“According to the report by the Foundation Center and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, funding for the humanities by a sample group of some 1,000 large U.S. foundations more than doubled, from $134.1 million in 1992 to $335 million in 2002. But total foundation giving tripled in that period, to $15.9 billion in 2002, and the humanities’ share of the pie crumbled from 2.5 percent in 1992 to 2.1 percent in 2002. In 2002, education ($4.2 billion) and health ($2.9 billion) were the prime recipients of the sample group’s dollars, according to the Foundation Center.”
Tag: 06.20.04
Sorting Out The Politics Of Artists
“For years, many conservatives have railed against the political leanings of the arts world and opposed the use of public money in arts funding. It’s a world that has taken as its official motto Andy Warhol’s observation that art is whatever you can get away with. . . . It shovels you between ennui and disgust. It’s axiomatic that much of the mainstream discourse in arts circles would be regarded as the language of the fringes in other fields. ‘It’s very lonely,’ says Don Schwartz, a sculptor based in Connecticut who argues that the liberal dominance of the arts world is a result of liberals disliking economics and thus drifting to jobs in culture. ‘It’s very intimidating to be a conservative in the arts. A lot of conservative artists give up’.”
Conservatives Mount Campaign Against Michael Moore
Conservatives protesting Michael Moore’s “Farenheit 9/11” have mounted a protest campaign. “Since we are the customers of the American movie theaters, it is important for us to speak up loudly and tell the industry executives that we don’t want this misleading and grotesque movie being shown at our local cinema.”
People Meter: We Know What You’re Listening To
“The Portable People Meter is the next big thing in ratings. For the past few years, about 1,500 people in the Philadelphia area have worn small electronic devices that keep track of every bit of radio programming they might hear in the car, at the office, as they walk to lunch, when they drop by a friend’s house or when they hit happy hour after work.”
I Trillin, Poet
“Calvin Trillin is one of America’s most productive and frequently published poets. When he’s in a pithy mood, he is also, word for word, one of our most highly remunerated. But neither he, nor anyone else, would claim that he is one of our best, and in terms of quality, his verse falls somewhere between that of Alexander Pope and the bathroom wall, generally tending to the latter. He works in what might be called a middle-world of American political journalism.”
Always A Workshop, Never A Bride
Workshop Hell is “an all-too-crowded netherworld where shows are not quite produced but also not quite forgotten. Pretty much any playwright or composer trying to make a living in the American theater knows about the labyrinthine system of table readings, staged readings and fully rehearsed workshops by which scripts can bounce from theater to theater, spending years being rewritten and pruned and focus-grouped and test-marketed and audience-critiqued — all without ever getting performed as they were meant to be.”
The London Symphony At 100
The London Symphony is flying at a time when other orchestras are struggling to stay alive. Why? “You never stay successful by becoming institutional. Success is the result of keeping on the move, demanding more of yourself, challenging the very rules you live by. But at the same time, you have to be clear about what you exist for and where you’re going. If there’s one reason the L.S.O. has been successful, it’s because everything we do is for the music and without the compromise of `Oh, can we afford it?’ “
Marginalizing Mr. Libeskind
A year ago, Daniel Libeskind was annointed star of the design of the World Trade Center redevelopment project. But his influence has declined dramatically since then. “People involved with the redevelopment of downtown say he has ample reason to be disappointed; in the year since he was anointed Architect on High, his influence, control and stature have steadily diminished. ‘Where is Daniel at this point? Has he been marginalized? How many of his ideas remain’?”
Are Galleries Necessary For Art Dealers?
Do art dealers really need expensive galleries to make their businesses work? “Given the hassles involved in maintaining a gallery space—paying rent, keeping the phones manned and the desk staffed, mounting shows, dealing with logistics such as security or utilities, and so forth,” dealers with established artist rosters and reputations might be able to forgo the gallery grind.
Watching The Whitney Grow
The Whitney says it’s finally going to move ahead with an expansion. Sensitive to resistance from neighbours and the Landmarks Commission to earlier proposed expansions, Whitney director Adam Weinberg vows to create a building that “fits comfortably within the fabric of the community and within the building envelope of the property next to the museum.”