So we’re back to being offended about violence in entertainment again. But what a a paper issue. “Some of the current sanctimony is sincere. But come on: since the 1960s, if not earlier, the cultural contradictions of capitalism have been the cultural contradictions of capitalism. Our ferociously efficient free-market system, the one bubbling along so nicely just now that Al Gore will be elected president, requires revenue maximization, which means every prospective buyer of every legal, medically safe product must be targeted. – Inside.com
Tag: 09.13.00
WHO SHOCKS ANYMORE?
For some time now, the definition of modern art was to shock us in some way, take us aback a little. “Lately, newness—changeable by nature—has transformed itself into something harder to see, especially at first sight. Now, when people aren’t hit with a shock of the new, they think they haven’t been hit at all. When they don’t find the Next Big Thing, or find it fast enough—and this may be a contemporary definition of complacency—they blame art.” – Village Voice
DOME DEMOLITION?
Emergency plans were drawn up to tear down the beleaguered Millennium Dome and sell its land for redevelopment after the Japanese bank Nomura pulled out of talks to purchase the monument – “a humiliating end to a project once hailed by Tony Blair as a symbol of ‘British flair and genius.’” – The Guardian
- AND FALLOUT: If the Dome closes, approximately 1,900 employees will lose their jobs, and “the ultimate victim is likely to be the New Opportunities Fund, which gives lottery money to children, the sick and ‘green’ causes.” – The Times (UK)
DIVERSITY’S IN THE DIRT
Work has started on Hans Haacke’s controversial project at the Reichstag: Each of the 669 members of Parliament has been asked to bring a bag of soil from their voting district and dump it into a 69-foot wooden trough – Haacke’s statement on ethnic and cultural diversity. – Times of India (DPA)
ROME REBORN
According to one critic, visiting Rome is no longer the frustrating endeavor it has long been for art lovers who encountered museums covered in scaffolding and prize treasures locked away out of view. “Jubilee Year has galvanised the owners of churches, galleries and temples into cleaning their finest possessions and placing them on view. Rome has refurbished more than 700 monuments, works of arts and sites. The results are spectacular.” – The Times (UK)
LET “CATS” COME TO YOU
Broadway shows will soon be widely available to home viewers, broadcast over two new theatre-dedicated TV networks. Theatre professionals are split over whether the new trend deserves applause. – Backstage