“Thanks to spiralling copyright licensing costs, payable to whoever holds the copyright (unions, archives, creators, corporations) — and thanks, too, to the rising cost of insurance to protect against copyright claims — more and more public film footage is no longer available to the Canadian public, nor for use by Canadian creators.”
Tag: 12.06.06
Pork Barrel Portraits
The expectation has been that Canada’s new National Portrait Gallery would be built in Ottawa, the capital. But it appears from internal government documents that the project will be built in Calgary instead. Why Calgary, home of the Stampede ad mythologizer of the cowboy? Prime Minister Stephen Harper hails from the city. ‘Nuff said.
Remembering A DC Theatre Institution
Mike Malone, the choreographer, director and teacher who died Monday at age 63, was a stalwart of the Washington theater community for nearly 40 years. He believed in building institutions where the arts would be an avenue for creativity for young people, and enjoyment for all.
Pamuk: “Im Not A Bridge-Builder”
Orhan Pamuk, on the eve of getting his Nobel Prize for literature, says he’s not interested in the larger cultural connections some want to impose on his work. Pamuk, author of “My Name is Red”, “Snow” and half-a-dozen other novels said he wanted to be considered above all as a writer and not as a bridge between Muslim and Western cultures. “Bridge builder? I don’t like it. I am not writing fiction to explain civilization. This is not my urge.”
Smelly Assault (Even If They’re Cookies)
The California Milk Processor Board, whose ‘Got Milk?’ campaign is famous around the world, thought they had the next big milk promotion. They installed ads at bus shelters that emitted the scent of fresh-baked cookies. But the ads have quickly disappeared after the transit authority “received several complaints from bus riders concerned that the aroma might not be safe.”
Report: LA Arts Support Badly Skewed
A new report says that big established Los Angeles non-profit arts organizations are wildly favored over smaller non-profits. The report notes “a disconnect between the local nonprofit arts community and the for-profit entertainment industry,” and one unidentified arts executive quoted in the study describes L.A.’s signature industry as “a local economic machine that takes ideas from the arts community but doesn’t give back.”
Boston’s Hip New Contemporary
Boston’s Institute for Contemporary Art has a stunning new building on the city’s waterfront. “With the possible exception of a lighthouse, there’s probably never been a building more intensely involved with the sea. The ICA and the harbor enjoy the architectural equivalent of a dating relationship.” The Boston Globe puts together an impressive multimedia package to explore what the new buildng means to the city.
Did Jazz Die In The 1970s?
To counter the claim, jazz bloggers have been weighing in with lists of what they coinsider classice from the era. And a new 70s jazz canon is being created…
Restoration Hard Ware – Restore Bamiyan Buddhas?
“Five years after the Taliban were ousted from power, Bamiyan’s Buddhist relics are once again the focus of debate: Is it possible to restore the great Buddhas? And, if so, can the extraordinary investment that would be required be justified in a country crippled by poverty and a continued Taliban insurgency in the south and that is, after all, overwhelmingly Muslim?”