One Los Angeles Frank Lloyd Wright house renovated, another falling down a hill. “If only it were that simple. It turns out that Ennis-Brown, once you get past the gaping holes on its lower flank, looks surprisingly good, particularly its stunning split-level living and dining room space — though that shouldn’t dissuade you from making a donation to help shore it up. And at the Barnsdall House, the handsome renovations can’t disguise the dispiriting mess the city has made, and continues to make, of its site or that behind its low walls is one of Wright’s least appealing domestic interiors.”
Tag: 07.03.05
Movie Downturn? It’s Because They’re Not Very Good
Hollywood is full of excuses why movie box office is down so much this spring. But. “None of the half-dozen excuses is sufficient, nor as convincing as the most obvious explanation: The current movies are particularly bad. Though popular success and quality have no direct relationship (The Pacifier and Hitch both made more than $100-million), audiences may have finally got tired after a particularly lousy string of weekend releases.”
Still Looking – Raising Interest In a Clyfford Still Museum
Where is money for Denver’s new $20 million Clyfford Still Museum goinbg to come from? “People have been waiting and wondering what was going to happen with the Still estate for years and years. And I think the news it is going to land safely some place as prominent as Denver is going to be greeted not only with a huge sigh of relief from the international art crowd but also an expectation of something great.”
Of America’s Gay And Straight Composers…
Where does the classic “American” sound come from? Aaron Copland “was one of a group of composers who, starting in the 1930s, cultivated a new nationalist – or at least populist modernist – style. And most of them were gay, including Virgil Thomson, Samuel Barber, Leonard Bernstein, David Diamond, Lou Harrison, Paul Bowles, Marc Blitzstein and Ned Rorem. By contrast, most of the pricklier modernists, including Charles Ives, Elliott Carter and Roger Sessions, were straight.”
Freedom Tower – Death By 1000 Cuts
Blair Kamen adds his voice to those criticizing the latest plans for the WTC Freedom Tower. “The problems, evident in almost every aspect of the rebuilding, threaten to undermine the carefully conceived balance between remembrance and renewal that was the hallmark of Daniel Libeskind’s brilliant, competition-winning master plan. What they add up to is death by a thousand cuts rather a single mortal blow — and the danger that unless public officials here stop their blather about everything going smoothly, the rebuilt ground zero will turn out to be a whittled-down version of Libeskind’s plan rather than a sparkling realization.”
A Director Weighs In On Critics
Why isn’t American theatre criticism more of a “companion piece” than a Consumer Reports verdict, wonders Anna Shapiro. “Two things baffle me and make me angry, and they are this: When somebody writes about a new play and says the play is beautiful; the production is beautiful; the performances are stunning; the directing is weak. That makes me angry. But not as angry as: The direction is beautiful; the production is wonderful; the actors are amazing; the play is weak. That makes even less sense to me.”
Tanglewood Begins Levine Era
James Levine starts his first summer leading the Tanglewood Festival. “Everyone expects Tanglewood to be transformed in the Levine era, but no one knows yet what direction the changes will take. Levine has been at the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s summer home, festival, and school only twice before, as an audience member in 1956, when he was 13, and as a guest conductor in 1972. He’s been careful to say that he needs to experience the way Tanglewood does things before thinking about making changes. Change is one of the things Tanglewood is supposed to be about.”
Lockhart – Ten Years At Pops
It’s been ten years since Keith Lockhart took over the Boston Pops Orchestra. “Now, at 45, having led more than 800 Pops performances, Lockhart feels the weight of his increasingly demanding schedule and the economic pressures facing the orchestra.”
Fortress America: Foreign Travel To The US Is Way Down
“Planned federal passport and visa rules and other measures intended to safeguard the nation are creating the perception of a Fortress America overseas, tarnishing this country’s reputation for hospitality and personal freedom. As a consequence, visa applications from foreign travelers have dropped by one-third from pre-Sept. 11 levels, and fewer foreign students are applying to U.S. schools. Moreover, travel agents report booking foreign travelers away from the United States, and airlines that serve overseas hot spots say business is down on their routes to the United States.”
Aussie Artists Protest Plan To Kill Compulsory University Union Fees
A move by the Australian government to to do away with compulsory student union fees at universities has artists concerned. “Every year, students pay a compulsory union fee, which varies between $100 and $500, depending on the campus. Student-run bodies use the money to pay for services such as food and bar subsidies, sporting grounds, advocacy services, galleries and campus sport and arts clubs. A proportion is also used to fund political pursuits, including campaigns against higher university fees. The Government says students who never use these services or don’t join campus clubs shouldn’t be forced to pay for them, and has drafted a bill to make the fee voluntary.” Artists say the cut in fee collections will kill programs.