David Hare’s new Broadway play, “The Vertical Hour,” has hardly been a hit with American critics, but hometown critic Michael Billington views it from an entirely different perspective. “In many ways, it’s a characteristic Hare play. Dealing with the emotional journey of a woman who has swapped war reporting for academia, it is precisely about the intersection of public and private lives. But what moved me, almost as much as the play itself, was the audience response: the almost palpable hunger of Broadway theatregoers for a play about big issues. Even more than it might in Britain, Hare’s play fulfils an urgent need.”
Tag: 12.01.06
Sorry, New York, But You’re Just Not That Important
A large percentage of the American art world seems to accept, without argument, the idea that New York is the art center of the world, and has no peer. But the dean of the Yale School of Art and curator of next year’s Venice Biennale is on a mission to get artists and art lovers to look beyond New York, which he says is overvalued to a ridiculous degree. Robert Storr says that the most interesting modern art is coming from Asia and Africa, that the best-run museum in the country is in Minneapolis, and that the art world’s obsession with money allows the New York-centric viewpoint to thrive.
Just So Long As They Don’t Start Using Fear Factor Contestants
No one has ever accused Broadway of being shy about piggybacking on the latest pop culture trends. This season saw several former American Idol stars playing prominent roles in leading Broadway shows, and now, “it looks as if the Great White Way will soon be inundated with hoofers from ‘Dancing With the Stars.'”
Sundance Looks Beyond Its Usual Sphere
Mark Olson says that this year’s Sundance lineup reflects a welcome maturity, a sign that the little festival that could has finally grown into its success. “Even as it has enjoyed increased cache and huge success, for years it has been known for self-consciously quirky films that lean heavily on dysfunctional families and relationships. For the 2007 edition, festival programmers say, filmmakers are looking beyond the familiar and the personal to the world at large.”
Ottawa To See Influx Of Cultural Cash
“Canadian Heritage Minister Beverley Oda is announcing Monday that her department will provide what sources say is $100-million to repair and upgrade six national cultural institutions in the Ottawa region. Oda will make the announcement at the Canadian Museum of Nature, one of the institutions benefiting from the infrastructure aid package. Other buildings receiving assistance include the National Gallery of Canada, the Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Que., National Battlefields Commission, Science and Technology Museum and the National Arts Centre.”
Does Portable Have To Mean Compressed?
The iPod revolution has changed the music industry, but five years after the personal jukebox was debuted, no one has yet figured out how to bring high-quality sound to the portable players. “Listeners demand portability and a la carte song purchases. But at least some also want ‘fidelity,’ to experience a sound that’s true to the full aural expression the artist poured out at the moment of a work’s creation. Technology, artist advocacy, and buyer behavior will determine the degree to which listeners can have both, experts say.”
The Translation Algorithm
The intricacies of different languages have always been a bit much for computers to handle, and computerized translation programs have never been as reliable as users would like. Translation “is a tricky problem, not only for a piece of software but also for the human mind. A single word in one language, for example, may map into three or more in another… But a New York firm with an ingenious algorithm and a really big dictionary is finally cracking the code.”
Hollywood Stomps California Privacy Measure
A bill that would have made it illegal for companies and individuals to use false pretenses to obtain information about consumers was killed this week in the California state legislature. Who could have been against such a measure? The movie industry, apparently: insiders are saying that determined lobbying by the MPAA is entirely responsible for the bill’s defeat.
Knowing It When You See It
Proving that a painting is what someone thinks it is can be a daunting task, especially when there is evidence that it may have been painted by an old master whose name would make the canvas worth millions. This week, a once-disputed Rembrandt will go under the hammer in New York, and whoever buys it will inherit quite a history along with the art. The painting, which was discovered in 1972, wasn’t certified as a Rembrandt until nearly a quarter-century later, and its story underlines the important advances that have been made in art analysis over the past few decades.
Ailey Company Flying High
It’s been more than 15 years since Alvin Ailey died, and yet the company that bears his name is more vibrant than ever, says John Rockwell. “As this 2006 season opens, the company is showing signs of moving up to a new level. Its performances are enjoyed by teeming audiences nationally and internationally, with a steady, not to say backbreaking, touring schedule. Its dancers are better than ever, with the marvelous athleticism, vivid personalities and sleek sensuality the company has long fostered, now infused with the presence of starry newcomers.”