In its first year, the Tate Modern drew five million visitors; it quickly became the hottest thing in modern art. The numbers have tailed off some, but “despite a drop in visitor numbers, Tate Modern has reigned as the only major gallery offering contemporary art in the capital on a massive scale. But after nearly three years it saw its first threat to its crown with the opening of the Saatchi Gallery, at nearby County Hall.”
Tag: 05.12.03
The Patriotic Thing – Oppose The Patriot Act
Led by librarians across America, the campaign against the US Patriot Act is growing. The Patriot Act requires libraries and others to spy on American citizens. But so far, “103 cities, towns, and counties have passed resolutions against the USAPA, covering roughly 10 million people in the US. ‘The more the USAPA and other similar repressive legislation are “outed” as misguided and paranoid, to say nothing of unconstitutional and quasi–legal, the more we can return to being a society that really encourages and appreciates the free exchange of ideas, not one that pays lip service to ideals and then locks up its librarians’.”
Robo-Reader On The Job
The downside to digitizing millions of books waiting to go online? Scanning them into a computer. Now there’s a new robot enlisted in “the march toward digitization. Inside the room a Swiss-designed robot about the size of a sport utility vehicle was rapidly turning the pages of an old book and scanning the text. The machine can turn the pages of both small and large books as well as bound newspaper volumes and scan at speeds of more than 1,000 pages an hour. Occasionally the robot will stumble, turning more than a single page. When that happens, the machine will pause briefly and send out a puff of compressed air to separate the sticking pages.”
Where Did Sister Wendy Go?
Whatever happened to Sister Wendy? The nun/art historian seems to have dropped off of UK TV screens. “Sister Wendy offered a layman’s view of painting; that was her charm, and the source of her popularity. That, and the simple fact that anybody with a gimmick on prime-time TV is bound to be a hit no matter what they do, whether it’s nuns and paintings or suited spivs with antiques. Here was a nice lady who evidently knew her Arshile Gorky from her El Greco, reassuring us we needn’t worry about all that high-falutin elitist nonsense they teach in art schools. All you need do is look at a painting and feel.”
Death Of The Sitcom
Is the TV sitcom dying? “For the fourth year in a row, when the television season ends this month, there will be only two comedies among the 10 most-watched network shows in prime time: ‘Friends’ on NBC and ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ on CBS. Only in the late 1950’s and the early 1980’s have there been such prolonged periods with so few mass-appeal television comedies.”
A Twain For The Stage
Mark Twain was not a successful playwright. “This fall, however, the University of California Press is publishing a three-act play it says is not only worthy of Twain’s legacy as America’s greatest humorist but that also has already been optioned by a Broadway producer.”
London – Skyline Busting
London is contemplating building Europe’s tallest building. It’s designed by Renzo Piano, and the design has been greeted positively. But many are reluctant to see the city bust out of its current gracious skyline. “London is under siege from tall buildings and tall building proposals. We do feel a bit conflicted opposing something so wonderful. Piano’s design is exciting. It’s just the wrong scale in the wrong place.”
Saying Goodbye To LA’s Dorothy Chandler
Esa-Pekka Salonen gives his final performance in Dorothy Chandler Pavilion with the LA Philharmonic before he and the orchestra move to the new Disney Hall in the fall. None too soon, writes Mark Swed: “I have attended Philharmonic performances in the Chandler every season since, and it was there that I learned much of the orchestral repertory. But it has never been a good symphony hall. One gets used to it, learns to listen through the acoustical limitations, but when you see cellos sawing away and don’t hear them, as can happen from the orchestra seats, you are forced to choose between believing your eyes or your ears.”
Municipal Opera That Works
Opera Holland Park is summer opera on a budget. But good opera. “With top tickets at £40 this year, Opera Holland Park has found itself in the curious position of not being taken seriously on the bucolic summer opera circuit because it’s too cheap. Yet it enjoys some of London’s boskiest greenery in Holland Park, including a Japanese water garden, strolling peacocks and the picturesque ruin of the Jacobean Holland House. OHP may not be dressy — in fact it’s determinedly democratic — but last year saw more hampers and popping corks than ever before.”