon Wiesenthal Centre prevailed on Amazon not to dispatch copies of Mein Kampf to Germany or anywhere else it is proscribed.”
Tag: 05.27.05
What Critics Need…
“What critics have trouble doing is developing their own robust, well grounded taste. “Taste” is an antique concept but an irreplaceable one. Most people, even cultural theorists who would not grant the concept any credence in their academic work, exercise taste all the time in their non-academic life. Just ask them about the last movie they saw, or (even better) the music their kids are listening to. But because taste is something of a taboo topic in academia, many well credentialed critics do not feel very confident of their own judgment, which makes them vulnerable to being swept up by one or the other side in the so-called culture war.”
Sylvie Guillem At 40
Ballet star Sylvie Guillem finds her career changing as she rounds the corner of 40. “The “Mademoiselle Non” of the 1990s (the nickname ruefully given to her by Sir Anthony Dowell) is still turning down roles, but now it’s because she has a whole new game plan in view – a new language of movement, a new challenge, a new direction. And later, perhaps, a film, or directing a company, or founding a school. This is no longer a woman willing to be hired to display her accomplishments. She is making the world dance to her tune.”
The Electric Brush
An electronic brush promises to give artists more control of their digital work. “Unlike other painting programs that allow artists to pick up colors from a limited computer palette, I/O Brush lets people paint with colors and textures that might come from, for instance, a piece of fruit, a favorite shirt, a memento from a trip, a teddy bear or garden flowers. The brush contains a microphone, a miniature video camera, and sensors and is wired to a computer that runs a touch screen. An artist picks up “ink” from her environment by lightly brushing over the desired object.”
Italy Vs. Marion True
Getty curator Marion True is caught in a difficult test of antiquities ownership. “In a case that attorneys and True’s colleagues say is highly unusual, if not unique, she has been indicted in Italy on criminal charges involving the acquisition of antiquities. The trial — at which she is not required to appear — is scheduled to begin July 18. True, 56, is accused of criminal conspiracy to receive stolen goods and illicit receipt of archeological objects. The indictment also alleges that she in effect laundered artworks through a private collection to create a phony paper trail of their provenance.”
The Sarcastic Brain
Where does sarcasm come from? Turns out it’s a very specific part of the brain. “By comparing healthy people and those with damage to different parts of the brain, they found the front of the brain was key to understanding sarcasm…”
Critical Democracy
Is critics’ inluence declining? Who cares? “Just as we don’t need bigger, more powerful and intrusive government, neither do we need fewer, more powerful critics. Today’s profusion of self-appointed critics, publishing via blogs and Podcasts and e-mail lists, is a great thing indeed, bringing the truest form of democracy to the once rarified world of arts criticism. Instead of having to work their way through the academic and corporate-media gauntlet, the best critics simply need to say their piece. If it’s solid, it will eventually rise to the top n just as the best art has done, for millennia. And if this means that there eventually won’t be any jobs left for paid, professional critics, so be it.”
Seattle Theatres Snared By How They Pay Actors
Seattle-area theatres are being told by the state that they can’t treat actors as contractors, and must pay them as employees. “At least three theater companies in the region say they are facing fines from the state Employment Security Department. And dozens of others — along with the broader arts community — are worrying about what the change could mean.”
Star Wars Has Big BO
The latest Star Wars movie becomes the highest-grossing movie of 2005 after only six days. “Sith set yet another record Tuesday by surpassing last summer’s Spider-Man 2 to secure the biggest six-day gross. The film already has records for the biggest two-day, three-day, four-day and five-day grosses, biggest opening day and single day gross in history ($50 million), as well as the biggest four-day opening ($158.4 million).”
Crumbling Buildings Endanger Smithsonian Treasures
A new report says artifacts in the Smithsonian Museum are endangered because of facilities that are in bad disrepair. For example: “A leak at the National Air and Space Museum caused rust on the wing of the first plane to hit Mach 2. Plaster walls are weeping in the Renwick Gallery. Some buildings and exhibits on the Mall and at the National Zoo have closed because of disrepair, and more leaks threaten the Smithsonian’s historic collections and irreplaceable objects, the report says. Cost to fix and maintain the deteriorating facilities over the next nine years? At least $2.3 billion, the Smithsonian estimates — almost 13 times its current facilities budget.”