Category: today’s top story

In response to the contretemps between Bianca Jagger (blithely taking flash photos during a performance) and critic Mark Shelton (who chewed Jagger out, in person and then in print), The Guardian‘s arts writers conferred and came up with some sorely needed up-to-date guidelines. (Will the people who need them pay attention?)

“Suggesting to the nonprofit sector they might learn something by studying the habits of their for-profit brethren is a bit like suggesting a priest might want to learn something from a rock and roll promoter. It upsets people. But who knows? Maybe the priest should take a gander at the fellow in the next auditorium.”

“Without a clear and detailed theory of how and why creative placemaking is effective, policy and philanthropy to support creative placemaking is hobbled. Attempting to predict and judge impact based on indicator systems alone carries with it at least four problems.”

“Maurice Sendak, American born author of Where the Wild Things Are, has died at the age of 83. Over a career that began in the late 1940s he illustrated more than 100 books and wrote more than 20, but it was Where the Wild Things Are, published in 1963, that made his name internationally, selling over 17m copies.”

“While there are many moments of breathtaking refinement, and the galleries themselves are a revelation, the result is sadly – no, tragically – a long way from being a successful addition to the city.”

“For all the praise HD deserves, and it deserves a great deal, this disconnect is damning. What the audience in a movie theater experiences is not just the opposite of opera. It is the undoing of opera, an art form in which a present, active audience is fundamental.”

“A panel of five Tunisian judges Thursday convicted TV magnate Nabil Karoui of ‘disturbing public order’ and ‘threatening public morals’ by broadcasting the French movie Persepolis. … Karoui was fined $1,600.”

“Sotheby’s New York sold Edvard Munch’s 1895 The Scream for $119.9 million on Wednesday night, setting a record for the most expensive artwork sold at auction. The top spot was previously held by Picasso’s 1932 Nude, Green, Leave and Bust – a painting of his much-younger lover Marie-Thérèse Walter that sold at Christie’s in 2010 for $106.5 million.”

“WQXR pulled a blog posting critical of the Metropolitan Opera’s new Ring cycle last month after the Met’s general manager, Peter Gelb, personally complained to the radio station’s top executive.”

The new Broadway musical “Once” led the Tony Award nominations on Tuesday with 11 nods, including for best musical, director, actor, actress and choreographer, while “Peter and the Starcatcher” led the unusually strong pack of plays with 9 nominations.