The Canada Council has come under fire in Parliament for some of the offbeat artistic projects it has funded. “Artists are often pushing the envelope. They are like scientists – they are experimenting, taking risks.” – Chicago Tribune
Tag: 02.24.00
DOUBLE TROUBLE
The Iranian Council of Music, a “unique creation of the 21-year-old Islamic Revolution,” requires written approval before any bar of music is played in public anywhere in Iran. “Along with the Council of Poetry, which vets every word of every lyric written, it is housed within the Ministry of Islamic Guidance and Culture, charged with keeping Iran a pure Islamic country by enforcing a mass of rules about which books people can read, what music they can hear, which foreigners they can talk to.” All of which has predictably led to an official culture and an underground one. – Salon
AMAZON TO BUY SOTHEBY’S?
The auction house’s share price surges Wednesday on speculation that the company is ripe for a takeover. – Financial Times
- And: SELLING SCRAMBLE: With the spring art auction season approaching, Christie’s and Sotheby’s scramble to get works to sell. Sellers are eager to take advantage of the high markets, but many are wondering what effect the collusion scandal will have. – New York Times
- “EXPENSIVE BUT NOT LIFE-THREATENING”: New chairman of Sotheby’s, on the job just one day, brushes aside his company’s plunging stock price and predicts the auction company will come out intact from the US Government’s investigation of collusion. – New York Times
- And: Europeans to join in lawsuits against auction houses. – The Times (UK)
- And: Europeans to join in lawsuits against auction houses. – The Times (UK)
- So what’s the case for collusion, why’s it so wrong and can the auction houses talk their way out of trouble? – Slate
- Related: DON’T GET MAD, GET EVEN: Australian art dealer Chris Deutscher believed giant auction houses Sotheby’s and Christie’s nearly ran him out of business. So he closed up his gallery and opened upstart Australian auction house Deutscher Menzies. The firm is finding its niche, prospering, even, as the Sotheby/Christie’s scandal widens – DM racked up a 50 per cent increase in sales this past year. – Sydney Morning Herald
- Related: DON’T GET MAD, GET EVEN: Australian art dealer Chris Deutscher believed giant auction houses Sotheby’s and Christie’s nearly ran him out of business. So he closed up his gallery and opened upstart Australian auction house Deutscher Menzies. The firm is finding its niche, prospering, even, as the Sotheby/Christie’s scandal widens – DM racked up a 50 per cent increase in sales this past year. – Sydney Morning Herald
- THAT HAPPENED UNDER THE OLD GUYS: As US investigation into collusion between the top auction houses widens, chief executives at Sotheby’s suddenly resign yesterday. – New York Times