“Given the current market conditions and the way the artworld has evolved, the traditional model of the gallery building its position through close control of its artists’ markets seems shakier than ever. There are too many variables – collectors flipping works at auction, artists defecting to other galleries, sudden market shifts. A lot depends on the artists.”
Tag: 03.09.07
England Makes A List
“A national register is to be created to protect England’s precious historic sites, bringing together everything from Stonehenge to Blenheim, from Canterbury cathedral to the wreck of the Hanover, an 18th century treasure ship breaking up on the seabed off Cornwall.”
City Gets Into Theatre Biz
The city of Norfolk, Virginia is getting into the theatre business. Not because it loves theatre. “The city did not have a particular yen to be a tour promoter; officials estimate it will cost $600,000 to present the three shows on its schedule. But a series of baffling developments involving its longtime presenting partner has left the city with few other options.”
Blogging For Bucks (How About Integrity?)
Several ad services offer bloggers money for blogging about products. It can be lucrative for the bloggers, but it blows the integrity of those writing the posts…
LACMA Goes For Open-Air Entry
The LA County Museum of Art will have an open-air entryway rather than the glass box that architect Renzo Piano originally envisioned. “I come from New York, and it would kill me to go into a glass box” instead of enjoying the weather while milling outside the museum, Govan quipped in an interview after announcing the BP donation from a podium set up in front of the entrance’s steel skeleton.
A Report Card On Orange County’s New Concert Hall
Six months after opening Segerstrom Concert Hall: “Although Orange County-based performing groups report blossoming attendance in the Costa Mesa venue, the county’s leading importer of classical music talent has been disappointed. Musicians are delighted with its intimacy and tailored acoustics, but concertgoers have griped that some seats have poor views of the stage.”
Desai Wins National Book Critics Award
Kiran Desai’s “The Inheritance of Loss,” a narrative of global discovery and displacement that has already won the Man Booker Prize, received another literary honor Thursday night: the National Book Critics Circle fiction award.
The Online Counterfeit Art Biz
“Ersatz versions of hundreds of artists’ work are sold through chinaoilpaintingwholesale.com, itself one of a constantly ebbing and flowing number of websites that offer knock-off paintings at low, low prices, and volume discounts.”
Star NY Agent Signs French Writers (Amid Protest)
“The New York literary agent Andrew Wylie, who represents such highbrow but also high-selling authors as Philip Roth and Salman Rushdie, announced in Le Monde that he has signed three French writers: two novelists, Christine Angot and Philippe Djian, and a journalist, Florence Hartmann. While Mr. Wylie’s signing a new client would be no big news here, in France, he has done the equivalent of throwing a hand grenade into the traditional world of French publishing.”
NJ Symphony To Give Up Prized String Collection
“In a startling move, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, faced with crushing debt and the specter of bankruptcy, is looking to sell the ‘Golden Age’ collection of rare stringed instruments it bought from philanthropist Herbert Axelrod in an unprecedented $17 million deal four years ago.”