Children’s museums are on the increase. “The Association of Youth Museums (AYM) reports that 100 new children’s museums are in the planning phase, eager to join the approximately 200 that attracted more than 32 million visitors last year.” – Christian Science Monitor
Tag: 10.04.00
SIZE MATTERS
The opening of Tate Modern has coincided with a sudden fever in the art world for colossal work. Damien Hirst, Mona Hatoum, Jeff Koons, and now Spanish sculptor Juan Muñoz all work in a size and distorted scale that dwarfs everything around them. “One day this museum will have to face the implications of its own architecture. Bigness is an aesthetic value, and as the popularity of Tate Modern demonstrates, we all like to feel small sometimes.” – The Guardian
A MIXED YEAR IN CANBERRA
Canberra’s National Gallery has had a mixed year. First, it canceled the tour stop of the controversial “Sensation” show when it got too hot in Brooklyn. Then the museum’s controversial curator of Australian art resigned after less than a year on the job. On the other hand, attendance is up 50 percent, and the museum’s director is upbeat. – The Age (Melbourne)
BOLSHOI LEADERSHIP CHALLENGED
The Bolshoi continues in turmoil after the company’s leadership was replaced by the Russian president. New Artistic Director Gennady Rozdestvensky has clashed with ballerina Nina Ananiashvili, who “questioned some statements of his first speech as the leader of Bolshoi”. – Russia Today
TRADEMARK TREPIDATION
Independent electronic publishers are watching with concern the fate of a recently filed application by Gemstar-TV Guide International to trademark the word “EBOOK.” “I think we independents are not nearly cut-throat enough. We should have copyrighted every doggone e-book term we came up with back in the mid ’90s.” – Wired
THE ALLURE/DANGER OF PARIS
The French capital, for a poet, is seductive. But for an American, is there danger in losing one’s voice in that seductive quality? C. K. Williams, the New Jersey native who won this year’s Pulitzer Prize for poetry is quite hip to the dangers. – New York Times
CANADA TO SUBSIDIZE MAGAZINES
The Canadian government announces a $150 million fund to help Canadian magazines compete against American media selling their wares in Canada. The money will go to subsidize Canadian publications because “American magazines can sell ads more cheaply than Canadian competitors because the magazine’s costs have already been covered by advertising and sales in the United States.” – The Globe and Mail (Canada)