When Toronto artist John Coburn prepared to ship a half-dozen of his paintings to London for an important exhibition, he took no chances. Coburn carefully sealed the paintings in a plywood crate, and sent them via a globally respected courier. The crate arrived in London in plenty of time, at which point the Brits realized that they had no idea how to open the damn thing. “The screws used to fasten the crate were Robertson square drives — a circular screw with a recessed square made to receive a matching hand driver. Quite common in Canada, the make is all but unheard of across the pond.” Informed of the problem, Coburn had just enough time to pocket the correct screwdriver before leaving Canada.
Tag: 01.30.04
Are 19th-Century Ensembles Ready For 21st-Century Technology?
If some technophiles have their way, paper-based sheet music may soon be a thing of the past in the symphony orchestra. The technology for digital sheet music exists, and ArtsJournal blogger Drew McManus wonders if the only thing holding orchestras back from embracing it is their usual tendency to cling to tradition. After all, paper-based scores break down from heavy use, and must be painstakingly updated and edited by hand, whereas a set of virtual parts could be instantly changed at a musician’s or librarian’s will. And just imagine: no more awkward page turns or out of print works! Still, orchestra librarians, who have arguably the most to gain or lose from such a transition, remain skeptical that the technology will catch on.
Place des Arts Wins Big In Court
Montreal’s Place des Arts won a major court battle yesterday, when Canada’s Supreme Court ruled that the arts center had not engaged in strikebreaking practices when it responded to a 1999 technicians’ strike by telling its tenants that they would need to supply their own technicians in the future. At the time, Place des Arts was fined $5000 for the tactic, but the center won an injunction in 2001, and the legal fight progressed through the courts to the nation’s highest judicial panel. The technicians’ union was stunned by the ruling, but said that its members will continue to abide by a standing truce until a new agreement can be negotiated.
Skunk Urine Is Not An Approved Negotiating Tactic
Place des Arts has a long history of trouble with at least two labor unions, and the Supreme Court decision may not mean that the unions are out of options, according to labor experts. Still, the decision is unlikely to do anything to smooth the relationship between the venue and the unions, which has gotten decidedly ugly at times. As recently as 2000, members of the stagehands’ union were sued by Place des Arts for dumping skunk urine on the premises, releasing rats in the lobby, and disrupting performances with heckling and noisemakers.
Barnes Can’t Move Yet
“The Barnes Foundation has not yet proved that it needs to move its multibillion-dollar art gallery from Lower Merion to Center City, a judge ruled yesterday, delaying his final decision until the foundation provided more evidence.” The judge also criticized both sides in the case for a lack of hard numbers to back up their arguments. The Barnes needs the court’s permission to move, since the will of its founder stipulates that the collection must remain in Lower Merion. The plan to move to Philadelphia has been quite controversial, but has the support of multiple area foundations.
Scolding From The Bench
In addition to delaying his ruling on the Barnes move, Judge Stanley Ott yesterday issued a blistering critique of the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office, accusing the state’s counsel of being little more than a cheerleader for the Barnes proposal, and “[preventing] the court from seeing a balanced, objective presentation of the situation.” According to the judge, the attorney general’s duty is to assess the situation objectively, and be sure that all the numbers add up in a demonstrable way. Instead, said Judge Ott, “it was left to the court to raise questions relating to the finances of the proposed move and the plan’s financial viability.”
Is The Barnes Move Dead?
Tyler Green sees some important subtext in Judge Ott’s decision to delay ruling on the Barnes move. “In a backhanded way he acknowledged that the Barnes’ management has underwhelmed him. If they couldn’t do the right and obvious thing the first time, does Ott really think they’ll get it right now? Ott chose not to simply rule against the Barnes, but I wonder if (instead) Ott is giving the Barnes leadership the rope with which to hang itself…”
Pixar Severing Ties With Disney
Computer animation studio Pixar has broken off talks with the Walt Disney Corporation for a new distribution deal. Since 1995, when the fledgling company released Toy Story, Pixar has generated $2.5 billion in revenue, at a time when Disney’s overall hold on the animation market has been slipping. Pixar’s latest film, Finding Nemo, has generated $500 million in global ticket sales, and was nominated this week for four Academy Awards.