Australia Ballet gets $1 million extra from the government to hire ten new dancers and continue its national touring program. Without additional government money, the company had said it would “retreat” from its present program of touring and choreographic innovation, following last year’s $665,000 deficit. – The Age (Melbourne)
Tag: 05.29.00
BASIC RENEWAL
As the Martha Graham Company goes out of business, another company has come along to renew the legacy. “The young company Buglisi/Foreman Dance (this is its fifth season) renews the Graham technique in all its full-bodied glory. Everything is here: those potent torsos, contracting, releasing, spiraling; legs, arms and heads alert to every surge of emotion. – New York Times
BLOCKBUSTER BOX OFFICE
Hollywood is on a pace to score its third record year in a row at the box office. “Through May 21, U.S. audiences had spent $2.44 billion on movie tickets, up from $2.25 billion in the same period a year ago.” – Chicago Tribune (AP) 05/29/00
FUN WHILE IT LASTED
“Five years ago, Vancouver animation studios couldn’t find people to fill positions. Today, it’s a different story. Every eight weeks, another 22 Vancouver Film School grads are sent out into the marketplace, competing against more than 100 others who graduate annually from another half-dozen animation schools in the area. The city’s industry is closely linked to what happens in Los Angeles, and animators here are feeling L.A.’s downswing. Vancouver is in a downcycle.” – The Globe and Mail (Canada) 05/29/00
THE UP(DOWN)SIDE OF DIGITAL
New projectors to show movies in theatres cost about $100,000, about ten times what a standard film projector costs. But the payoff might be good – audiences grade the picture quality and film experience better. The cost might be prohibitive even though the longterm costs of getting the movies to theatres goes down. “We did a modest survey with audiences on previous digital runs and the numbers support the digital performances. They were just graded better.” – Los Angeles Times 05/29/00
WRITER IN SOCIALIST CLOTHING
George Orwell was not a socialist, even if he might have had the reputation as a “secular saint” of socialism. It was a reputation built on sand, argues a critic. – New Statesman
A TOWN BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE
A few years back the town of North Adams, Massachusetts was so destitute, a developer suggested flooding the place and starting over. But an unlikely art project has revitalized the area. “In the year since it opened last Memorial Day weekend, the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, known as Mass MOCA, has been hailed as a wild success, drawing more than 105,000 visitors to its galleries, 25,000 more to performing arts events, and garnering architectural and preservation awards. – New York Times
AN APPETITE FOR (FREE) ART
Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art gets a corporate grant to abolish its $12 admission charge. In the first four days since going free, attendance has doubled, and twice the museum has had to temporarily close its doors because of overcrowding. – Sydney Morning Herald
THE STORY BEHIND THE PAINT
It’s been possible to tell what lies underneath the layers of paint of a painting for some time. “However, new technologies such as infra-red analysis – one of several methods used to determine the history and construction of paintings – makes the task more precise.” The technology is helping rewrite the histories of some works of art. – The Age (Melbourne)
A FAKE FAKE
Fifty years ago, Australia’s most important painting – thought to be by 15th-century Flemish master Jan van Eyck – was declared a fake by experts in Brussels who ruled it was not by van Eyck and was probably not even Flemish. The painting was taken down from the National Gallery and put away. But new research shows the experts might have been wrong and now the painting may be returned to display. – The Age (Melbourne)