Sculptor Paul Granlund, whose works were commissioned by collectors and colleges around the world, has died at the age of 77. “Granlund is known for his exuberant human figures, especially dancing lovers and families lifting children into the air. Though primarily a figurative artist, he was equally adept doing geometric and Cubist shapes and even Pop subjects including… huge bronze alphabet letters and a star-burst.”
Tag: 09.17.03
Banking On The Arts
Two of Canada’s largest banks have announced plans to make major contributions to a number of Ontario arts organizations. The Art Gallery of Ontario and the Royal Ontario Museum will each get CAN$2.25 million from the bankers, and the National Ballet School of Canada will get CAN$1.5 million.
Detroit Symphony Keeps Raking It In
“Just three weeks before the grand opening of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s new Max M. Fisher Center, the symphony has received $8.7 million more in gifts from philanthropist Fisher and several other donors. Fisher kicked in another $5 million, bringing his contribution toward the refurbished and expanded Woodward Avenue concert venue and entertainment complex, which will now bear his name, to $10 million.”
Appeals Court To Scrutinize RIAA
A federal court is challenging the recording industry’s assertion that consumers who have copyrighted material available to others on their home computers are guilty of illegal distribution. Judge John Roberts is asking the industry to clarify how such practices are any different from an open library door. But the judge also has some tough questions for the telecommunications companies who have been subpoenaed by the RIAA, telling the lawyer for Verizon Communications, “You make a lot of money off piracy.”
Now You’ve Done It! You Woke Up Congress!
Senator Sam Brownback has had about enough of the recording industry’s legal crusade against illegal file-swapping, and, since he makes laws for a living, he’s making a law intended to make it tougher for the industry to keep up its pursuit. Among other things, “the legislation would require owners of digital media to file a John Doe lawsuit to obtain the identifying information of an Internet user, rather than simply requesting a subpoena.”
Art Of The Video Game
“Computer and video games were once the province of futuristic gladiators and soldiers of yore. But as better graphics technology has made games more visually realistic, digital artists have been using 3-D game environments to recreate real places and simulate recent events. In the process they are turning what has been a platform for pure fantasy into a medium for social realism. At the very least the violent action at the heart of many games accurately reflects the world that game players confront when they step away from their screens. Digital games appeal to artists for several reasons.”
Bolshoi Fires Overweight Dancer
“A long-running feud came to an end yesterday when the ballerina Anastasia Volochkova was fired by the Bolshoi Theatre for being too heavy for male dancers to lift. The ousting of Volochkova, a prominent Russian celebrity, marked the climax of a row over claims that she was too large.”
Why No Auction House Reforms?
“After a major price-fixing scandal in which Al Taubman was sent to jail, Dede Brooks placed under house arrest and numerous former Christie’s senior officers were exposed as hypocritical backstabbing cowards, why does business at the high end of the New York market continue, without any major, or minor, reforms whatsoever?”
Opera That Can’t Work
So impressario Raymond Gubbay is planning to stage operas in London in competition the the Royal Opera and English National companies. But the plan is to present in a small theatre, and the numbers don’t work out. Gubbay can’t make it work out financially. So what’s the point?