Tag: 11.12.05

US: Losing Ground On Innovation?

America has long led the world in innovation and patent applications. But is the U.S. losing its competitive edge? “The scientific and technical building blocks of our economic leadership are eroding at a time when many other nations are gathering strength. Although many people assume that the United States will always be a world leader in science and technology, this may not continue to be the case inasmuch as great minds and ideas exist throughout the world. We fear the abruptness with which a lead in science and technology can be lost – and the difficulty of recovering a lead once lost, if indeed it can be regained at all.”

Richly Promoted – Today’s Galleries

One sign of how wealthy New York’s contemporary art galleries have become? The luxurious ways in which they’re promoting themselves. “Each day’s mail seems to deliver a series of challenges and counter-challenges from the galleries that consider themselves in the upper echelon of the upper echelon. Instead of chest-puffing, ruffed fur or antlers, it’s paper worthy of an invitation from the White House. Conveyance by liveried coachmen would not surprise.”

Piano’s Extension Boosts High Museum Collection

Renzo Piano’s expansion of Atlanta’s High Museum doubles the previous museum space. What effect has the extension had on the museum? “More than one-third of the High’s collection, including works by Gerhard Richter and the team of Coosje van Bruggen and Claes Oldenburg, was acquired after the museum announced its plans for expansion in 1999. Michael Shapiro, director of the High, attributes the stepped-up interest on the part of donors and patrons to Mr. Piano’s reputation for showcasing art. This is not the first time the High has used architecture to draw attention: in 1983, it unveiled a building designed by Richard Meier that is still considered one of his most important works.”

Dancer Fernando Bujones, 50

“Although he reached the pinnacle of fame inside the ballet world, greater renown was denied him by mischance. In the summer of 1974, for instance, the great Russian ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov defected at nearly the same time as Bujones won his ballet olympics medal, overshadowing the young American’s triumph. ‘Baryshnikov has the publicity, I have the talent,’ Bujones said at the time. And he was half-right: Both had the talent, but in Cold War America, a defection from the Soviet Union created instant stardom like nothing else.”

Italians Meet With Met Museum Over Stolen Objects

Italian investigators were in New York last week to meet with officials at the Metropolitan Museum to talk about 22 items in the Met collection the Italians say were stolen. “In Rome, the Italian culture minister said yesterday that the Italian government had made overtures to the Met’s director, Philippe de Montebello, about a joint meeting to discuss ancient artworks that Italy claims were illegally excavated and exported before entering the museum’s collection of Greek and Roman art.”

Salinas Voters Save Their Library

Last week voters in Salinas, Ca., approved adding half a cent to the sales tax to keep the town’s library open. Last year the public library almost closed after losing funding. “It really struck a chord on the national level, and we became a poster child for the decline and fall of Western civilization. There was the irony of it being Steinbeck’s hometown and all that stuff, and it did begin to represent something larger than just Salinas losing its libraries.”