With so much exciting new art in the world, not to mention the emergence of technology-based art, why did the old and familiar continue to dominate at North America’s biggest museums in 2004? “A youth movement? As if. The biggest news in the art-auction world — often confused with real art-making, or the real world for that matter — was that sale prices by the likes of Mark Rothko and Jasper Johns, artists in their prime way more than 50 years ago, have finally caught up with the mega-bucks sales by the Impressionists… The problem is no one really wants to be on edge. In this country, art is treated like comfort food for the brain.”
Tag: 12.28.04
Up Next: Rockers For Senate File 2347.63!!
Back in the 1960s, you couldn’t swing an acoustic guitar without hitting a folk musician singing a protest song about something that was bugging him, usually something pretty specific. These days, overtly political music is rare, and specific issue-oriented songs are usually eschewed in favor of broader-themed anthems trumpeting such controversial concepts as peace and justice and brotherhood and so on. But a new CD released by aging folkies and frustrated teachers is taking direct aim at the Bush Administration’s controversial No Child Left Behind Act, with proceeds going to fund an alternative school that has been hurt by the act’s reforms.
In The UK: Proposed Laws Threaten Free Speech
The British parliament considers new laws in reaction to violence threatened over a Sikh play in Birmingham. “The fact that we have to be free to outrage one another is potentially in conflict with a law that soon will be put to the Commons that would add ‘incitement to religious hatred’–punishable by seven years in prison–to the equally dubious legislation already on the British books banning ‘incitement to racial hatred’.”
Blockbuster Bids To Buy Hollywood Video
Blockbuster, America’s largest movie-rental chain, says it is making an offer to buy rival Hollywood Video. Blockbuster sys ‘it would offer stockholders of its top rival $11.50 per share in cash, or about $700 million, plus the assumption of $300 million of Hollywood debt, in mid-January.’
Lane Pulls Out Of London Producers
Nathan Lane has had to quit the London production of The Producers. Doctors say he is sufferin from two slipped disks. “The show’s spokesman said Lane was expected to recover in six weeks, enabling him to start shooting the film version at the end of February.”
An Efficient Freeze?
Can an arts funding freeze in the UK be made up by arts organizations becoming more “efficient”? That’s the claim, at least. But theatre managers say their operations are already pretty lean…
Theatres Find New Income Source On Ebay
Some theatres are finding they can raise real money auctioning off items on Ebay, where fans are happy to bid on props and costumes that have been used in shows. “From live auctions to black-tie balls, fundraisers are a necessity for most arts organizations. But using the enormously popular eBay electronic marketplace to augment ticket sales and local philanthropy is a new wrinkle. It is a different way to connect with the world of people who support the theater, who write an annual contribution, and to reach a larger audience.”
Scream: Arrest In Munch Theft
Norwegian police have made an arrest in the theft of two Munch paintings last summer from Oslo’s Munch Museum. “An unnamed 37-year-old man has been charged with the robbery, after being taken in for questioning last week. He denies any involvement and claims to have an alibi.”
In Praise Of The Parking Garage
“Like all buildings, a parking garage can either bring vitality to a city or suck the energy right out of it. There is, of course, the eyesore garage we all know and despise, the three-dimensional cash station for the garage owner that assaults passersby with crumbling concrete and stark fluorescent lights. Yet there also are parking garages with ground-floor shops that enliven sidewalks, and facades that acknowledge that people look at garages as well as drive into them.”
Reviving Salieri
La Scala’s decision to reopen after its renovations with a long-ignored Salieri opera is a high-profile indication that the long-maligned composer’s reputation is being rehabilitated. Why now?