You Just Can’t Get Good Help These Days

California artist Clinton Fein is used to getting flak for his blatantly political and often shocking artworks. But this past week, Fein found himself on the receiving end of a protest from an unlikely source: the printer he had hired to produce his giant prints. The online printing company Zazzle rejected two of the pieces Fein submitted, claiming that their ultra-provocative content violated their standards. Fein is accusing the company of censorship; Zazzle says it’s a perfectly understandable business decision.

Playing The Blame Game In Harlem

With a deficit of $2.3 million, Dance Theatre of Harlem is in trouble, and not for the first time. It has laid off dancers, canceled this season’s performances and lost nearly its entire board. Former board members blame company founder Arthur Mitchell’s incompetence; he blames theirs. At 70, the fiercely devoted Mitchell looks to the past — his and the company’s — to answer questions about the future.

Selling Broadway With Graphic Design

“Good play posters do more than just give theater lovers, collectors and local luncheonettes artwork to display on their walls. They sell a show. To do that, they must catch your eye and hold it long enough for you to see who’s in a show and what it’s about. In those few seconds, you can get psyched about seeing the show. Simple, right? Anything but.”

Court Deals Recording Industry A Major Blow

The Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal of the federal court ruling that barred the music industry from compelling internet providers to turn over the names and addresses of their subscribers. The decision could throw a major monkey wrench into the industry’s tactic of suing illegal file-traders anonymously, then forcing providers to match the computer footprints with user information. A high court decision on whether it will rehear a separate case concerning the liability of manufacturers in piracy cases has not yet been announced.

A Better Use For Botox

“Botox hits the headlines these days chiefly as a sort of fashion accessory – the celebrities’ wrinkle-remover. But in the case of the veteran American pianist Leon Fleisher, its effectiveness in treating muscular contraction has given him back the use of his right hand, out of action for more than three decades… Fleisher has now teamed up with the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation to launch his Freedom to Play campaign, aimed at helping musicians – some 10,000, says Fleisher – who suffer from the complaint, either in the hands or, in the case of wind players, the mouth.”

Axelrod Fighting Extradition

Fugitive philanthropist Herbert Axelrod, accused of tax fraud and under investigation for overcharging the New Jersey Symphony on the 2003 purchase of a collection of valuable instruments, is appealing his extradition from Germany, and will likely not be returned to U.S. custody for weeks or even months. Axelrod had been scheduled to appear in federal court this Friday – that court date has been canceled.

Want Musical Kids? Surround Them With Sound

“Educators and others agree that early and regular exposure is the key to developing a child’s true appreciation for music. … The music appreciation process should be fun, too, experts say. But whatever form of music you seek to promote with your children, there are time-tested rules: expose them to the music early and often; make music a recurring positive experience; and be creative.”

Voting Gets A Redesign (Literally)

In the past four years, voting has been revitalized as an issue in the United States, but usually when people talk about taking another look at the design of the system, they’re not thinking about aesthetics. Frank Gehry, Christo, Robert A.M. Stern, Diane von Furstenberg and Richard Meier are some of those who are. “The Voting Booth Project, on display at Parsons School of Design in New York, features offbeat interpretations of about 50 of the Votomatic booths used in Florida during the controversial 2000 presidential election.”