“Like Picasso, Rauschenberg has been an art machine; just keep the wheels rolling and sooner or later inspiration will strike. And it will probably take others to tell you when it’s really happened. How unlike the Duchampian constipation-mode of creation. Another rule for art: You gotta have product; lots and lots of things to sell. And then it dawns on you that the curatorial lack of discrimination mirrors Rauschenberg’s own system. This is not good.”
Tag: 01.06.06
The Rauschenberg Franchise
“Robert Rauschenberg may be the American Picasso. He is a Dionysian maverick of experimentation, openness, visual wit, and roguish nerve; an artist who cannot be diminished by others but who can only diminish himself; someone whose envelope-pushing has been inspirational for generations. As Jasper Johns generously avowed, ‘Rauschenberg was the man who in this century invented the most since Picasso’.”
Lou Rawls, 72
Rawls died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he was hospitalized last month for treatment of lung and brain cancer.
CD Stores – The Squeeze Is On
Independent CD stores are having a tough time. “Album sales are in decline, music consumers continue to migrate to music downloading and CD-burning. The loss-leader approach to CD sales at giant chains such as Wal-Mart and Best Buy have smothered mom-and-pop outfits. And when prerecorded CDs are sold, more and more often it’s through new-approach merchants that are as varied as Amazon.com and Starbucks.”
Men – They’re Just Not That In To Reading About It
“According to Barnes & Noble, 80% of customers who bought books on relationships are women. Relationship books for women outsell those for men by a ratio of 4 to 1, the company reports. But if it indeed takes two to tango, if on a very basic level men and women are seeking the same thing — each other — why are women so much more keen to study the ins and outs of dating and relationships? Where are the advice books for men? Why aren’t books being written for men?”
Italy And The Returning Artifacts Game
While Italy is getting aggressive about demanding the return of artifacts it believes have been stolen, othe countries are pressing Italy to return objects it has taken. Ethiopia, for one, has some claims it would like to talk about…
Tim Rub To Head Cleveland Museum
Cincinnati Art Museum director Timothy Rub has been named director and chief executive officer of the Cleveland Museum of Art. “During his six years in Cincinnati, Rub oversaw the creation of the $10 million Cincinnati Wing, renovations of the courtyard and auditorium, reinstallation of the African and American art collections, and free general admission.”
Stratford Scores £20 Million
“The planned £100m transformation of Stratford-upon-Avon’s Royal Shakespeare Theatre is to get a £20m grant from the regional development agency, Advantage West Midlands. The project has already secured £50m from the Arts Council of England.”
Aussie Dance Scene Is Starved For Support
“In Australia, dance, the art form that epitomises our ideal image of ourselves as a nation of youthful athleticism, is in peril. Melbourne is home to many significant dance institutions. This city was once noted for its feisty, provocative and prolific independent dance scene, but the dance performance calendars of the past two years suggest the creative ferment is dying for lack of sustenance.”
Welsh National Opera Hires A Star
“Glasgow-born John Fisher will take over the running of WNO in May. He replaces Anthony Freud, who has left after 11 years to take over Houston Opera in Texas. Mr Fisher’s track record includes being the first non-Italian ever to run an Italian opera house – La Fenice, in Venice. He has also been head of music at La Scala, Milan, and is now director of music administration at the Met.”