Michael Kaiser: “Smaller organizations have a harder time developing the large transformational projects than larger organizations. That is why they tend to remain small. If they take the time to plan large, exciting programs four or five years in advance, they would be far more likely to find the resources they require to mount these programs.”
Tag: 06.14.10
Musings Of A First-Edition Addict
“If I took the same interest in controlled substances that I do in books, I’d probably be in some 12-step program. Fortunately, while books are habit-forming they remain legal and there’s no evidence, no matter how musty, that they’re bad for the health.”
To Fight NYC Library Budget Cuts, A 24-Hour Read-In
“Not typically ones to raise their voices, librarians staged an overnight read-in on the steps of the Brooklyn Public Library on Grand Army Plaza to criticize the city’s plan to close 40 branches by month’s end, and to reduce hours and employees at those that remain. The event’s slogan: ‘We Will Not Be Shushed.'”
A YouTube Project Helps Guggenheim Connect With Artists
“Beginning Monday anyone with access to a video camera and a computer will have an opportunity to catch the eye of a Guggenheim curator and vie for a place in a video-art exhibition in October at all of the foundation’s museums” via a project that’s “open even to entrants who don’t consider themselves artists.”
Tony Awards Make Good TV (If You Don’t Know Theatre)
“That I have seen none of your Tony-nominated productions does not impede my enjoyment of the television show that celebrates them. Possibly, it makes it more enjoyable, because I can take it as a series of discrete emotional moments, musical numbers and jokes, unfettered by liking or not liking a particular production. I am happy for everyone who wins.”
Once Again, The Tonys Exalt Commercialism, Not Art
“For the third year in a row the best musical award went not to the work that deserved it but to the one with the greatest box-office potential on the road.” And “just look at the acting victories. Hollywood dominated in a way that befits a season that confirmed again and again the equation of solvency and mega celebrity.”
Memphis, Red, Fences Win Big At Tony Awards
“Memphis, the uplifting, unifying musical about a barrier-crossing white DJ and the gifted black Beale Street musicians he promotes,” took four awards, including Best Musical. Red, John Logan’s two-man drama about the artist Mark Rothko, won six Tonys, including best play, while the revival of August Wilson’s Fences took acting honors for stars Denzel Washington and Viola Davis.
Jean Nouvel’s Serpentine Pavilion In London Is ‘Very, Very Red’
“This annual addition to the summer season [in Kensington Gardens], in its tenth year, has produced many things – Rem Koolhaas-s tethered balloon, Frank Gehry-s explosion in a lumber yard – but it has never before seen a red plastic playground. It’s very plastic and very, very red.”
Music In The Clouds
“An album “collection” is no longer relevant for many listeners. Limited only by the number of songs offered by any service–MOG offers nearly eight million–they can create as many playlists as they like, and access them from almost any device. Whoever comes up with the most powerful and elegant version of the streaming model will have a very big portal.”