Discovery of a long-hidden Leonardo fresco behind a Vasari painting in the Palazzo Vecchio has put Florence’s art solons in a difficult spot. “Councillor for culture, Rosa di Giorgi, is not planning to rip the later fresco off the wall without strong evidence that the Leonardo is in good condition, for as she said ‘Vasari may not have been Leonardo, but he is still Vasari’.” – The Art Newspaper
Tag: 07.28.00
GONE TO THE DOGS (ER, COWS?)
The most visible art in New York this summer is of the animal kind – from the Koons giant dog to cows on parade. – New York Times
GETTING BOOZED FOR BEETHOVEN
“Alcohol and creativity have always staggered along together. We are never surprised when we hear tales of pissed pop stars, inebriated artists, wasted writers. For many, though, it comes as a surprise that classical musicians carry a similar collection of tales and troubles. Set against the rough excess of pop, classical music is seen as a pure and civilising experience.” – The Guardian
MEDIA LAB COMES TO DUBLIN
Tod Machover and MIT’s thinky Media Lab have set up shop in Ireland. “They believe Dublin will host the creation of an entirely new, large-scale art form that combines a variety of media. ‘We need to figure out what comes after theatre, what comes after cinema,’ Machover says. ‘We’re hoping to develop a large part of it in Ireland.'” – Irish Times
MILLENNIUM DOME SOLD
Nomura will buy London’s boondoggle Dome and turn it into a “state-of-the-art entertainment park using the latest in electronic effects and devices, and developing a further tranche of 50 acres around the site to offer shops restaurants cafes and a ‘Camden Lock’ ambience.” – London Evening Standard
MEDIA LAB COMES TO DUBLIN
Tod Machover and MIT’s thinky Media Lab have set up shop in Ireland. “They believe Dublin will host the creation of an entirely new, large-scale art form that combines a variety of media. ‘We need to figure out what comes after theatre, what comes after cinema,’ Machover says. ‘We’re hoping to develop a large part of it in Ireland.'” – Irish Times 07/28/00
MOVIE HEARING
A group of deaf movie fans has sued movie theatre chains under the Americans with Disabilities Act, seeking to force the theatres to accommodate them. “We’re looking for some form of captioning for the hearing impaired to be able to access first-run movies at the same time as the non-disabled.” – Wired 07/28/00
BUREAUCRATIC AND POMPOUS?
A former Australian Broadcasting Company producer enumerates ABC’s many shortcomings as he sees them. “Mr Moore also accused the ABC of class bias towards people educated in private schools, adding it was too literal, pompous, middle-brow, and lacking in irony and a sense of humour.” – The Age (Melbourne) 07/28/00
TIMES AXES MIRAPAUL
The New York Times has discontinued Matt Mirapaul’s column on art and technology. “The column was one of the first in the mainstream press to report on the intersection of art and technology, including ‘Web-based art exhibits, interactive music, hypertext fiction and other expressions of digital creativity.” – Wired 07/28/00
WHO OWNS DANCE
The board of the beleaguered Martha Graham company wonders if Graham’s work is really protected by copyright. They may go to court to find out. “The implications of such a ruling would be huge. Choreography was not explicitly protected by copyright law until 1978, so most works created before then would be affected. A ruling that there is no copyright protection would mean that anyone could perform such early Graham works as her 1944 masterpiece, ‘Appalachian Spring.’ ” – Washington Post