Why are US critics so eager to complain about MoMA? Jonathan Jones is baffled. “I can see that if I were a New York critic I would be finding fault with MoMA too. I’m glad I’m not, and can look at it with the healthy romanticism they doubtless feel when they contemplate Tate Modern’s vast spaces, so refreshingly uncluttered by all those Picasso paintings MoMA is burdened with.”
Tag: 05.09.07
Literature Under Blair: How Has It Fared?
“The key, and positive, change to the arts that has taken place under Blair – the advent of a fluid sense of identity – has gone hand in hand with the rise of spin: the deliberate use of ‘semantic slippage’ to achieve political and commercial ends or obfuscate moral embarrassments in those fields. Postmodernism, by nature a free-going sort of animal, turns very nasty when harnessed to deliberate ends.”
Rock – Is That All There Is?
“The seedlings of pseudo-classicalism are scattering at bewildering speed. It’s the way that ‘rock’ has become sealed into its own historical bubble. Just as classical music can look back on its trajectory from Renaissance music to Serialism and assess its great composers and timeless masterpieces, so rock can point to its canon of superstars (now all festooned with Grammys and ennobled in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame) and its acknowledged archive of classic albums, and ask: ‘Is that it’?”
Claim: Movie Piracy Rampant In Canada
Piracy in Canada has “exploded in the two years since Congress made it a crime to use video recording devices to copy movies in U.S. theaters, according to industry officials. But with piracy laws more relaxed in Canada, bootleggers can operate there almost risk free.”
SF Ballet’s Big 75th
The San Francisco Ballet will mark its 75th anniversary next year with a spring festival of 10 new works by 10 choreographers, a PBS special and a U.S. tour, along with a regular season of programs.
iTunes For Classical Music – Whoopee! (And Yet…)
“Only a churl would now deny that iTunes covers the classical waterfront every bit as effectively as a terrestrial store, and for no more than the price of a CD, with regular special offers. What effect this will have on classical reception in the years ahead is one of the great conundra.”
Why Are Americans Tuning Out TV?
Ratings are down, and 2.5 million fewer people watched American network TV this spring than last year. “Everyone has a theory to explain the plummeting ratings: early Daylight Savings Time, more reruns, bad shows, more shows being recorded or downloaded or streamed. Scariest of all for the networks, however, is the idea that many people are now making their own television schedules.”
Canadian Government To Set New Museums Policy
“The department says it is planning to develop a renewed federal vision for museums in the 21st century, and creating new criteria for identifying collections of outstanding national importance, including collections held across the country.”
Smithsonian Looks For Preservation Partner
“The Smithsonian Institution has accelerated its search for a public or private partner to redevelop its landmark Arts and Industries Building, which has been closed to the public for three years since pieces of the roof began collapsing.”
Classical Radio Flying High In LA
“Two months after its main rival switched dial positions, [Los Angeles] classical radio station KUSC-FM (91.5) has attracted the most donors in its history, reflecting a substantial jump in listeners… New members came from 34 states besides California, thanks to the station’s Internet transmissions. KUSC, based at USC, is the nation’s largest nonprofit classical music station.”