“Officials of the Albright-Knox may have won the battle, but the community outrage triggered by their brazen disregard for the museum’s riches ought to serve as a warning to museum directors and trustees across the country: They can’t have it both ways–expecting public support while arrogantly asserting that the public be damned. This storm in Buffalo might be just the beginning of a revolution in which the public begins to reclaim its rights to public institutions and demands an accountability that museum directors and trustees will ignore at their peril.”
Tag: 03.20.07
One Empire To Another
“The view from Beijing today is that Britain is no longer a world power. In the 20th century Britain declined quickly, to be only a regional power now is the blunt assessment of a Chinese contributor to the catalogue for Britain Meets the World.But there is a fascination with how Britain attained global dominance in the Georgian era.”
Newspaper Sued Over Hendrix Giveaways
London’s Sunday Times is being sued by the Jimi Hendrix estate over the newspaper’s free distribution of CDs containing guitar tracks by the late guitarist. “The two companies say in the claim that they attempted to stop the distribution of the CDs but that the Sunday Times ignored their warnings.”
China Takes On BritArt
China has been joining the artworld in a rush. “Starting today, the newly constructed Capital Museum will host the city’s biggest exhibition of contemporary British art, featuring a well-made bed, a dripping severed head, fidgeting bobbies, Royal Ascot hats and a perilously perched Stephen Hawking.” This is a show that would have been unimaginable 10 years ago.
Authors, Live And In Person
“What is it about a flesh-and-blood author that’s so fascinating? Is it that, knowing (and loving) the works, we want to know the person behind them? Or is it less the writer per se than the writer as a biographical cipher – are we less interested in their lives for their own sake than for the literary “clues” that their various histories (and, in talks, off-the-cuff remarks) might impart?”
Canada’s Governor General Awards Announced
“The awards, which recognize distinguished contributions to the visual arts, come with prize money of $25,000, recently increased from $15,000.”
Best Of What?
Frank Oteri is confused about the Best Of lists of music he sees. “We’ve all got war stories about the snobbery of classical music, particularly those of us who cavort in things contemporary. But the snobbery seems to go both ways. In the circle of folks who claim to be broadminded, why has music now become a catch-all phrase for every genre except classical? Maybe, once and for all, it’s time to earnestly knock down this wall, or burst this bubble. (Choose whatever metaphor you like.) But how?”
Debate Trails “Rachel Corrie” To Her Home State
“Like any proud parents, Cindy and Craig Corrie eagerly anticipate the local debut of a play about their daughter. But the Corries are also bracing for backlash. … No one is shouting yet at Seattle Repertory Theatre, where the West Coast debut of ‘My Name is Rachel Corrie’ is now in previews and opens Wednesday. But quietly, offstage, the debate re-emerges with the production of the solo play based on Corrie’s e-mails and diary entries, some of which express her political concerns.”
Capturing Dance On Camera — Slowly
“Dance photography may seem like a logical endeavor, but it represents an incompatible dichotomy: Dance is motion, photography is stillness. No matter how talented the photographer or how beautiful the dancers, the art forms are inherently at odds.” Photographer David Michalek has found a way to reconcile them.
For Philanthropist’s Centennial, A Global Celebration
The late philanthropist Paul Mellon gave $218 million and 900 pictures to the National Gallery of Art. “‘We thought of bringing them all together, but we couldn’t,’ said director Earl A. ‘Rusty’ Powell III. ‘There’d have been nothing left in the galleries.'” The museum, which is mounting a Boudin show instead, is one of 19 institutions around the world marking Mellon’s centennial this year.