The first cathedrals, theaters and concert halls, researchers now theorize, may have been inspired by musical performances held in caves.
Tag: 07.01.08
Stolen Ancient Iraqi Books Show Up In Israel
Some 300 rare books confiscated from Iraq’s Jewish community by Saddam Hussein’s regime have been secretly spirited into Israel, an Israeli newspaper says.
British Culture Secretary Nixes Direct Government Arts Funding
“Culture secretary Andy Burnham has ruled out direct government funding for the country’s flagship arts companies, claiming that such a move would undermine Arts Council England.”
A New Model Of Orchestra?
Symphony Silicon Valley “has become locally famous, almost notorious, as an orchestra without a music director. Circumstances at first did not allow for the hiring of one — concerts in the first two seasons were infrequent and there were budgetary concerns as well as worries about putting the orchestra’s fate in one pair of conductorial hands. Perhaps surprisingly, the orchestra has just gone on that way.”
Literary Agent Sues Blogs For “Ruining” Her Reputation
“In the suit filed in Monmouth County Superior Court earlier this year, Barbara Bauer named 19 bloggers and website administrators who she said posted negative comments about her. She also sued the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America website and Wikimedia, the owners of the online encyclopedia Wikipedia. The entries on Wikipedia can be written by anyone, including anonymous users of the site.”
Judge Tosses Bookstore Porn Surcharge
A federal judge threw out a new Indiana law requiring bookstores and other retailers to register with the state and pay a $250 fee if they want to sell sexually explicit material.
The Fly, The Opera
David Cronenberg’s 1986 horror flick, “The Fly,” has undergone a bizarre metamorphosis. It’s now an opera. For an opera, it’s pretty scary — even if there are touches of dark humor. Giggles broke out among those invited to Monday’s dress rehearsal when a mezzo-soprano belted out the film’s catchphrase: “Be afraid. Be very afraid.”
Why We Still Need Movie Critics
“When the highest-grossing films get panned by critics, what good are critics? As publishers across the country dump their reviewers, this is not exactly a rhetorical question. Believe it or not, though, critically acclaimed films generally do better than critically panned films at the box office–if you measure their performance in the right way.”
Why Britain Hasn’t Taken To Frank Gehry
The odd thing is that the Serpentine Pavilion is Gehry’s first English venture. “Probably the last, too,” he says. “I don’t think England likes me. The critics don’t, that’s for sure. I reckon I’ve got a couple of years in me, but I don’t count on making a career in England.”
The Art Of Architecture
“Artists are always the laboratory for the first ideas, the first emotions. Architects take emotions from the streets, the art galleries, the museums; they steal. Architects often wish they were artists, and Jean Nouvel is of the artier kind.”