In the you-can-rest-easier department, isn’t it nice to know that NATO is protecting our interests in culture as well as in the skies? “The aim of NATOarts is to advance the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s goals in the cultural realm. There was also a feeling that an organization such as NATO should take a more proactive role in the formation of international culture.” – New York Press
Tag: 09.06.00
BIG MONEY GAME
When casino mogul/art collector Steve Wynn sold the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas earlier this year, he got the buyer to agree to give him right of first refusal on the sale of the hotel’s artwork. A shareholder is suing Wynn’s company, saying Wynn will be unfairly enriched by the deal to the detriment of shareholders. – Las Vegas Sun
HITTING THE WALL
California’s Bay Area has 47 wall mural businesses. The region’s hot economy has piqued demand for murals to adorn buildings and they’re showing up everywhere. – San Francisco Chronicle
DON’T MAKE ME GO
In France to promote his latest film, director Robert Altman told the French press that he will move to France if George W. Bush is elected president in November. “It would be a catastrophe for the whole world.” – Yahoo! News (Reuters)
DOME DISASTER
London’s much-hyped (and much-maligned) Millennium Dome was mired in a new crisis Tuesday as it was forced, due to poor attendance, to reveal it’s on the verge of bankruptcy and ask the government for an emergency hand-out of £47 million – the Dome’s fifth cash injection in less than a year. – The Independent (UK)
MAKING MUSEUMS FREE
There is a general feeling in the UK that entrance to museums should be free. Many already are, but those that charge a nominal admissions fee don’t do it for the money from ticket sales. They do it to exempt themselves from VAT taxes. “The system is absurd, but the problem is not intractable. A solution is now at hand.” – The Telegraph (UK)
AND THE BID IS…
Artist Julian Schnabel offers one of his famous plate paintings for a charity auction in Venice. But when the opening bid is set at $150,000 the silence is deafening. – New York Observer
SANTA FE TRAIL
After 43 years, John Crosby steps down as head of the Santa Fe Opera. “Santa Fe has been a huge influence on the American opera scene, the way Glyndebourne influences opera in England, and Aix-en-Provence influences opera in France. You walk across the deck here on a summer evening, and you see the movers and shakers of the opera world. And when an opera has been a success here, it is suddenly looked at by other companies.” – New York Times
FIGHTING FOR CULTURE
In the so-you-can-rest-easier department, isn’t it nice to know that NATO is protecting our interests in culture as well as in the skies? “The aim of NATOarts is to advance the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s goals in the cultural realm. There was also a feeling that an organization such as NATO should take a more proactive role in the formation of international culture.” – New York Press 09/06/00
FOLLOW THE MONEY
The entertainment industry is pumping big money into politics. “The Democrats have collected $5.8 million from the television, movie, and music industries, ranking it fourth on the campaign donation list. That figure outpaces the Republicans by $2.1 million, which ranks the entertainment industry eleventh.” The money figures to influence policies on recording, intellectual property and content regulation. – Wired 09/06/00