The New MoMA, From The Inside Out

Much has been made of the new home of New York’s Museum of Modern Art, but what about what’s inside the building? MoMA’s collection has been wholly reordered and rearranged, and the results are impressive, says Linda Hales. The museum has made use of the increased space to broaden its outlook and move beyond the Bauhaus to a much wider array of contemporary art. The idea is for MoMA to retain its commitment to featuring 20th-century art movements, even as it devotes more energy to current themes.

Socrates: Books Cause Stupidity

Has the printed word replaced good old-fashioned brain power? “In the days before print, books had to be copied out by hand, like medieval manuscripts. If you were a copyist, you wanted to make sure you weren’t wasting a few years of your life writing out some piece of trash. You stuck with the tried and true: the Bible, or Aristotle, or Virgil. But a printer could publish anything reasonably quickly,” even if it had no real value. Besides, books were never any use to anyone, according to such noted thinkers as Socrates. Writing down information is really just an excuse not to memorize it, and the easy availability of books just encourages idiots to substitute regurgitated information for original thinking.

Would Satellite Radio Help Or Hurt Canada?

Satellite radio is gaining steam in the U.S., but in Canada, the technology still hasn’t managed to get the government’s stamp of approval. In a country which is deathly afraid of being overrun by American culture, the notion of a national radio service exempt from Canadian-first cultural rules is a controversial one. But satellite companies argue that their service would actually help independent Canadian musicians.

No Good Idea Goes Unpunished

Ever since Richard Florida published his groundbreaking book, The Rise of the Creative Class, in 2002, cities have been embracing his formula for success. But the backlash against Florida’s arts-first agenda has been brutal, and has come from both sides of the political spectrum. “The one side accuses Florida… of having a ‘gay agenda’ or an ‘arts agenda’ and of undermining the Judeo-Christian foundations of our society. The other asserts that he has abandoned the working class in favor of promoting a group of elites.” For his part, the author claims that his work has been over-simplified and misinterpreted, and is getting tired of knee-jerk reactions.

A Museum Closes, But Does Anyone Care?

When Chicago’s Terra Museum of American Art shuts its doors this weekend, it will represent a major loss in the city’s cultural landscape. Or will it? “The Terra Museum’s failure to draw crowds even after effectively eliminating its admission charge a few years ago led to the decision to close… [but] most Chicagoans, including members of the city’s art establishment, have greeted the closing with a collective shrug, even though it leaves the city with only two major art museums.”

Museum Clashes With eBay Over ‘National Treasures’

“At a news conference this week, the British Museum’s head of treasure, Roger Bland, called on eBay to agree quickly to ‘pull down’ Web auctions of artifacts when British authorities identify them as potential national treasures, a step that eBay has been reluctant to undertake without legal proof that the items qualify as treasure… In negotiations that have stretched over a year, eBay has agreed in principle that it doesn’t want illicit antiquities on its Web site and is willing to remove them provided the British authorities can state clearly which ones are illegal. But British officials have not been able to give a clear definition.”

Degas’ Private Life

“Along with the other stars of the Impressionist movement, Auguste Renoir and Claude Monet, Degas has been one of the most recognised and popular painters in the world; and of Degas the man, we know almost nothing. But the peculiarities of his private life did not escape his contemporaries – nor were his quirks denied by the artist himself.”

Met Opera Names Record Exec To Succeed Volpe

The Metropolitan Opera has named Sony Classical president Peter Gelb to succeed Joseph Volpe as general manager. The appointment came more quickly than some observers were anticipating – Volpe won’t leave his post until 2006 – and Gelb could be seen as an unexpected GM, having had no direct experience in the performance world. “The Met has 850 full-time and 1,200 part-time employees and a budget of $204 million, and it mounts as many as 30 productions a year. The general manager has to deal with 18 unions, scores of instrumentalists and temperamental stars.”