“The J. Paul Getty Museum and the National Archaeological Museum of Florence, Italy, have entered into a long-term cultural collaboration that will bring one of the latter’s most important masterpieces and other significant works to Southern California, officials of both institutions announced today.”
Tag: 03.23.09
How ‘Bout More Funding For Street Arts? No, Seriously!
“Joy strikes me as being in pretty short supply in the theatre – and in everyday life, particularly given the economic situation. But street arts often seem to contribute to levels of national happiness in a similar fashion to the Olympics or the rugby World Cup. They give people a reason to be cheerful. They make a community of us all. Apparently, crime levels drop during street festivals.”
Saudi Clerics Press Minister To Ban Women From Media
“A group of hardline Saudi clerics have issued a statement urging the conservative kingdom’s new information minister to ban women from appearing in TV or in newspapers and magazines.” The statement reads, in part: “We have noticed how well-rooted perversity is in the Ministry of Information and Culture, in television, radio, press, culture clubs and the book fair.”
Evangelical Book Expo Not Exactly A Magnet For Readers
“The Christian Book Expo, a first ever ‘fan event’ for evangelical Christian book lovers, drew only about 1,500 people to the Dallas Convention Center during a three-day run that ended Sunday.”
A $10M Deficit Threatening, AGO Has Decisions To Make
Corporate and private rentals, budgeted as a significant source of income for Toronto’s recently renovated Art Gallery of Ontario, took a dive with the economy. So did gift-shop and restaurant receipts. “That is why within the next month or two the AGO, like most other museums in North America, will likely have to cut costs, including laying off up to 10 per cent of its 600 employees, reducing hours and other penny-pinching measures.”
The 1970s: An Architectural Decade Worth Preserving?
In architecture, some might see the 1970s “as the lost decade – a hiatus between the fag end of postwar modernism and the Day-Glo joviality of 1980s postmodernism. The Twentieth Century Society, though, is bucking the trend, starting a campaign to raise awareness of the decade’s architecture…, and good for them. My childhood needs saving!”
When Child’s Play Leaves Nothing To The Imagination
“I spent my youth in galaxies far, far away, and not just that one. In fact, my physical environment — I can only remember it hazily, but I think this is right — seemed to be designed to provide the maximum number of escape hatches from the real world. There were TVs in the basement, living room and my bedroom. We had one of the first Atari video game consoles. … But compared to kids growing up today, of course, I was Amish.”
After Sotheby’s Profits Dropped 87%, CEO’s Salary Fell 14%
“Sotheby’s cut Chief Executive Officer William F. Ruprecht’s salary by $100,000 to $600,000 for 2009 after the company’s profit dropped 87 percent last year. The New York auction house also eliminated Ruprecht’s cash bonus for 2008.”
Fabulous Timing: Premium Seats Come To The West End
“It’s tedious to harp on about the current economic climate, but it seems an odd time to inflate prices so drastically. The official explanation is that producers are taking a tip from Broadway – if people are willing to pay ticket touts hundreds of dollars to see the latest show, then the theatres themselves should be collecting that money. But will the British public cough up the cash? Perhaps not.”
Suicide Of Sylvia Plath’s Son Is Turned Into Lit Gossip
“Nicholas Hughes had suffered for years from depression. He had had a long and distinguished career as a marine biologist, a professor at the University of Alaska. But of course that is not the story people want. ‘Depressed person commits suicide’ is not a headline. A headline is ‘The Curse of Plath!’ Yet the ‘curse’ idea is repellent.”