“Art exhibitions without exhibits are nothing new. Nothing has been a recognised art form for half a century. But the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris can claim a cultural first this week: a retrospective exhibition of 51 years of exhibitions without exhibits by nine different artists. How can a museum retrospectively exhibit nothing? With great care. The 500-page catalogue costs €39 (£34).”
Tag: 02.27.09
Bristol Old Vic May Be On The Road To Recovery
“‘Suspension’ would be a decent title for describing the period of confusion and hiatus that followed the hasty and injudicious 2007 ousting of artistic director Simon Reade. […] Ambitious dreams about renovated buildings are all very well – but you need a strong and well-supported artistic director in place if they’re to come to meaningful fruition.” Such a director may just have been found.
America’s Bustling Religious Marketplace
“Even if the American mania for shopping extends to our spiritual lives, church shopping still doesn’t get much respect. But while it may be frequently derided as an example of rampant spiritual consumerism, shopping around can be one of the good things about the way religion is practiced in America.”
You’ll Love This Schoenberg – Or Your Money Back!
“Tonight the Philharmonia Orchestra is performing Schoenberg’s vast, gorgeously late-romantic Gurrelieder, complete with six soloists, chorus and speaker, at Birmingham Symphony Hall. On the website it announces ‘Satisfaction Guaranteed or Your Money Back.’ We are so confident that you will enjoy this wonderful concert, that we will give you your money back if you don’t!'”
Is NY City Ballet Better Than 10 Years Ago?
Alastair Macaulay attends this winter’s season and suspects it is…
Univision Network Cuts 300 Staff
“Given the continued economic challenges facing the country and downward pressure this has caused on advertising-related businesses, Univision has been working aggressively to bring its cost structure in line with the current environment. Like many in our industry and across most sectors, we are reducing our work force.”
Tribeca Film Fest Director Steps Down
“The film festival world saw its second high-profile exit in as many weeks Friday as Tribeca Film Festival artistic director Peter Scarlet announced he was resigning his post just two months ahead of this year’s event.”
A Beethoven Premiere, 216 Years Later
“Arguments raged within the Beethoven Society about where the modern premiere of these Beethoven rediscoveries should take place. Carnegie Hall and the Library of Congress were considered. Both the consul general of France in Chicago, Jean-Baptiste Main de Boissiere, and his counterpart of the German consulate, Wolfgang Drautz, lobbied strenuously on behalf of Chicago.”
Met Opera Borrows Against Its Giant Lobby Chagalls
“In a move described by a Metropolitan Opera board member as ‘a decision of last resort,’ the company has collateralized the giant Chagalls in its lobby.”
Looming Battle Over Electronic Publishing Rights
“Publishers are excited: Electronic rights are now pretty much a non-negotiable part of any author’s contract, whether defined as a primary right (that is, the equal of the printed book) or a subsidiary one (like the right for audio-books or a TV show). You want to see your book all decked out with a nice cover and stacked five deep on the shelf of your neighbourhood bookstore? Hand over electronic publishing rights.”