Tag: 03.07.04

Demographic Gold (Really?)

What is it about males 18-34? “They are the most sought-after demographic – early adopters of technology, tastemakers and trend shapers who influence much of what we see on television, the Internet, billboards and in the movies. They are the muses for The Howard Stern Show and Jackass: The Movie.”

Activism And The Law

What is this “activist judges” charge that George Bush keeps flinging around? What he means, of course, are courts with whose rulings he disagrees. “Still, the charge isn’t going away. Though it is misused by partisans, scholars have for generations held serious debates about judicial activism – and have sometimes even found ways to embrace it.”

Taking On The WTC Memorial – Critics Get Organized

With a project so emotionally charged as the memorial at the World Trade center site, It had to happen of course; protests are pouring in about the winning design and the process to choose it. “The whole competition stinks of collusion, rule-breaking, and fraud,” is the general tone of criticism. “At least one organized group hopes to stop the winning design from getting built. Called the World Trade Center Memorial Focus Group, it consists of losing competitors and is led by an employee of the New York City transit authority named Jeff Johns.”

Albee Holds Forth

Edward Albee on writing for the theatre: “What’s the best way of dealing with audience expectations? Forget them. Write work that interests you. It’s an unfortunate trend, he says, that audiences think they know what they should see, and theater companies and playwrights respond.”

Another Whitney Whirl In The Wings

It’s time for the art world’s every-two-years’ food fight – the Whitney Biennial. “Some Biennials simply recap the commercial activity of the preceding two years. Others look ahead; the 2002 edition, for example, anticipated the current interest in youth culture, collectivism, sound art and craft-intensive, Pop-ish work. This year’s show will probably do both. Although much of the work comes straight out of recent gallery exhibitions, a substantial chunk is brand new and being shown for the first time. A few pieces have even been commissioned for the occasion.”

Hey – Could Ya Turn Down That Art Over There?

Contemporary art is getting noisier. “Almost regardless of medium, today’s art comes with soundtracks, voiceovers, loudly moving parts or interactive elements. The computer and the Internet have brought out the inner polymath in many artists, who often play in bands and now sample and splice sound and music as easily as they once cut and pasted magazine images. Exhibition catalogs incorporate CD’s. Speakers and headsets abound in museums, galleries and art fairs.”

Giving Voice To Music Of The Streets

Pepe Garza was looking to revive a struggling radio station in Los Angeles. Looking for music, he took to the streets, and discovered a thriving scene, which he put on the air. Now, “Garza, a native of Monterrey, Mexico, has emerged as one of the most influential figures in the Latin music industry by giving L.A.’s immigrant population something it never had before — the chance to be on the radio and become stars. Until he moved here in 1998, the music of these working-class artists was dismissed as low-brow, crude or simply awful.”