A fence being built around the Pantheon in Rome in hopes of protecting it from vandals is earning the ire of Romans. “Should art and architectural treasures be left to be enjoyed as they are, despite the risks of vandals, thieves and pollution? Or should they be fenced off, sealed behind bulletproof glass or hauled off to museums with modern-day copies as stand-ins?” – Washington Post
Tag: 03.31.00
FOR MATURE AUDIENCES
A collection of ancient Roman erotica, unearthed from Pompeii and Herculaneum, will open to the public for the first time next month after being stashed in a Naples museum for 200 years. The so-called “secret cabinet” of artifacts ranges from “mythological scenes of love and sex between nymphs, gods, and satyrs that decorated Roman homes to erotic images which were hung in brothels.” – Times of India (Reuters)
THE POLITICS OF STAMPS
Commemorative stamps are big big business, and the US Post Office has been releasing a flood of them – 5 billion to 6 billion a year: singles, sheets, rolls, blocks, booklets, commemorating everything from… well… – Washington Post
COLLATERAL DAMAGE
Since only a small percentage of artists are able to support themselves working full-time on their art, the vast majority rely on income from other salaried work. Now the Australian government is drafting legislation to limit artists’ tax deductions that could make it that much harder to earn a living wage. The government’s real target has been tax evasion by rich professionals, but artists writing off work expenses and losses will be the “collateral victims.” – Sydney Morning Herald
UNLIKELY HERO
Australian Federal Arts Minister Richard Alston, who has been criticized in the past for his preoccupation with the communications industries, is set to “become an unlikely hero when he announces a massive increase in arts funding next week.” After a nationwide performing arts report found many Australian arts companies to be burdened by debt, Alston is “proposing that funding to Australia’s 31 major performing arts companies be increased by about $67 million over four years.” – The Age (Melbourne)