“Internationally known artists Chris Burden and Nancy Rubins have retired abruptly from their longtime professorships at UCLA in part because the university refused to suspend a graduate student who used a gun during a classroom performance art piece, a spokeswoman for the artists said Friday. ‘They feel this was sort of domestic terrorism. There should have been more outrage and a firmer response’.”
Tag: 01.22.05
Florida Orchestra Signs Contract With Musicians
After about 10 months of on-again, off-again negotiations, musicians of the Florida Orchestra ratified a labor contract Friday. Terms of their three-year agreement with the board of trustees include a base salary that rises from $25,120 in the current season to $30,090 in the 2006-07 season.
The Book Dealer And The Stolen Book
A St. Louis book dealer buys a rare volume for $3,900, then is pleased to see his judgment rewarded when it is valued at $600,000. Just one small hitch: “The book may have been stolen from an unlikely victim — the German government. The state-owned Staatsgalerie in Stuttgart claims a World War II U.S. Army captain took the book and others from a castle and eventually deposited them in his Richmond Heights home.”
Shakespeare For Boys (Why?)
What’s the appeal of all-male Shakespeare? Is it about authenticity, seeing the parts played by men because that’s who Shakespeare wrote them for?
Put Off – The Writer’s Curse
Ah, the writer’s curse – writer’s block. But even worse, perhaps – procrastination. “At its worst, procrastination is a form of slow suicide, a kind of stand-off with life. Why act, when we know the end of all endeavour? Days, weeks, months creak past, but still no attempt to advance the work is made. Procrastination is surely worse than writer’s block, less involuntary: you see what you need to do, you know you can do it, and yet … and yet.”
Costco Sells Its Picasso
US big box retailer Costco has sold the Picasso it put up for sale last week. “The work, signed and dated 29 November 1970, had a price tag of $39,999 (£21,483), and was sold on Wednesday. The artwork was described as a “doodle” drawn on the blank side of a book jacket. It had been authenticated by the artist’s daughter.”
Louvre To Allow Da Vinci Shoot
The Louvre has decided to allow producers to shoot scened for The Da Vinci Code in its galleries. Louvre director Henri Loyrette told France’s Inter Radio: “We have agreed in principle. There is really a very strong desire to see the film adaptation of this book, which is world famous, shot at the Louvre.”
Protests Over Changing Linoln Center’s Landscaping
Preservationists are speaking out against plans to change the landscaping of Lincoln Center’s plazas as part of the huge redevelopment of Lincoln Center. They say that altering the landscaping significantly will ruin the original design by Dan Kiley, one of the leading landscape architects of the last century.