The company was born in the wake of the “arts-administration meltdown” and collapse of Lexington Ballet, and has kept on for a decade despite the turmoil around its birth and the usual constant money troubles. The board president says, “Something would fall out of the sky and we’d be able to pay our bills.”
Tag: 01.29.09
Doing Things The Hard Way: The Artisans Of Old Japan
June Thomas visits the dedicated, meticulous and very, very serious men and women keeping alive traditional Japanese crafts, notably the indigo dying that creates the country’s signature blue-and-white textiles and the extraordinary workmanship that goes into making exquisite silk kimonos. (She also considers how odd it is to see women wearing them in daily life).
Exiting Arts Council Chair Calls For Higher Level Of Debate
“Sir Christopher Frayling bows out this week after five years as chairman of Arts Council England – and one thing he certainly won’t miss is the ‘relentless venom’. Speaking before a valedictory lecture tonight, he advised his successor to sort out cultural events that will surround the 2012 Olympic games and called for a deeper debate about the value of the arts, describing the current level of discourse as ‘a bit beer and skittles’.”
Philly Libraries Get A Reprieve: Closures Put On Hold
“No city library will be closed between now and June 30, the Nutter administration said yesterday. It was a swift and surprising turn of events in an emotional and enduring saga that has embroiled the city, the courts, library advocates and neighborhood residents who have demonstrated unwavering fealty to their local branches.” But “branches would still be facing limited hours and possible emergency closures.”
Showtime On The Subway: Dancing Beneath The Streets
“Young break dancers pile onto A, B, C and D trains between 59th Street and 125th Street in Manhattan every weekend to perform in the subway cars and collect donations. Many emanate from the same Bronx neighborhood, around Morris Avenue and 170th Street.” As older teens teach younger boys, “it is a sort of apprenticeship program for street performing.”
Larceny Or Alchemy: The Question of The Sampling Age
“Beauty, it is often said, is in the eye of the beholder, and so might be copyright infringement. Artist Richard Prince never denied that he made use of some photographic images he found in a 2000 book by Patrick Cariou…. The question,” central to Cariou’s lawsuit against Prince, “is whether Mr. Prince’s use of these images was ‘transformative’ — borrowing in the process of creating something entirely new — or just stealing.”
Elderly, Poor Left Out Of Calculations For Digital TV
“That so many viewers … around the country risk losing something as basic as a free television signal is a function, at least in part, of the government’s failure to anticipate that those most affected would be among the nation’s most frail and vulnerable.”
Testing Alice Tully, Musicians Find Sweet Sound
“With giddiness and glee, musicians tested the acoustics of the newly renovated Alice Tully Hall on Tuesday, less than a month before it reopens after a $159 million, 22-month upgrade, a major milestone in Lincoln Center’s $1.2 billion remaking. … The musicians, acoustical experts and Lincoln Center officials in attendance all proclaimed the hall much more present, alive and reverberant than the old Tully, which had been widely faulted for its dry sound.”
Broadway’s Spring Schedule Is Packed, Not Paltry
“Broadway’s two dozen dark theaters won’t stay empty for long. Defying the economic slump, producers are scheduled to present 19 Broadway shows in the next three months. If they all arrive ahead of the June 7 Tony awards, the 2008-09 season will go down as the busiest in two decades, with 40 new productions. … The emphasis is on star-driven plays, which cost a fraction of what it takes to produce a musical.”
Brandeis Might Not Sell Art, But Museum Will Close
“Jehuda Reinharz, Brandeis University president, yesterday opened the possibility that the university would not sell its $350 million art collection but said he would not change his mind about closing Rose Art Museum and turning it into a study and research center.” Brandeis’s provost “said university officials believed they could not operate a museum, which is expected to abide by a code of ethics limiting the reasons it can sell off art, and then sell art to pay for needs other than the museum.”