“The notion that 630,000 AmeriÂcans–a number roughly equal to the population of North Dakota–are making something approaching a living wage selling on eBay is a little rich. I’ve been paid a few times to play the piano–it doesn’t make me a professional musician.”
Tag: 05.21.08
In Praise Of Symmetry
“Symmetros is a Greek word, and ancient Greek architecture used symmetry as a basic organizing principle. As did Roman, Roman-esque, and Renaissance. Indeed, it is hard to think of any architectural tradition, Western or non-Western, that does not include symmetry. Symmetry is something that Islamic mosques, Chinese pagodas, Hindu temples, Shinto shrines, and Gothic cathedrals have in common.”
Tax Incentives Are Firing Up Regional Film Production
“Tax incentives targeted at film and television production have been enacted in 40 states and Washington, D.C. — nearly half of them within the past three years, largely in response to the incentives offered in Canada and overseas.”
Who Should Pay For Refurbishing West End Theatres?
Different owners take different responsibility. “Most of the theatres haven’t had much cash put into them since they were built. They’re all 100 years old, and you know that if you left your own home for 100 years, you’d soon be cold, miserable and wet, so why should it be any different for them?”
Pushkin Museum’s Major Expansion – Is It A Good Idea?
“According to the plan, the museum’s exhibition space will be quadrupled to about 428,000 square feet. Compare that to the space in New York’s expanded Museum of Modern Art (125,000 square feet) or in London’s Tate Britain and Tate Modern (a total of 222,812 square feet between them). The full price tag of the project has not been announced yet, but some sources estimate it at about $380 million.”
I Know Something That’ll Make My Art Look Great (By Comparison)
“Asked by the Arts Council to select a show from the huge collection of modern British art it has built up, Grayson Perry has plumped for the bleakest, dullest, greyest, least sexy things he could find: if it made you want to slit your wrists, it was in. Then he produced a couple of fabulous new pieces himself and added them to the show. Thus, anyone walking in here has little choice but to notice how awful the rest are and how brilliant Grayson is. Genius.”
Remembering How To Improvise
Improvisation was once a regular part of classical music. But in the 20th Century improvising disappeared from the concert stage. Now “a new generation of composers and performers is rediscovering it as a central part of the creative process — and, quite possibly, as a remedy for the shrinking of classical-music audiences.”
Berlin Philharmonic Fire Forces Temporary Closure
“Yesterday’s fire was probably sparked by welding work in the roof, orchestra officials said. “The blaze was restricted to the roof. Water damage inside the building was limited because of the fire service’s forethought and the water drainage system in the roof.”
Christophe Eschenbach – Two Very Different Artists
“Eschenbach, who leaves with the orchestra today for a three-week tour of Asia, ended his tenure here as a fascinating medium for contradiction. Anyone looking for similarities between the podium personality and the pianist would have found the entire concert rather frustrating: He is as two separate artists.”
World Standards For College Degrees? Where’s The US?
“European countries’ efforts to define what degrees and credits mean are already being embraced not only in Europe, but in the rest of the world. If American colleges don’t get involved, they risk finding that the entire world defines some of the key features of higher education in different ways, and American higher ed risks being passed by.”