“Looking at the UK book market is a good way to obliterate any idea of the Brits being sophisticated, stiff-upper-lip types.” And Americans…
Tag: 08.21.08
Can Theatre Go Green?
“It seems that it has only been relatively recently that the environment has become a concern for theatremakers. Perhaps this is not surprising. The science and politics involved tend to feel quite abstract and the consequences of climate change still feel far off, so it can be difficult to humanise all this in a way that will work on stage. So how, then, do you best tackle this issue?”
What’ll Save Prime Time TV: Jane Austen?
“Broadcasters have turned to Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy and Jane Austen for their inspiration this autumn as television executives rely on 19th-century writers to woo audiences in the era of the iPod.”
Artist’s Work Seized On Way To Olympic Exhibition
“Seizing “Bird’s Nest” at Customs for its somberness was in line with the enforced beauty of the Beijing Olympic moment, which included putting a cute young girl with straight teeth on television while the public heard the voice of the actual gap-toothed singer of “Ode to the Motherland” at the opening ceremony. Yet the words in Mr. Zhang’s painting were surely a more acute problem for Chinese officials, and there were a lot of them.”
The Undercover Art Thief
“Robert Wittman is the ranking undercover art-crime investigator at the FBI — the Donnie Brasco of the art world. The 52-year-old has spent two decades impersonating shady dealers and befriending thieves in order to track down $225 million worth of missing objects, from a Rembrandt self-portrait to an original copy of America’s Bill of Rights.”
After 53 Years, Beaux Arts Trio Calls It Quits
“It’s fitting that the Beaux Arts Trio is returning to Tanglewood, because that’s where it all began. The group gave its first public concert there on July 13, 1955. And for 53 years, one member of the Trio has remained constant: pianist Menahem Pressler. He’s 84 now, but he still vividly recalls how that first concert launched a career for three separate musicians who quickly grew into a single musical unit.”
Artists In The Museum – No Copying Allowed
Great European museums allow artists into their galleries to draw or paint. But “copying, apparently, is a polarizing subject. It does tend to come down to those who see it as part of a museum’s job and those who don’t. It’s notable that the larger museums that disallow copying are on the West Coast, where museums are younger and less tied to European traditions. They also have fewer significant works of old art.”
Home Video-Makers To Get Special Effects Editing
“The application, called Unwrap Mosaics, makes adding a moustache to a family member in a video as easy as scrawling on a digital picture. For example, drawing a tattoo on a person’s arm requires editing only a single image. The programme makes the change throughout the video, making it ripple realistically with their skin.”
China Blocks iTunes Store
“Apple’s iTunes music store has been blocked in China, allegedly due to some athletes listening to protest songs.”
Toronto Opens Mega-Film Studio (But Will The Blockbusters Come To Use It?)
“In the past, Toronto’s allure was in the wallet, Mr. Ferguson said. The city appealed to made-for-TV movies and low-budget films that could shoot in warehouses or on the streets. But Filmport’s hope is that Toronto can face off with Los Angeles, New York and Vancouver to draw big-name films. Filmport’s gem is Stage 4, a gaping cavern of highly insulated space supported by red flying buttresses on the outside. At 45,900 square feet, it is reportedly North America’s largest purpose-built sound stage.”