Tag: 05.11.05

Warhol Portrait Of Liz Sells For $12 Mil

An Andy Warhol portrait of Elizabeth Taylor has been sold in New York for $12.6 million. “The painting, which was made from a publicity photo in the year Taylor starred in the Cleopatra, just exceeded its pre-sale estimate of $9-12m. The portrait had been owned by the same person since 1965 and was bought by English diamond mogul Laurence Graff.”

BBC Workers Vote To Strike – Will Attempt To Shut Down Broadcaster

Workers at the BBC have voted to stage a strike to protest plans to cut 3,780 jobs. “Members of the Bectu and NUJ unions have voted in favour of a walk-out – probably a 12- or 24-hour stoppage between mid-May and early June. The BBC is expected to try to minimise disruption but unions said they want ‘black screens and dead air’.”

Minneapolis Company Wins Regional Tony

“Theatre de la Jeune Lune, the inventive theater troupe conceived in Paris in 1978 before moving permanently to Minneapolis in 1985, has won this year’s Tony Award for best regional theater. The award, announced Tuesday in New York City, honors a company’s general artistic excellence and achievement. It comes with a $25,000 purse and will be presented June 5 at the Tony ceremonies.”

King Tut In The Scanner

Thanks to computer scanning technology, we’ve now got a pretty good idea what King Tut looked like. “Three teams of scientists have created the first facial reconstructions of King Tutankhamun based on CT scans of his mummy. The images are strikingly similar both to each other and to ancient portraits of the boy pharaoh, including his depiction on the famed golden mask he wore into the crypt.”

The Googlization Of Books – Europe’s Not Happy

Why are the French so ticked off that Google plans to digitize libraries? “To some, the outcry smacked of just another case of misplaced Gallic pride; after all, Google plans to include French and other non-English books in its literary database. But a rapid response from bureaucrats in The Hague has sent a signal that the whole continent now sees Google as a threat. Last week, four months after Google’s announcement, the European Commission, which represents 25 countries, pledged 96 million euros to digitize all of the books from more than 20 of Europe’s most pre-eminent libraries before America gets there first.”

Simon Firing – An Odd Move

Terry Teachout on John Simon: “As the saying goes, John Simon has forgotten more about theater than I’ll ever know. For all the controversies he stirred up over the years, he was and is a critic of the very first rank, not least because of his ability to place what he sees on stage in so wide and deeply informed a cultural context. Even when I disagree with him, I take no one else’s opinions as seriously.”

Stearns: Garner Opera Works

Michigan Opera Theatre created a lot of buzz about its Richard Danielpour/Toni Morrison opera “Margaret Garner”, writes David Stearns. “It’ll do fine (I think). Dramaturgical lapses are there, but the strengths of Margaret Garner are so considerable and wide-ranging that the piece is legitimately destined to make new friends for opera without alienating old ones.”

Philadelphia Orchestra President Steps Down

Joe Kluger is stepping down as president of the Philadelphia Orchestra after 16 years. “Kluger’s tenure makes him the second-longest current chief of a major American orchestra (after Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra president Steven Monder), according to the American Symphony Orchestra League. Kluger, 50, said that he will take on a consulting role with Adrian Ellis, whose firm, AEA Consulting, specializes in facilities and operational issues for arts groups. Kluger said that he does not know if that will be a short- or long-term step in his career.”

Alberta Museum Gets $150 Million Overhaul

Alberta’s provincial music is to get a $150 million update and a new name in honor of the Canadian province’s 100th anniversary. “The money, to be spent over the next five years, will be used to update and renew the museum, which will also be christened with a new name – the Royal Alberta Museum – when the Queen visits Alberta later this month.”