The British Association for the Advancement of Science (the BA) celebrated national science week and Einstein this year by holding a competition to write a “poem based around the work of the famous physicist. The competition was also open to the public, and the winners were announced today, with the adult prize going to a versified imaginary conversation with Einstein.”
Tag: 03.17.05
They Do Know It’s Fiction, Right?
You would think that the monolithic and powerful Catholic church wouldn’t have much to fear from a novel, even a bestselling one. But the Catholic leadership’s all-out assault on Dan Brown’s The DaVinci Code this week is evidence of the effect the book is having among the Catholic faithful. “Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, once a top dogma enforcer in Vatican City and currently archbishop of Genoa, broke the Vatican’s virtual silence on the book this week and told Vatican Radio that nobody should read it and certainly Catholic bookstores should stop selling it.”
‘Gates’ Fascination Outlives Actual Gates
Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s saffron-draped ‘Gates of Central Park’ may have been taken down weeks ago, but the national interest generated by the massive public art project has lived on, spawning several spoofs, a few serious imitators, and an exhibit of photographs of the display. “The criticism that the aesthetic quality of ‘The Gates’ didn’t hold up compared with earlier Christo/Jeanne-Claude works doesn’t seem to take into account a shift in focus that the artists began developing in the late 1970s or early 1980s,” and such criticism certainly didn’t hurt the installation in the eyes of much of the public. “By the participatory measure, “The Gates” was a success, both in terms of the estimated 4 million visitors it attracted and the continuing activity it’s spawned.”
$6 Mil Windfall For Curtis Institute
“Even before embarking upon its next endowment campaign, the Curtis Institute of Music has received a combined pledge of $6 million from two of [Philadelphia’s] most generous philanthropists. The Annenberg and Lenfest foundations have offered the gift to Curtis – if the music conservatory on Rittenhouse Square can raise an additional $9 million by Dec. 31, 2006… The contract gives Curtis considerable freedom: It does not stipulate that the interest from the money be spent on establishing new programs (which foundations often require), and the principal will go toward the unrestricted portion of Curtis’ endowment. It also asks Curtis to maintain a balanced budget; to encourage students, parents and graduates to make donations to the school; and to consider the implementation of an additional student-loan program for living expenses.”
Met Acquires Gilman Photo Collection
“The Metropolitan Museum of Art said yesterday that it had acquired the Gilman Paper Company Collection of photographs, an archive that includes hundreds of works from the medium’s earliest years and that is widely considered to be the most important private photography collection in the world. The more than 8,500 photographs, some purchased by the Met and some donated by the foundation that owns them, will greatly strengthen the museum’s photography holdings and make it, along with the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, one of the world’s pre-eminent institutions for 19th-century photographs.”
Rise & Fall Of A Broadway Icon
The Broadway producing team at Dodger Theatricals has become something of an industry joke in recent years, with a long string of expensive, high-profile flops to its credit. But it wasn’t too long ago that Dodger was a certified hitmaker, and the company’s fall from grace illustrates the tough, unforgiving environment of the high-end theatre world. “The Dodgers’ difficulties have been met with a mix of sadness and schadenfreude along Broadway, where the company was considered talented and lucky, earnest and arrogant, often all at the same time.”
The Greatest French Person…
France is the latest country to take a poll to rank the country’s most important person of all time. But the Top 11 list has many funing: “What the hell were they thinking?” asked Le Parisien, noting that film director Luc Besson (91) beat writer and philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre (96).
High Hopes, Big Subsidies For Toronto Rings
“Toronto’s stage adaptation of The Lord of the Rings will not only transform the entire inside of the Princess of Wales Theatre into Middle-Earth, but it is being billed as the city’s biggest hope to restore its theatre and tourism industries to their pre-SARS financial health… In addition to the $3-million Ontario government loan, the trade and travel group Tourism Toronto is committed to provide $3-million in marketing support. And although [the play’s lead producer] said the production will have ‘no problem’ raising the rest of the money needed, he is campaigning hard for a $3-million loan from the federal government, which he described as crucial for financing a production of this size.”
Little Orchestra Comes To The Big City
The Minnesota-based St. Paul Chamber Orchestra will mount a 3-week residency in Chicago’s Hyde Park next season, in what the ensemble hopes will be the beginning of a new touring tradition. “The residency will consist of three concerts, a family-oriented program, music education activities in local public elementary schools and a series of master classes, composition readings and chamber music coaching for university students. It will be spread over separate weeks and a weekend in fall, winter and spring.”
Not Afraid To Be New
Boston Ballet’s 2005-06 season will be daring, with half the scheduled performances being of works the company has never performed before, and a world premiere by Mark Morris as the centerpiece. Guest choreographer Jorma Elo, who has a long history with the company, will also provide a brand new interpretation of Bizet’s Carmen.