“As more high-profile buildings by foreign architects rise in the United States, and as computers allow architects to strive for engineering, design and construction complexities never before imagined, a gathering rumble can be heard across the profession about the way America builds. The country has garnered a reputation for overlooking gaping joints, sloppy measurements and obvious blemishes, and refusing to deviate from even the most outmoded standardized practices. Having exported its expertise, in the 80’s and early 90’s, to destinations from Singapore to Dubai, it is now facing stiff competition from Europe and Asia, where the building traditions favor singularity, craftsmanship and durability over speed and cost.”
Tag: 08.08.04
Another Orchestra Negotiating Through The Press
Hot on the heels of the Philadelphia Orchestra management’s nearly unprecedented decision to speak publicly about the usually secret world of labor negotiations, the Cleveland Orchestra’s leadership has held a meeting with reporters to outline the financial position they are taking in negotiations with their own musicians. Cleveland’s ticket sales have dropped in recent years, and deficits have become the rule rather than the exception. Still, while the negotiations might be contentious, no one seems to be anticipating a strike, which has been expressed as a very real possibility by both sides in Philadelphia.
An “A” In Turntabling
“Until recently, aspiring DJ’s had to rely on a combination of osmosis and experimentation: you’d take mental notes at nightclubs, then you’d retreat to your room and keep practicing until you got the hang of it. Now, more and more people are learning how to DJ in classrooms. The turntable may be the most important musical instrument of the current era — it’s certainly the most ubiquitous — so it’s only fitting that turntable conservatories are starting to emerge.”
Hollywood’s Power Book Duo
“You’re an impoverished author with a third novel coming out. The broadsheets aren’t reviewing it, your literary agent isn’t taking your calls and you’re paying for your own book launch… Well you could try FedEx-ing it to Brad and Jen. Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston are major players in the literary world.” And of course, the close connections to the type of folks who can quickly turn even a mediocre novel into a $100 million blockbuster film don’t hurt, either.
India Bans Documentary
India has banned a documentary that looks at religious rioting betweeen Hindus and Muslims. “The film follows 2002 clashes in the western state of Gujarat, which left more than 1,000 people dead. A censor board said the documentary was ‘highly provocative and may trigger off unrest and communal violence’.”
An Idea Of Variety
Justin Davidson comes away from ArtsJournal’s online conversation between music critics on ideas and music impressed with the diversity of the landscape. “Over a discussion that meandered through Brahms and Wagner, early medieval polyphony, Sonic Youth, Bjork, Mozart and the evils of 12-tone Modernism, a picture has emerged of a musical world in which each composer – each piece, even – must create its own context from scratch. There are no rules, no lingua franca, no constraints within which an artist might find freedom. The scaffolding of prevailing ideas has fallen away.”