“The ideas behind the steampunk sci-fi subgenre have been around since Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, but it was given its moniker in the late ’80s as a speculative-fiction genre, alongside cyberpunk, ribofunk and splatterpunk. While the others peer 15 minutes into the future, steampunk envisions a future that has collapsed onto a re-imagined Victorian past.”
Tag: 06.18.07
“Pirate Queen” To Close On Broadway
“Upon closing, it will have played 85 performances and 32 previews, at a loss of most of its reported $16 million investment. The Pirate Queen did not receive a single 2007 Tony Award nomination. In the months leading up to the Broadway bow, following its fall 2006 tryout in Chicago, the show was rewritten and re-staged, with the help of 11th-hour artists Richard Maltby and Graciela Daniele.”
Tusa Named To Head V&A
John Tusa, retiring from leading the Barbican Center, has been named director of the Victoria & Albert Museum. “Tusa, 71, was named today by Prime Minister Tony Blair, though he has criticized the Blair government’s arts policy, and currently chairs an independent arts task force for the opposition Conservatives. He previously served as managing director of the British Broadcasting Corporation’s World Service.”
Smithsonian – Seeks “Cultue Of Accountability”
The Smithsonian’s governance committee, created in March, has released 25 recommendations to clarify the role of its 17-member Board of Regents, ensure that information reaches the board in Washington and strengthen what the committee called a ‘culture of accountability’.”
Cell Phones In Service To The Arts
“Americans sent 18.7 billion text messages in December 2006, nearly double the 9.7 billion that were sent the previous December, according to CTIA, a wireless industry trade group. While various companies have tried to beat a path from consumers’ phones to their wallets, theater promoters, weary of phones ringing infuriatingly during denouements, have held back. Until now.”
The Story Of Art In Stories
“Power of Art succeeds not because of the power of the chosen masterpieces but because Simon Schama masterfully weaves engaging mysteries around each artwork. And he walks and talks viewers through it all in a “History Boys” style that is so chatty and disarming that even the flintiest museumphobe wants to stick around to find out what happened next.”
Gianfranco Ferre, 62
“Ferré was one of the biggest names in Italian fashion during the 1980s and 1990s, known for his masculine-looking suits and austere gowns that often caused fashion show audiences to marvel over their elaborate construction. He placed a visible emphasis on the seams of his garments, a signature rooted in his early training not as a designer, but as an architect.”