“Country music is an exception in the ailing music business, a genre still thriving in tough times. But back in November 1958 it was a commercially endangered species during a pop and rock ‘n’ roll boom.”
Tag: 11.20.08
In Search Of Ancient Babylon
How did a civilisation so great and powerful end? According to Herodotus, “in magnificence there is no other city that approaches” Babylon. In it, or at least in its region, writing appeared for the first time. It was the only city that boasted not one, but two Wonders of the World. Besides the illusive hanging gardens, there was the mammoth city wall that stood nearly ten storeys high.
Where The Dominoes Fall In The Art Market’s Collapse
“The art market’s crash — for that is what it is — threatens to remake the art world. In the past few weeks, auctioneers, dealers, artists and collectors have changed strategies and policies, and it’s likely that future changes will be even more sweeping. … Here, a look at how the art-market retrenchment will affect its players….”
When History Repeats (With Great Box-Office Timing)
“Playwright Michael Yawney spent the last three years crafting a comedy about Anita Bryant’s 1977 campaign to repeal Miami-Dade County’s first gay-rights ordinance. Yawney never expected that on the eve of its world premiere Thursday in Miami, 1,000 Homosexuals would be so relevant.”
Why Joe The Author & Sarah The Writer Are A Good Thing
“Now I’m no Palin supporter, but I think it’s a good thing that Palin and Wurzelbacher are writing books. Because by choosing to write books, as opposed to becoming talk show hosts, or country singers, Palin and Wurzelbacher are tacitly endorsing two of the things that Blue America loves the most, and which Red America has often disdained: freedom of expression and reading.”
Cornwell Gives Harvard $1M For Art Conservation Science
“Patricia Cornwell, author of the best-selling ‘Scarpetta’ thrillers, will establish a conservation scientist position at Harvard to further close examinations of art materials.” The university’s Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies helped Cornwell with research on her 2002 book, “Portrait of a Killer,” in which she argued that painter Walter Sickert was Jack the Ripper.
Baryshnikov Arts Center Buys Its New Theatre
“The Baryshnikov Arts Center has (finally!) officially purchased the 299-seat Jerome Robbins Theater adjacent to the three floors that it owns in the 37 Arts building. The closing was yesterday – thanks in part to $2.5 mil from the Jerome Robbins Foundation, matched by Baryshnikov, the BAC paid in cash!” The Wooster Group will be a resident company in the multidisciplinary space.
MOCA Considers Selling Itself To LACMA
Christopher Knight of the L.A. Times hears that the board of the city’s Museum of Contemporary Art, facing a catastrophic fiscal crisis, is prepared to propose a formal merger with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Gil Shaham Ambushed With Avery Fisher Prize
Just as the violinist was finishing up a recital – being filmed by PBS for Live From Lincoln Center – conductor Gustavo Dudamel appeared in the audience and told Shaham and the crowd (and the TV viewers) that he had won the $75,000 award.
Cooper-Hewitt’s Director Steps Down
“Paul W. Thompson, the director of the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, is stepping down to become the new rector, or president, of the Royal College of Art, London, the museum is expected to announce on Friday.” The Cooper-Hewitt, though located in Manhattan, is part of the Smithsonian Institution.