Tag: 03.16.05

The Racier Side Of Dr. Seuss?

“Years before Theodor Seuss Geisel (1904-1991) gained worldwide acclaim for his children’s books, he honed his craft making cartoons for other young minds: American soldiers. Racy and suggestive, the animated films are enough to shatter one’s innocent appraisal of such Seuss titles as “The Seven Lady Godivas,” “Hop on Pop” and — say it isn’t so — “There’s a Wocket in My Pocket!” The short military-training cartoons, along with disturbing propaganda films that Seuss also worked on, were shown to troops during and shortly after World War II.”

Union Files Complaint Against Washington Ballet

Washington Ballet’s new dancers’ union has filed a complaint against the company. “AGMA last week told the National Labor Relations Board in a formal “charge against employer” that the ballet company had informed guild members Nikkia Parish and Brian Corman that they would be terminated. AGMA claims the termination is in retaliation for the dancers’ “support and activities” on AGMA’s behalf and for their testimony in favor of the union at a January NLRB hearing to determine an appropriate bargaining unit for the company’s dancers.”

Asia: Courting The Guggenheim

Asian cities are still wooing the New York-based contemporary-art institution. For many, especially here in the greater China region, the specter of cloning Bilbao’s boom is just too seductive. The Bilbao model has strong appeal in Asia, which is warming up to an idea the West realized long ago. Cities can prosper by attracting creative industries — architecture, art, music and publishing — and establishing themselves as animated places to live.

The Digital-Defying Book Biz

The Paris Book Fair opens this weekend, as publishers take stock of their business. “Books are becoming more democratic. Fewer than nine percent of homes had no books in 1997, compared with more than a quarter in 1993. A huge study of the publishing market across the European Union has just been completed, which showed that in 2002 Britain led the way with some 120,000 new books, of all genres. Germany came in second with about 80,000, closely followed by Spain, Italy and France, all with about 60,000 to 70,000 new titles a year. In France the numbers have doubled in the past decade.”

Frank Rich’s Move Back To Op-Ed

After making a big mark as weekly columnist for the New York Times’ Arts & Leisure section, Frank Rich moves back to the op-ed page. “Mr. Rich said that he has “loved” writing his column for Arts and Leisure. But the section goes to press on Tuesdays, which has forced him to write his column days before it gets published. The delay between writing and hitting the newsstand was a sore point. “I can’t say I liked having it sit there without being able to touch it,” Mr. Rich said.

Armory Show Gives Up On Essential Ingredient

“It’s hard to criticize a trade show for being, well, a trade show. Throughout its seven years as the Armory Show, and in its previous incarnation as the Gramercy International Art Fair, this beast has, at moments, been the largest and most realistic reflection of New York’s—and sometimes even the world’s—contemporary art commerce. Dealers never brought the best of the best—that stuff’s not for public consumption—but they’ve always tried to make themselves look good. That made it buzzy and fun: Once upon a time, the art was surprising, sometimes ugly and sometimes downright nasty—but better yet, the fair displayed enormous egos and riveting internecine political machinations. But the fun—like most of the paintings—is on hold.”

NPR Ombudsman Takes Up D’Arcy Case

NPR ombudsman Jeffrey Dvorkin has weighed in on a report done by reporter David D’Arcy. D’Arcy was dismissed for it. “The original report did not, in my opinion, fully and accurately present all of the facts. Nor did it present MoMA’s position on the ownership question. The painting has been in federal custody for years, and MoMA’s position is that the Austrian courts must decide the painting’s legal owners, since the painting was in the United States only as part of a loan arrangement. Most important, in an issue of journalistic fairness, the report did not give MoMA a chance to respond to specific and direct charges leveled against it by numerous critics. The original report was wrongly framed, and NPR was right to air a clarification in early January.”

Defending D’Arcy

Attorney Randol Schoenberg disputes Dvorkin’s criticisms: “You wrote “the original report did not, in my opinion, fully and accurately present all of the facts.” No doubt this is true of Mr. d’Arcy’s story — as it is true of each and every story aired on NPR. No 5-minute story “could fully and accurately present all the facts” of a historical case concerning events 65+ years ago, the litigation of which has lasted now for over seven years and generated no less than six court opinions concerning complex legal issues beyond the ken of even NPR’s above-average listeners. So your comment, while true, is hardly a criticism. Notably, you fail to mention any inaccuracies in the report. If there are any, they are certainly minor.”