Chicago city officials have decided to relax permit rules for those taking pictures in Millennium Park. Security guards had been chasing away photographers who tried to take pictures of the hugely popular giant Anish Kapoor “Bean” sculpture. “Permits were initially priced at $350 a day for professional still photographers, $1,200 a day for professional videographers and $50 an hour for wedding photographers.”
Tag: 05.27.05
A Look At A New Opera House For Dallas
Revised designs are unveiled for a new opera house in Dallas. “The opera house is the centerpiece of the $275 million Dallas Center for the Performing Arts, which also includes the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre, designed by Rem Koolhaas and his Office for Metropolitan Architecture; and the City Performance Hall by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill of Chicago and Corgan Associates of Dallas.”
Washington State To Pursue Art Collectors
Last week the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that “millions of dollars in purchases by Washington art collectors have gone untaxed, and that an effort to collect that revenue was impeded by upper management and then suspended late last year.” This week a flurry of state investigations has been announced, and state tax collectors says they’ll start actively trying to collect the taxes owed.
Royal Academy Expels Artist
For the first time in 200 years, the Royal Academy of Art has expelled a member. “Professor Brendan Neiland resigned as Keeper of the Royal Academy Schools last July amid allegations regarding missing funds from academy accounts. The professor is the first artist to be stripped of his membership since James Barry was ejected in 1799. “
Making Media Safe For All…
Does American media need reform? More than 2,400 people gathered recently in St. Louis to talk about it. One issue? “In a very near future, high-definition television, telephone service, radio, and the internet could all be reliably piped into homes, cars, and portable devices through a single wireless service provider. The cable and telephone companies are banking on that destiny. Municipal wireless networks are an alternative, by which local governments offer low-cost or free use of high-speed internet as a public utility rather than a private luxury. But — surprise — bills banning municipal wireless have been recently passed in 11 states and are being considered in a dozen more, including Texas.”
Emin’s Examination Of Self
Tracey Emin has a new exhibit that highlights a significant shift in her artistic style. It also highlights something, um, a bit more personal. “Were it not for the fact that nearly every work in the exhibition shows the artist luxuriantly masturbating, it would be possible to imagine that Tracey Emin had transformed herself into an artist with the sensibility of a Victorian lady watercolourist.”
The Anti-Orchestra
Ivan Fischer is not a conductor who is content to do things by someone else’s rulebook. “In 1983, when he was in his early 30s, Fischer decided to found his own orchestra and run it on very different lines from anything that had gone before. More than two decades later, the Budapest Festival Orchestra has become one of the world’s great ensembles, playing to packed houses at home and astounding audiences abroad with its brilliance and intensity.” And yet, the organization and culture of the orchestra are like nothing most musicians ever experience, emphasizing individual accomplishment as much as teamwork.
Beethoven Overload? Not A Chance.
Next month, Britain’s BBC Radio 3 will play Beethoven. For six days. Which seems like a long time – not that Ludwig van isn’t great and all, but, seriously? Six days? Long time. Still, Stephen Moss is up for the challenge, and just to prove that it’s not all a waste of time, he’s doing his own personal Beethoven marathon a week early…
Walker COO Resigns Abruptly
Weeks after opening a major expansion, Minneapolis’s Walker Art Center has accepted the resignation of its chief operating officer, who oversaw the year-long construction project. “[Ann] Bitter’s surprise departure comes at an awkward moment in the Walker’s development. Its addition by the Swiss firm Herzog & de Meuron has received rave reviews, but the building’s experimental architecture and mid-construction design changes forced the museum to cut costs by leaving the offices unfinished. Completing the offices and an adjacent sculpture garden are expected to cost up to $5 million more.”