A Maxfield Parrish painting, stolen 20 years ago in San Francsico, has turned up just blocks away from the gallery where it was stolen. “Investigators have been told that somehow it wound up with the owner of a hair salon, who died and left it to the woman who had cared for her, who in turn died and left it to her son. The son was trying to sell it at the Geary Street gallery, unaware it had been stolen.”
Tag: 09.09.04
Where Dreams May Come (From)
“Orthodox theory says that dreaming is linked to a phenomenon called rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. That orthodoxy has been challenged of late, by studies that show people dreaming during other phases of sleep, as well. It also challenges the idea that dreaming is somehow necessary for mental well-being—in particular, the theory that it is involved in the process of memory formation.”
American Cultural Exchanges Fall Off
“The annual number of academic and cultural exchanges has dropped from 45,000 in 1995 to 29,000 in 2001. This means that far fewer American artists, including performing artists, are being given chances to ply their crafts on foreign soil. The study presumes that those figures have decreased even further in recent years.
Old Underground Movie Theatre Discovered In Paris
“Police in Paris have discovered a fully equipped cinema-cum-restaurant in a large and previously uncharted cavern underneath the capital’s chic 16th arrondissement. Officers admit they are at a loss to know who built or used one of Paris’s most intriguing recent discoveries.”
How The Internet Saved Bookstores
It wasn’t too long ago that many were predicting that the internet would kill bookstores. “The internet was supposed to bid farewell to the need for buying books in shops. When the dotcom bubble was at its peak, web gurus claimed sites such as Amazon would undercut and undermine traditional bookstores, and that ebooks would eventually do away with “dead tree” media altogether. But what no one saw coming was that the internet would, in fact, provide a lifeline for possibly the least fashionable and most technologically backward part of the marketplace: old books.”
Low Pay Threatens UK Orchestras
UK orchestras are endangered because musicians are woefully paid, says a new study. “The average rank and file orchestral musician has been in the job for 21 years and earns £22,500 a year, a Musicians Union survey has found. That is half the average salary of their professional siblings, it says.”
Films, Celebs, and General Bedlam
The Toronto International Film Festival is one of those cultural events that has risen beyond its stated purpose and become an excuse for a gigantic citywide party in Canada’s largest city. The films are the focus, of course, but the official TIFF-related parties alone could qualify as a whole seperate event. “From long days to even longer nights, it’s just a fact of festival life for the many people in the city that function within or around it. It is, of course, a vast economic boon to the city — $65 million in annual economic impact, according the festival itself, more than half of that in tourist dollars.”
Canada’s New Painting Prize
“Victoria painter Mark Neufeld is off to Berlin after winning the inaugural CAN$25,000 Joe Plaskett Foundation Award, one of the largest visual-arts awards in Canada. The new annual prize, eligible to students across Canada who are studying for their master of fine arts, or have attained an MFA this year, is designed to support a one-year residence in Europe. Most notable about the award — besides its rich purse — is that it is only available to painters.”
The Art Fair Sucks! Let’s Make More!
“The problem: An art trade fair that for 25 years has strip-mined the Midwestern collecting community, resulting in high-ticket dealers and big-spending buyers who no longer come. The solution: Next year hold three. How much does it take to see that this is not an answer?” Chicago actually tried the multiple-fair idea a decade ago, says Alan Artner, and the results were underwhelming. Yes, Art Chicago needs to reexamine itself, but the new push to become “the art fair of the people” seems doomed to failure, since the whole point of an art fair is to pander to the moneyed crowd that wants nothing to do with popular culture.
‘GBH Cancels Arts Show
Boston’s public TV station WGBH has eliminated a monthly program focusing on the arts, citing a lack of funds to continue producing the show. “Arts Close Up was a revamped version of Greater Boston Arts, which had garnered a slew of awards, including 29 New England Emmys, since it began in 1995.” WGBH is PBS’s leading station in the production of programs for national distribution.