New York art dealer Larry Gagosian is “not a discoverer of artists, but rather a cultivator of those on the rise and a seducer of collectors. It is not all about the big deal, he says. It’s fun to sell a big painting, it’s also profitable, I won’t deny that, and I spend a lot of time and energy doing that. But my relationship with the artist is probably the most rewarding, the most difficult part of my profession.” – The Telegraph (UK)
Tag: 10.03.00
FIGHTING THREATENS CONCERTS
Pinchas Zukerman and Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra are in the Middle East on the orchestra’s “most extensive tour ever” But bloody clashes in the West Bank have cast a pall over the tour. – The Globe and Mail (Canada)
CLASSICAL EROSION
Following a trend around America, Washington DC public radio classical music station WETA pares down its broadcasts of classical music. Is it true that “public radio listeners have demanded more news; that folks driving home at night want news and not music, certainly not classical music; and that classical music listeners aren’t the best pledge donors?” – Washington Post
SCHIFF DOES BACH
“What could well be the Bachfest to end all Bachfests is about to begin on London’s South Bank, where, within the space of a month, Andras Schiff will be programming, playing, directing and conducting the solo works, concertos, suites, cantatas, and Passion-music of a composer with whom he has lived all his life.” – The Times (UK)
ANTI-UNION PRESS COVERAGE OF ACTORS STRIKE?
About 120 actors picketed the New York Times to protest what they see as an anti-actors’ union slant to the newspaper’s coverage of the actors strike against the TV commercial industry. – Theatre.com
THE V&A’s PROBLEMS
London’s Victoria and Albert Museum is in disarray. Attendance is down, raising money is tough, and the museum’s leadership is feuding amongst themselves. “There is a feeling among some of the trustees that the V&A doesn’t know where it is going. Having a director and chairman at odds only adds to the problems, and decisions on many key issues are now being postponed.” – The Art Newspaper
BOARD MEMBERS TURN BACK SALARIES
In August, supporters of Dallas’s Kimbell Museum were surprised to find out that two of the museum’s directors were receiving salaries of $500,000 a year for services that were traditionally considered voluntary. Now the salaries will be discontinued. “After careful consideration, we have decided that it is no longer in the best interest of the Kimbell Art Foundation and the Kimbell Art Museum for Ben and me to receive compensation for the work we perform for the foundation and the museum.” – Dallas Morning News
WHAT BECOMES AN ART DEALER?
New York art dealer Larry Gagosian is “not a discoverer of artists, but rather a cultivator of those on the rise and a seducer of collectors. It is not all about the big deal, he says. It’s fun to sell a big painting, it’s also profitable, I won’t deny that, and I spend a lot of time and energy doing that. But my relationship with the artist is probably the most rewarding, the most difficult part of my profession.” – The Telegraph (UK)
ANCIENT CITY SAVED
In the past three months in Turkey, the ancient city of Zeugma, “a key transit point across the Euphrates River believed to have been more than three times the size of the Roman city of Pompeii”, was threatened by flooding. A team of 250 international archaeologists and other specialists fought to rescue elaborate mosaics and other ancient Greek and Roman remains. – The Globe and Mail (Canada) (AP)
A NEW KIND OF ART CONSORTIUM
Seattle art dealer Linda Farris closed up her gallery a few years ago and took a trip. When she came back she re-invented, putting together a group of Seattle tech high-rollers in an art consortium. Farris finds the on-the-edge international artwork, the group shares it amongst themselves. And after a few years…it goes on public display and the members of the group consider giving it to a museum. – Seattle Post-Intelligencer