“Whereas museums once were supported by the laissez-faire largesse of the wealthy, now it’s common for donors of all kinds to see their gifts as investments with measurable returns. In recent years, the word “grant” has even gone out of parlance–government agencies regularly give out “contracts”– since “grants” sounds so strings-free as to be near irresponsible.”
Tag: 01.23.09
Get Your Own Zaha Hadid!
“Just in time for spring kitchen remodeling projects, the Pritzker Award-winning architect has designed a curvaceous faucet for the British company Triflow Concepts.” The next question: “Why stop here? Can the Zaha Hadid refrigerator line be far behind?”
My Book, The Website
“In recent years, as publishing houses have encouraged writers to create a robust online presence, a new team of experts has emerged. Jefferson Rabb and a handful of others are now the go-to people for book-specific Web sites and videos, and many authors are willing to shell out big money — usually from their own pockets — for the privilege of working with them.”
The World’s Next Movie Powerhouse:… Nigeria?
“As the third-largest film industry in the world — trailing only Hollywood and Bollywood — Nollywood’s numbers are staggering: it produces 2,500 movies a year. But we’re not talking James Cameron-type budgets here — most of the films cost less than $15,000 to produce.”
Kenyan Choir Signs Record Deal After Performing In Obama Inauguration
The Boys Choir of Kenya signed the deal in the transit lounge at London’s Heathrow Airport as they returned home to Nairobi from Washington DC.
Is The Internet Killing Real Critics?
“As newspapers and magazines lay off professional critics and young twentysomethings anoint themselves experts, the review has fallen on hard times. As critics shift from being the sole educated authorities into a percentage point on review-aggregating websites, some fear the nuance they once brought has fallen victim to the nagging blogger.”
The Case Against An American Culture Secretary
“The primary false assumption at play here is that more centralization is the best way for the government to address a problem and signify its importance. Accompanying this is the belief, stretching back to the Progressive Era early in the 20th century, that efficiency and better advocacy flow from such centralization.”
The Reductive, Seductive Movie Rating System
“Today, the star system is ubiquitous but far from simple for critics who must fit an Oscar hopeful and a low-ambition horror movie on the same scale. Even those critics who don’t assign stars or grades find their carefully wrought opinions converted into numbers — or a thumbs up or thumbs down — and mashed together with other critics’ opinions.”
Dispute(?) Triggers Tenor’s Walk-Off In Performance
John Villars, in the leading role of Florestan, “stormed off during the opera’s final scene, according to one audience member, moments after German conductor Gregor Buhl loudly sang out a few phrases of the tenor’s part. Several who saw the rehearsal said Villars made a dismissive hand gesture toward the orchestra pit as he left the stage.”
Four Easy Steps To Writing A Book
How hard can it be? Rockheaded jocks write books. TV talk show hosts write books. Dogs write books. Why not you?