“It seems ludicrous to bring up Monet’s race, doesn’t it? Because it doesn’t really matter what his skin color was back in 1908, when, in 2009, we’re standing in front of a 42-foot canvas admiring those lilac and green brushstrokes.” So, asks Kristi York Wooten, “in the age of Obama, … do we need a National Black Arts Festival? Yes or no? If you’re wondering, my answer is ‘Yes’ (make that, ‘Hell, yes!’).”
Tag: 07.22.09
Sotheby’s Breaks With Partner That Paid Clients Late
“One of Canadian art’s major auction partnerships has been scrapped after Toronto-based Ritchies admitted it missed a payment deadline for a number of clients who had consigned paintings for a multimillion-dollar joint Sotheby’s-Ritchies sale in May.” The president of Sotheby’s Canada called the payment failure a “cardinal sin” and said “that Sotheby’s moved quickly to end its seven-year association with Ritchies.”
More Delay Likely For Hadid’s Millennium Park Pavilion
“[T]he tent fabric is finally going into place over the aluminum skeleton of Zaha Hadid’s much-delayed Burnham Plan Centennial pavilion in Millennium Park,” but “the pavilion, which was supposed to be done five weeks ago, is likely to open a few days after its Aug. 1 target.”
Picketers Target First Wives Club Backers At Old Globe
“When the musical version of ‘The First Wives Club’ opens July 31 at San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre, audiences can expect some juicy drama — outside the theater doors, that is.” Two New York producers who plan to take the show to Broadway “have allegedly stiffed their former employees out of money, and — like the heroines of the musical — the wronged parties are seeking sweet revenge.”
Umm, About Staging Siegfried During The High Holidays …
“Now that the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has defused Mike Antonovich’s potentially embarrassing attempt to change the focus of Los Angeles Opera’s Ring Festival from Wagner…, I hope it is safe to point out that the company’s troubles may not be completely over. Unfortunately, its next installment in the cycle, ‘Siegfried,’ opens on Sept. 26, in the midst of the Jewish High Holidays” — and it’s the “most problematic of the cycle” in terms of stereotyping.
USA Today’s Best-Seller List Now Includes Kindle Sales
It “becomes the first major list to include Amazon Kindle e-book sales. The move reflects both the growth of e-book sales and Kindle’s role in that market.”
Artist Withdrawals Cascade At Skylight Opera Theater
So far, 22 artists have pulled out of the Milwaukee company’s 50th anniversary season in protest against the abrupt dismissals of artistic director Bill Theisen, company manager Diana Alioto, music director Jamie Johns and other staff members last month. Longtime supporters are beginning to sever their ties with Skylight as well.
Attendance At NY City Ballet In Saratoga: It’s Down, It’s Up
“The Saratoga Performing Arts Center announced today that it pulled in 24 percent more people on a per-performance basis for this summer’s residency of the New York City Ballet, which concluded Saturday night. Total attendance dropped by 18 percent, from about 42,000 people in 2008 to 35,000 this year, but because City Ballet’s stay was shortened to two weeks instead of three, the per-performance audience average climbed.”
UK Culture Ministry Discovers £100 Million Budget Hole
“Funding of some of the most prestigious cultural grand projects in Britain is in jeopardy because a £100m black hole has been discovered in the budgets of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Whitehall sources disclosed tonight.”
Twittering Program Notes In Real Time? D.C.’s National Symphony Will Give It A Try
“Conductor Emil de Cou has prepared real-time program notes to Beethoven’s Sixth [Symphony] that will be beamed to Twitterati sitting on the lawn of Wolf Trap July 30.”