In American elections, arts policy hardly even rates a mention. But Australia’s Victorian government is up for election, and the major parties are scrapping to differentiate their arts policies from one another. If campaign promises are to be believed, the arts are in for soime funding increases.
Tag: 11.25.02
Why Can’t Public Buildings Be Art?
Richard MacCormac’s design for a London Tube station has attracted hrodes of fans. “The station manager enjoys its obvious theatricality and musicians have responded to its magic. There isn’t even any graffiti on the wall. It is a lovely thing, a happy surprise as the jaded tube traveller emerges from the fetid heat of an underground train into the regenerative joys of born-again Southwark.” The station design was inspired by music and theatre, says MacCormac. So why can’t more public buildings be this way?
Finally – Watch What You Want
“After years of failed promises, unripe business plans and half-baked technology, the cable industry is finally beginning to deliver reliable and economical video-on-demand services. Despite the omnipotence that the label implies, video on demand does not allow users to watch any program or movie under the sun. No database is yet infinite. But in New York City, for instance, Time Warner Cable plans to have 1,300 hours of programming available at any one time — the equivalent of almost two months of TV watching.”
Classical Music’s MTV?
The UK’s Classic FM plans to launch a 24-hour classical music video channel. “The channel, to be launched towards the end of next month, will feature wall-to-wall video clips of prominent classical music artists and movie soundtracks. Unlike other culture-oriented TV channels, there will be no documentaries or concerts. ‘The manner and style we are adopting is of pop music TV’.”
Artists Priced Out
Boston has a redevelopment program that includes significant new space for artists. It’s just that artists complain that much of the new space is so luxe they’ll never be able to afford it.
High-Tech Teen Pact
A dying teenager makes a pact with friend that when the first of them dies, the others will put a small digital camera attached to the internet inside the coffin. “When one of the teenagers dies, the survivors must decide whether to fulfill their high-tech pledge and if so, how. One stipulation moves the story into the gothic realm of Edgar Allan Poe. The coffin is to contain a heating element that will speed or reduce the body’s rate of decomposition. The temperature will then be controlled by online visitors, who can adjust an interactive thermostat on the tell-tale Web site.”
The New Home Movies
As prices for digital video cameras drop and computers with sophisticated editing capabilities are more and more available, “home movies” are looking more professional, and budding movie “auteurs” are born.