So the opening of the Tate Modern was the art event of the century. But there are a few problems, aren’t there? “The Tate owns fewer than 700 pieces of international art – not all that many really. It wasn’t created to be a museum of world art at all – in fact, at about the time that the Museum of Modern Art was being established in New York, the Tate was turning up its nose at the work of Gaudier-Brzeska, and didn’t really start buying 20th-century international art until well after the Second World War. The consequence of this is that, although the Tate owns 38 Picassos, it also has enormous gaps in its collection.” – New Statesman
Tag: 05.23.00
WYNN TO GET BELLAGIO TAX BREAKS
Casino mogul Steve Wynn is expected to benefit handsomely from major tax breaks when MGM sells off Bellagio Hotel’s $200 million worth of fine art in Las Vegas. – Las Vegas Sun
ART JUMBLE
The new new thing is for museums to hang art out of its traditional chronological order. This of course has some critics and curators fuming. Not Thomas Hoving, however: I applaud the jumble-jamble approach. A work of art is an act of magical genius and it essentially doesn’t matter if it was created in the fifth decade of whatever century or is an example of the late middle mature style of whatever artist or school of painting. And it really doesn’t edify the member of the viewing public if that work is isolated within other similar works in time or space. – Artnet
SPOLETO BOYCOTT FELT
Even though South Carolina will take down the Confederate flag above its statehouse June 1, a boycott of Charleston’s Spoleto Festival is being felt. Ticket sales are down and some artists won’t be attending. “The arts generally are another way of addressing social questions, and ultimately a more effective way than politics,” said festival general director Nigel Redden. “Not hearing artists is an immense loss, and one I personally feel is extremely painful.” – The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) (AP)
TEST OF TRADITION
The Bolshoi Ballet and Opera are struggling with their own survival. “A crumbling building, mixed critical reviews and shaky finances plague the renowned ballet and opera company as its members rehearse for a tour of the United States.” – The Age (Melbourne) (AP)
REBUILDING A COUNTRY
How do you rebuild after the war? With dance. “Chechens are a people of great artistry. Through dance they strive to express their anger, their pain, their love of peace.” – New York Times
REEL DANCE
Australia hosts its first festival devoted to dance movies. Just one question though – how do you define what’s a dance movie? – Sydney Morning Herald
CIRQUE DU CELLULOID
French Canadian circus/performance troupe Cirque du Soleil released its first IMAX film, “Journey of Man,” a collage of acts drawn from the company’s popular shows “O” and “Mystere.” – Backstage 05/23/00
THE FUTURE OF FILM
“Digital filmmaking might be the solution to spiraling production costs that plague all the major studios, where the average cost of producing a film has soared above $50 million. ‘On a film like ‘Godzilla,’ we shipped $13 million worth of prints. There will certainly come a day that that won’t be the protocol any longer. We will be sending our signals to theaters through satellites or other means.'” – The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) (LA Times) 05/23/00
POOR RELATIONS
Now that the prizes have been given out, the post-mortem bitching about what Cannes is and isn’t begins in earnest. “The always tetchy on-off, love-hate relationship has reached an all-time low between the ‘majors’ (as Hollywood’s studios are known in industry parlance) and Gilles Jacob, the famously self-important sovereign of Cannes, now serving his last year as director – or rather dictator – of the festival.” – The Straits Times (Singapore) 05/23/00