“Someone has to figure out the technological trickery that creates the sort of staggering stage magic for which Vegas is famous. And UNLV is taking the lead, inaugurating a multidisciplinary program merging engineering technical expertise with the creative instincts of the fine arts — with the priceless advantage of access to the largest laboratory in the world, the Las Vegas Strip.”
Tag: 04.20.08
Leaving Las Vegas (Art That Is)
The Guggenheim’s closing of its gallery in the Venetian Hotel Marks an end. The philosophy of the Guggenheim Hermitage had been to send visitors the message that “you don’t have to know anything about this to enjoy it; we’re not going to make you feel intimidated,” but without dumbing down the art. Nonetheless, while “we broke even and even made money sometimes,” the museum director said, attendance had dropped the last two years. “Seven years is dog years in Las Vegas. All good things come to an end.”
Rushdie Thinks About His Time Running Out
Salman Rushdie typically takes three to five years to write a book. “You think ‘How many more have I got?’ And so the question of which ones … becomes unusually important when you are no longer immortal.
Web Fans Clash With Copyright
“The Web is awash with fan-produced material that could be the subject of a copyright fight, from remixed pop songs, to new fiction based on existing characters from books and TV shows, to countless tribute videos cut together with clips from TV shows or films. And, for the most part, the big media companies that own the material being mashed up and manipulated let it slide. There are simply too many offenders to chase.”
Music Schools Raking In The Big Bucks (Why Now?)
“Tens of millions of dollars more are pouring into other music schools across the country–in an era when professional symphony orchestras are struggling to survive and jazz clubs are an increasingly endangered species.”
Age-Busting Dance
The Prometheus Dance Elders Ensemble’s youngest member is 55; the oldest, 85. “Nearly half of the Elders are or were professors – of medieval literature, social work, education, the arts. They are also painters, models, activists, therapists, mothers, grandmothers, and widows. Most of all, they are very much themselves.”
Developers Clamp Down On Architects
“As the battles over mammoth-scale development grow more heated, developers and their marketing teams have become extremely cautious about the information they release before a project passes review, for fear of inciting a public outcry. Architects are now regularly asked to sign confidentiality agreements that forbid them to talk to the press, a tactic that was virtually unheard of a few years ago.”
The New Matinee Idol Tenors
“Thanks to Juan Diego Flórez, opera houses are flinging their doors open to frisky young tenors with agile technique. The bright ones know better than to copy him.”
An Argument For Repertory Theatre Companies
Mike Daisey makes an argument “about how regional theaters, in pursuit of growth, have lost sight of their original mission: They have put more money into expensive new buildings than grooming and rewarding actors; despite lip service about promoting diversity and community, artistic directors want to keep theater as a luxury item for the wealthy; the importing of actors, mainly from New York, has divorced theaters from their communities.”
New European Noise Regs Are Impacting Orchestras
“Across Europe, musicians are being asked to wear decibel-measuring devices and to sit behind see-through antinoise screens. Companies are altering their repertories. And conductors are reconsidering the definition of fortissimo.”