Websites have become a step beyond the chat show – writers’ websites try to make friends with readers, all in an effort to sell more books. If the efforts are somewhat clumsy… – New York Times
Tag: 12.14.00
DIRECTING OUR RESOURCES
“The issue is not whether classical ballet is a great art form; let’s postulate that it is. The question is about the role of art in the community. Should public money be used to help perfect an elitist exercise so that all may benefit by watching it, or should it be used to promote sundry inclusive art forms (Make-A-Circus, as one example) so that all may benefit by participating in them?” – San Francisco Chronicle 12/14/00
HOLLYWOOD AND THE GOP
“For the TV industry, a Republican administration is generally welcomed, since the GOP largely believes in letting the marketplace, not regulation, rule the day. Overall, entertainment toppers are concerned that the reputed ills of Hollywood may be the one issue a nearly evenly divided Congress can agree on.” – Variety 12/14/00
PROTECTION UNDER THE LAW
Australian painters, sculptors, composers, authors, film makers and other artistic creators have finally won the right to “stop their work being mistreated or wrongly attributed under laws passed last week. It has taken seven years, two governments and a handful of ministers to get rights most of the rest of the Western world has long taken for granted.” – The Age (Melbourne) 12/14/00
SYMPHONY SPACE EXPANDS
New York’s innovative Symphony Space, home to a variety of arts programming, is expanding to take over and renovate the Thalia Theatre next door. – New York Times 12/14/00
EARNING IN THE ARTS
What are graduates of Australia’s universities earning? First-year dentists get $50,000. “At the other end of the scale, visual arts graduates and linguists remain in the doldrums. Between 30 and 40 per cent of those graduates looking for work are still unable to find full-time work four months after leaving university. Assuming they got work, graduates working in art and design could expect to earn $28,000, well below the national average.” – Sydney Morning Herald 12/14/00
A CULTURE MINISTER WHO MATTERS
Canada’s popular culture minister has quietly let it be known she might want to leave her job and that has Canadian artists worried. “It’s not that nobody else can do the job. It’s just that it’s a rare combination, somebody who has got a really deep-seated commitment and belief in the cultural product, and political savvy and clout all at once. There are a lot of politicians who say they have both, but actually having it is something else.” – The Globe and Mail (Canada) 12/14/00