The have been “several recent incidents involving controversial art in the higher education setting. In all of the cases, issues of safety or security or politics are raised by those questioning or limiting art — while others are in turn raising concerns about academic and artistic freedom.”
Tag: 03.10.08
A Whitney Biennial Out Of The Times?
“The Whitney is not in the business of selling art, but this Biennial shows that it’s nevertheless caught up in the market’s bizarre hysteria, swooning over mediocrity and prodigally handing out prestige. The sliver of ‘now’ on view at the Whitney seems to me a symptom of decadence, a wasteland of its own, made up of dissociated trends and indecipherable shards.”
Star Music Librarian Susan ‘Suki’ Sommer, 73
“Sommer, onetime contributor to High Fidelity/Musical America, among other publications, was acting director of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at the time that she retired, in 2001. She served as chief of the Music Division from 1997-2001 and, prior to that, was for ten years head of the Music Division’s circulating collections.”
Will An “Arab Booker” Help Spur Arab Fiction?
“The number of non-religious works issued in Arabic remains tragically low, the study adds, noting a lack of reliable data. Perhaps the International Prize for Arabic Fiction could help change this sad record. The contest’s first winner, Egyptian Baha Taher, was selected in Abu Dhabi today.”
Longshot Takes The Honors At London’s Olivier Awards
“Chiwetel Ejiofor stole the limelight at the 2008 Laurence Olivier Awards last night, eclipsing two of Britain’s leading Shakespearean actors, Sir Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart.”