The idea of erecting monuments has seemed so old-fashioned for a long time. “The view that memory is an impediment to modernity has been widely shared by architects, artists, and theorists. The obsolescence of the monument became almost an axiom of the modernist creed. But sometimes aesthetic theory and artistic fashion must yield before the harshness of lived history. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial began to change the prevailing opinion that the monument is dead, not least because it availed itself of a modernist vocabulary to accomplish its commemoration.”
Tag: 02.03.03
The Downfall Of Phillips – So Unnecessary
Phillips was founded in 1796, and did fine until four years ago when the push to compete with Sotheby’s and Christie’s turned serious. “Phillips, which was supposed to become a major force in the art market, is left with just half a dozen departments and some 85 employees. This journey to disaster started out sensibly enough. Arnault’s LVMH group has made a fortune from marketing scent, champagne and suitcases and Arnault believed that selling art would be no different…”
Into Every “Painter Of Light” A Little Darkness Must Fall
Thomas Kinkade, the self-styled “Painter of Light” was a phenomenon, selling millions of dollars worth of sentimental paintings out of mall-front stores. But lately business has been bad, and Kinkade dealers are furious. “The dealers have their own ideas about why sales have slowed: Media Arts has been flooding the market with cheap reproductions of the same art for which they’re forced to charge top dollar. Although dealers are prohibited by contract from discounting the paintings by even a dime, Kinkades have been showing up at national discount chains, puncturing the carefully wrought myth that they are collectibles with a generous scarcity premium.”
Vaclav Havel Retires
Playwright Vaclav Havel retires this week after 13 years as President of Czechoslovakia and then – after the 1993 secession of Slovakia – of the Czech Republic. “Of all the world’s leaders in our time, Nelson Mandela and Vaclav Havel have been the most loved and admired. When he took the leadership of the ‘Velvet Revolution’ in 1989, and when he moved into the Castle high above Prague as President of the Republic, it seemed that the Czechs and Slovaks were the luckiest people in Europe. And, for a time, the Czechs and Slovaks thought so, too…”
Nagano Gets Munich Opera Job
Kent Nagano has been appointed director of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, succeeding Zubin Mehta. Nagano had been widely touted as the next music director of the Montreal Symphony, and the Munich appointment likely kills that possibility. “Canadian journalists had whipped the public into a frenzy of anticipation, praising the 51-year old Nagano’s musicianship, his ability to speak French and his ‘cool’ image.”
Library Use Soaring As Economy Slips
Unemployment is bad in New York, and people have time on their hands. So they go to the library. “Use of public libraries here has climbed almost 10% since the summer of 2001 and that circulation is up 12%. Computer use just for resume writing at Mid-Manhattan increased 128% over the last year. On the fourth floor of that charmless branch on Fifth Avenue, there isn’t an empty seat on a snowy afternoon…”
Great Books Of All Time – Harry By A Nose?
After the success of its “Great Britons of all time” poll, the BBC is going to apply the formula to books. Viewers will nominate 100 books. “In November, the top 10 books will be announced – and the case for each one will, as with Great Britons, be made in a one-hour special programme, presented by a celebrity, or at the very least a personality. Finally, before Christmas, there will be another giant vote. The result? It’s almost certain that ‘The Lord of the Rings’ will triumph over ‘Harry Potter’, in a tightly fought contest. Or vice versa.”
The Internet: Friend To Musicians Who Aren’t Stars
One musician is angry about the recording industry’s attempts to shut down music file-trading. “The Internet means exposure, and these days, unless you’re in the Top 40, you’re not getting on the radio. The Internet is the only outlet for many artists to be heard by an audience bigger than whoever shows up at a local coffeehouse. The Internet allows people like me to gain new fans; if only 10% of those downloading my music buy my records or come to my shows, I’ve just gained enough fans to fill Carnegie Hall twice over.”
Where’s Glenn Gould Avenue? And Why Isn’t There One?
“I think I’d be the teensiest bit more receptive to the fiscal argument against supporting and celebrating Canadian arts, if those who make it so stridently made any attempt to support and celebrate the arts in ways that did not involve spending lots of money. The Roman Catholic Church seems to have less stringent regulations about canonization than we have about naming streets after our artists. How much does it cost to put up a street sign? How much does it cost to weave into the fabric of our cities and towns the evidence of real artists creating real art?”
London’s New Theatre – About Time
“Museum directors have long since realised that the overall aesthetic experience of visiting a museum is vital to a full appreciation of the art it held, and now theatre directors are catching up, as Bennetts Associates’ new Hampstead Theatre demonstrates. The theatre, at Swiss Cottage in London, opens on February 14, when it will be the first new stand-alone producing theatre in London since the National Theatre in 1976.”