“Of all the arguments for designating Baltimore’s Morris A. Mechanic Theatre a city landmark, one of the strongest comes from the owner itself. Others have reasoned that the 1967 building is a laudable symbol of its times, an inspired work of modern design by an architect of international stature,” John M. Johansen. “But the owner has filed plans with the city indicating what it might do to the vacant building in Charles Center if it’s not protected by landmark status and, in doing so, it demonstrated exactly why it needs to be protected.”
Tag: 08.13.07
NY Philharmonic Mulls Invitation From North Korea
“The New York Philharmonic is considering an official invitation from the North Korean government to perform in Pyongyang, the United States’ oldest symphony orchestra said on Monday.”
New Rules Yield Added Money For NYC Arts Groups
Many cultural groups have done quite well under New York City’s new arts-funding rules. “Arts groups that are not on city-owned land competed for $30 million in financing from the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs. And the 34 arts organizations on city-owned land, known as the Cultural Institutions Group, were allotted a total of $115.3 million, with an additional $4.4 million for ‘new needs.’ Last week arts organizations found out what those changes actually meant for them.”
Art From Prison
“Htein Lin, a political prisoner accused of planning opposition activities, has managed to smuggle out from prison more than 300 paintings and 1,000 illustrations on paper. Now, three years later, his artworks are offering a rare vision of prison life in Myanmar, formerly Burma, one of the world’s most authoritarian and closed nations.”
Time For An Art “Hedge Fund”?
“The founders of a new art ‘hedge fund’ envision a day when investors in the art market may be able to buy Impressionism futures, instead of an actual Monet. The Art Trading Fund, based in London, plans to develop an art market index — like the Dow or the S&P 500 — on the basis of which people could bet on which direction the market will go.”
Back To WWII
“Books about the Second World War, fiction and non-fiction, look set to be one of the hottest phenomena of the next decade.”
Wheeldon’s New Dance Co
Christopher Wheeldon’s new Morphoses company debuts. “Though Mr. Wheeldon is a genuinely gifted dance maker, it’s yet unclear just how substantial or imaginative Wheeldon dance theater will prove as a genre. Certainly Morphoses is welcome. It is also important. But it will be valuable most if it helps Mr. Wheeldon himself to build on what he has achieved.”
Time For Bayreuth Without Wagner Clan?
“The outcome that German authorities have refused to contemplate is a Bayreuth without Wagners, a festival in the hands of an outsider who would cleanse it of notoriety and nepotism, and revitalize its content. But that would amount to a radical revolution and Wagner, in Germany today, represents all that is reactionary in art.”
Museum Clones Itself In Virtual World
Dresden’s “Old Masters Picture Gallery, recently opened a virtual version of itself in Second Life. Second Life representatives say it’s the first real-world museum to ‘clone’ itself online, although virtual versions of other collections (most famously ‘Second Louvre,’ which has no official ties to the Paris museum) have popped up. All 37,700 square feet of the 150-year-old building, plus the grounds outside, have been recreated, down to the trash cans and fountains in the courtyard and ceiling moldings, staircases and furniture within.”
Why Is Mark Morris So Popular?
“One reason, I think, is that he gives people the modern pleasure of seeing abstract work without leaving them scratching their heads over what it was about. Though he may not have a story on the surface, he always has one underneath, in the form of movement motifs. For every dance, he devises a certain number of key gestures, which he then weaves through the choreography.”