Ishmael Reid has written what he calls a “gospera,” a new term to describe a new theatrical form, a combination of gospel and opera. Ensconced at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, it has been attracting enthusiastic audiences for a month now. ‘This was commissioned by the San Francisco Opera Company in 1992,’ Reed says. ‘The Opera wanted to present it as an opera, but I felt, considering the source, it would fit the story to add gospel voices’.” – New York Daily News
Tag: 08.26.00
ATWOOD ON PARADE
Margaret Atwood is 60 and has just released a new book. The publicity machine is buzzing at a higher pitch than ever before. “Being as famous as Atwood must be like carrying a bundle around on your back. People recognize you on the street. Even if they don’t speak to you, they give you knowing looks, or else they avert their gaze as though you have a bizarre virus that is transmitted by eye contact. People want stuff from you – autographs, donations, appearances, opinions, money, patronage.” – The Globe and Mail (Canada)
WRITING BEHIND BARS
“For almost as long as there have been prisons, prisoners have turned author for diversion, creative expression, solace, penance, vindication, vengeance and release (physically and metaphysically). But their works have rarely been examined as a genre, and for what they reveal about the literary impulse behind bars.” – New York Times
SHOCK OF THE NEW
What is it about being shocked that artists and viewers find so…invigorating? “Notoriously, ever since the dawn of Impressionism, modern art has delivered the shock of the new. Whether you find it a bracing blast of novelty or a dastardly attack on everything sacred is partly a matter of temperament – and taste.” – The Telegraph (UK)
WHO GETS THE MONEY
In August the Australian government agreed to $70 million in additional funding to Australian arts groups. But agreement about how the money will be spent has been held up in a spat over $47,000 between the arts minister for Victoria and the federal government. – The Age (Melbourne)
NEW ARTS TELEVISION INITIATIVE
BBC chief announces major new initiative to revamp the public broadcaster. “BBC3 would target younger viewers with home-grown comedy, drama and music and BBC4 would be an “unashamedly intellectual mixture of Radio 3 and Radio 4 on television”. He said that the 800,000 visitors to the Monet exhibition at the Royal Academy last summer and the huge popularity of Tate Modern proved that there was a potential audience for a channel for ‘arts, ideas and in-depth discussion’.” – The Telegraph (UK)
DOUBLES, ANYONE?
Chicago’s Mayor Daley and the Chicago Sun-Times are feuding. Not about taxes or police or misdeeds. It’s about ping-pong tables. This summer, in a follow-up to last summer’s art cows, the city has placed ping pong tables through downtown. The newspaper called the project a flop and the mayor’s fuming; the city ordered the table in front of the Sun-Times building removed. – Chicago Sun-Times
BUILDING STARS
In the ’80s architects and the buildings they created were reviled in Britain. But a whole new generation of buildings has made building the hot visual art of the moment. “Architecture is a profession that matures late, and there are innumerable young practices with potential. What follows are five to watch out for, architects who have already demonstrated their potential but have yet to achieve their best work. If they are not clearly established as household names by the end of the decade, then the fault will lie not in their own talents, but in Britain’s traditional failure of will when it comes to commissioning young architects.” – The Telegraph (UK)
SHOCK OF THE NEW
What is it about being shocked that artists and viewers find so…invigorating? “Notoriously, ever since the dawn of Impressionism, modern art has delivered the shock of the new. Whether you find it a bracing blast of novelty or a dastardly attack on everything sacred is partly a matter of temperament – and taste.” – The Telegraph (UK)