The Guardian newspaper is planning an American edition. “Its tentative form is as a weekly magazine, quite unlike any other weekly magazine that has been started in the U.S. in the past generation. Not only is it about politics, but the magazine—meant to be 60 percent derived from the Guardian itself, with the rest to come from American contributors—has a great deal of text unbroken by design elements. This is almost an extreme notion. Quite the antithesis of what virtually every publishing professional would tell you is the key to popular and profitable publishing—having less to read, not more. Even with the Guardian’s signature sans-serif face, it looks like an old-fashioned magazine. Polemical. Written. Excessive. Contentious. Even long-winded.”
Tag: 07.08.03
The Remains Of An Orchestra
The San Antonio Symphony had less than $500,000 in assets when it filed for bankruptcy protection last month, and more than $1 million in unpaid debts, according to court filings recently released to the public. Creditors include a telemarketing firm, an instrument insurance company, and radio giant Clear Channel.
French Arts Strikers Disrupt Tour De France
Striking performance artists – who include actors, sound technicians and costume designers – “briefly slowed the Tour de France, tried to block a Rolling Stones concert and canceled opening day of a drama festival in Provence. In the northern town of Saint-Dizier on Tuesday, demonstrators stepped into the road to block cyclists in the Tour de France. The protesters stepped out of the path of the lead cars, but still forced the main pack of racers to slow down, with some touching their feet to the pavement to keep from falling.”
Steinbeck Rockets Past Clinton
In an average year, John Steinbeck’s “East of Eden” sells 40,000 to 50,000 copies. This isn’t an average year. Thanks to Oprah’s Book Club, ‘East of Eden’ is currently No. 2 on the Bestseller list, behind Harry Potter and ahead of Hillary Clinton’s book. “Set in California’s Salinas Valley before World War I, Steinbeck’s tale of two brothers, an unfaithful wife, death and despair has 1.2 million books in print.” Not bad for a book that first came out in 1952. “Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men sells 400,000 copies and The Grapes of Wrath sells 150,000.”
Protest Over Concert At Grant’s Tomb
The Grant’s Tomb Memorial Association is protesting a televised concert last week that used the New York memorial as a backdrop last week. “Beyoncé performed in front of Grant’s final resting place for the July 4 special NBC aired Friday night. The singing siren was surrounded by a band, gyrating dancers and hundreds of screaming fans in a show that was taped days before Independence Day. “This particular memorial also happens to be the man’s tomb. … This is something I think people should take into consideration.”
Burning With Criticism
French pianist Francois-Rene Duchable plans to “destroy two pianos and set his formal recital clothes on fire in a three-concert finale to his professional life, starting at the end of this month. He’ll bring the first program to a close “with a grand piano crashing into Lake Mercantour, the second with his suit in flames and the third, in August, with the explosion of a piano in mid-air.” Why?…
New deYoung Museum Rises In SF
San Francisco’s new deYoung Museum, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, and scheduled to open in 2005, is rising. “The structure of the $200 million city-owned museum, made with 2,122 tons of steel and 2,500 tons of rebar, is nearly complete. In the next few weeks, the twisting concrete tower that will afford panoramic views of the city, the Golden Gate Bridge and the ocean – a nod to the signature tower of the old Spanish-style de Young, demolished 14 months ago – will take shape.”
Jazz Sales Up In Canada
Sales of jazz and blues recordings in Canada have gone up, says a new report. But all other genres of music have experiences declining sales. “Sales of recordings by Canadian artists totalled $138-million in 2000, down 10.4 per cent from 1998. Canadian artists continue to represent about 16 per cent of the market, by sales, a situation Statistics Canada said has remained a constant since the mid-1990s.”
French Strike Cancels, Disrupts Arts Festivals
French show unions say they’ll go ahead with a strike during the Avignon Festival. “The strike by actors, dancers, filmmakers and technicians has already cancelled dozens of artistic events throughout France during the summer festival season. In some cases, artists didn’t call off shows but merely disrupted them, blasting fog horns or bursting on-stage to explain their demands. Some festival organizers have waited day by day to see if performers would return to the stage.”
Eliminating Arts Funding Will Damage California
California is considering eliminating its state arts funding. John Killacky writes that the idea is shortsighted. “Should the arts be held exempt when funding for human services, libraries, road repairs, affordable housing and education is being slashed? Of course not, but the intellectual and social capital the arts contribute to the vitality of life in California must not be underestimated. Multiculturalism and innovation are essential elements in making our state’s economy among the largest in the world.”