“God does not exist. However, I think human cultural history to date would have been poorer without the illusions of religion. In a completely rational world would art exist? Maybe, but only as a sort of post-Duchampian ironic plaything. Great art feeds on the same sources as god-bothering.”
Tag: 11.03.08
Whether Obama Or McCain, What Will It Mean For The Arts?
“Liberals may or may not see their dreams come true tomorrow, but whether Obama or McCain is elected the 44th President of the United States, we might wonder what will unfold in the arts in the coming years. Won’t many writers and artists lose their muse – along with their enemy – when Bush disappears?”
Musicians Embrace Obama; McCain Embraces Their Music
“If John McCain wins this election, it won’t have been thanks to the music community. With less than 24 hours to go until Election Day, recording artists continue to urge people to vote — and, overwhelmingly, to vote for Barack Obama. … Meanwhile, artists who have complained about McCain using their music at his appearances include Foo Fighters, Bon Jovi, Heart, and members of Van Halen.”
Strad Cello Fails To Sell At Online Auction
The 1717 “Amaryllis Fleming” Stradivarius cello received only one bid when it was put up for auction with the online house Tarisio. And that bid didn’t meet the reserve price.
New Peanuts Videos Released Online
“In a batch of 20 new webisodes, Charlie Brown and the gang have been brought back to animated life, much in the style of their classic holiday TV specials. But Lucy, Snoopy and others have been remade for the Web in 3- to 4-minute videos taken directly from classic 1964 comic strips.”
Dealer In Fake Antique Violins Hangs Himself
A Russian violinist and teacher has hanged himself in Rome after being arrested for fraud. He had confessed to buying violins at flea markets and re-selling them to his students as 18th-century instruments for hundreds of thousands of euros.
Yma Sumac, ‘Nightingale of the Andes’, 86
“Yma Sumac, the Peruvian-born singer whose spectacular multi-octave vocal range and exotic persona made her an international sensation in the 1950s, has died. She was 86.”
L.A. To Present 10-Week Arts Fest Around Ring
“In what could be the region’s most ambitious, broadest-based artistic endeavor since the 1984 Olympic Arts Festival,” more than 50 SoCal institutions (including the Getty Museum, LACMA, the L.A. Phil and Mark Taper Forum) are joining to stage a 10-week festival around L.A. Opera’s 2010 production of Wagner’s complete Ring cycle.
Studies: Professors’ Politics Don’t Influence Students
Three sets of researchers recently concluded that professors have virtually no impact on the political views and ideology of their students.
Tough Times For Aussie Film
“In a sign of how Australia’s independent film industry is struggling, the best film nominees at this year’s AFI Awards – The Black Balloon, The Jammed, The Square and Unfinished Sky – took a combined AUS$3.9 million at the box office.”