WTC – Are Architects The Only Ones Who Understand?

Why did we end up with such bad designs for the WTC memorial, wonders Jerry Saltz. “How could something so important and sensitive, something so in need of an inspired touch and more time, go so wrong, so quickly? To answer this we need to look back to a month after September 11, when the air was still acrid with the smell of the smoldering wreckage, and the managerial mindset that brought us to this point surfaced. At a packed assembly of architects in Cooper Union’s Great Hall, professionals from all over the globe met and listened to dozens of their own speak about the tragedy in ways I hadn’t heard before or, thankfully, since. I love contemporary architecture, but I was appalled by the breathtaking opinion, expressed by many in attendance, that architects were the only ones who understood the site ‘in the deepest sense’.”

The Composer Who Didn’t Kill Mozart

Ask your average classical music buff how Mozart died, and most will probably answer that he was murdered (or at least driven to the grave) by his jealous rival, Antonio Salieri. This theory has been around for centuries, and was firmly embedded in the modern consciousness by Milos Forman’s 1984 film, Amadeus. But the truth is that Salieri had very little motive to kill off Mozart, and there is nothing but the thinnest anecdotal evidence to link him to the master’s death. Furthermore, Salieri was hardly the hack composer that Amadeus made him out to be, and a newly revived interest in his operatic work is sweeping across Europe.

Am I My Users’ Keeper? Not In Holland.

“The makers of Kazaa, the world’s most popular computer file-sharing program, cannot be held liable for copyright infringement of music or movies swapped on its free software, the Dutch Supreme Court ruled Friday. The decision upheld a 2002 appellate-court verdict… In the United States, a federal judge already has dismissed the entertainment industry’s lawsuits against two rival file-sharing services, Grokster and StreamCast Networks, saying they could not be held liable for what their users do with the software. That ruling has been appealed, with a decision expected in February.”

Havana Biennale Soldiers On

Many supporters of this year’s Havana Biennale withdrew their support after Fidel Castro jail journalists and allowed some artists to be censored. “But with the Castro government struggling to maintain its place on the world stage, and its population suffering under US sanctions dating back to 1961, the hosting of an art biennial is an important opportunity for Cuba and its artists to engage in six weeks of cultural discourse and exchange, as well as for a much needed injection of foreign spending on the island. And with Cuban artists dominating the display, the exhibition functions as an advertisement for native talent. ‘All third world biennials are a strategy to promote the local art. Cuba is no exception’.”

World Bank Loans St. Petersburg $160 Million

The World Bank is loaning St. Petersburg, Russia $160 million to help improve its cultrual sites and infrastructure. “The loans are part of the St Petersburg Economic Development Project, a joint initiative between the Russian government and the World Bank which will see some $240 million spent to improve the city’s business climate, notorious for its corruption and red tape, and to restore important cultural sites which are not attracting as many tourists as they could.”

Dia Closing Manhattan Gallery For Two Years

The Dia Foundation is closing its much-loved Chelsea warehouse gallery for two years of rennovations. “The converted warehouse at 548 West 22nd Street was one of the first art venues in the Chelsea district when it opened in 1987, and with some 60,000 visitors annually, it needs new passenger and freight elevators, climate control, roof repairs, and more lavatories. Trustees have pledged $10 million towards a $50-million campaign that seeks $30 million for the Chelsea space and $20 million for Dia’s acclaimed new museum in Beacon, New York as well as for other long-term projects, including land art by Michael Heizer and James Turrell.”

Detroit – Bigger Than Jazz

Detroit’s troubled Labor Day jazz festival is morphing. “The new festival, which would begin in 2005, will keep jazz at its core but also showcase Detroit’s Motown legacy and the city’s unique contributions to blues, rock, R&B, gospel and techno. The result, according to artistic director Frank Malfitano, will be Detroit’s answer to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and the Montreal Jazz Festival – North America’s biggest and most successful annual music festivals, both of which attract tourists from all over the world.”

An Ethnic Furor In Oakland

“An exhibit at the Oakland Museum examining how the war transformed California is scheduled to open in August. But instead of putting the finishing touches on the exhibit, the museum is working to repair its relationship with the Vietnamese American community. The damage control comes after the museum’s Oct. 24 dismissal of researcher Mimi Nguyen days after she submitted a memo complaining that the exhibit was not sufficiently inclusive of ethnic minorities.” The controversy has been widely reported in California’s Vietnamese press, and a groundswell of popular support for Nguyen is causing headaches for the museum.