UK Sound Artists Lead the Way

Britain’s experimental musicians are now what the YBAs were for visual art in the 90s. “While pop seems to have run out of new ideas, preferring to find witty ways to reinvent the sounds of decades past, these artists are pushing the boundaries of what music can do, and melding it with technology, art, architecture, film and even comedy. ‘Sound art’ is finding a home in galleries and venues that have identified an appetite among the listening public for music that gives the brain, as well as the ears, something to work on.”

Publishers Look For Gold On The Right

“Three of the largest publishers have created imprints – semi-independent publishing companies – to deal specifically with conservative titles. Like their counterparts on the left, few of these books seem intended to convince much of anyone of much of anything. Authors have been preaching to the choir or, more accurately, throwing to the carnivorous choir chunks of bloody red meat.”

Daniel Barenboim On The State Of Music In America

“The fact remains that a great majority of the intellectuals in this world are totally oblivious to the existence of music. Some of them enjoy the sounds they hear at concerts or when they listen to records at home. But it’s not part of their intellectual worldview. This is a worldwide sickness. And I have to say the problem is more acute in America.”

Inside The Psychology Of Portraiture

“The painted portrait tried to give the answer before the advent of photography (though each medium provides a different answer), but it was always constrained by the demands of the times in which it was being painted. The painter was not necessarily trying to achieve an exact likeness – the face, for centuries, was the least important part of the portrait. What mattered was giving an impression of status – it was the clothes, the jewels, the background that spoke loudest. Nevertheless, there is still something to be learned from standing and staring.”

An Inconvenient Dedication

“Literary dedications began with scribblers in the 18th-century sucking up to rich patrons. It was only in the past 100 years that they became vehicles for private missives and Valentines.
Decoding them is fun – with luck you can catch an illuminating flash as the authorial skirts are momentarily lifted. But, when love turns sour, loving dedications can have a horrible, inexpungable irony. Novels have an unfortunate habit of surviving marriages.”

Baltimore Symphony Works To Smooth The Road

The Baltimore Symphony has had a bumpy ride in the past year, hiring a new music director and seeing its management leaders depart. “The orchestra has been further roiled by continuing budget deficits and sparse attendance at many concerts – problems that have led similar orchestras to fold in recent years. Now, though, with a former corporate executive shepherding the orchestra and a beefed-up role for musicians in major decisions, the BSO says it’s in the midst of a crescendo.”

“Boys” Take Home The Tonys

“The History Boys” received six Tonys, more than any other production, also taking home prizes for actor, Richard Griffiths; director, Nicholas Hytner; featured actress, Frances de la Tour; and two design prizes, sets and lighting. While “Jersey Boys,” picked up the top musical prize and received four Tonys, its main competitor, “The Drowsy Chaperone,” the Canadian-born musical that affectionately celebrates Broadway’s past, won more awards — five — including best book and score.”

The Future Of Canadian TV?

A new study of the Canadian TV industry says that “Canadian broadcasters and producers are going to have to integrate more with the global media business to prosper in the new digital environment. While “public financial support will always be necessary to achieve cultural objectives” in Canada, the paper acknowledges that this support has stagnated in recent years at the same time as the regulatory protections afforded by organizations like the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission have started to erode.”

Gender Barrier Officially Down At U.S. Museums

There was a time when top jobs at museums were more or less off-limits to women, but a survey of today’s art world shows that the glass ceiling has long since shattered, and to good effect. “Women are especially prominent at the nation’s top tier of modern and contemporary art museums… Directors point to women’s long history of involvement in museum-dom, the culmination of decades of institutional advancement and greater diversity on the boards of trustees that hire directors.”

Baltic Gallery Under Examination

The Baltic Arts Center in Northeast England is under investigation. The gallery has “threatened legal action against conceptual artist Chris Burden in an attempt to recover costs of £100,000. Questions have also been raised about a £175,000 commission by former Turner Prize winner Antony Gormley, who now serves as a Baltic trustee. The two cases provide an unusual insight into the financial arrangements between artists and public galleries, which are usually shrouded in confidentiality.”