Three years of Scottish home rule have not been the benefit to the arts many had hoped. It had been thought that Scottish governments would be able to better promote Scottish culture. But “before you knew it consultants were being commissioned and committees being formed, passing the baton back and forward. Serious money had been announced, but when a funding crisis hit local theatres last year the till was raided and the enterprise delayed a full year.”
Tag: 12.16.02
Over The Hill At 30
Turn 30 in Hollywood, and your career is all but over. And we’re not just talking actors and actresses. Writers too. “Hollywood once had a notorious blacklist of political radicals; today it has a greylist of ‘oldies’. A producer of the ABC sitcom Spin City is on the record as saying that writers over 29 were deliberately not hired. Some writers complain they cannot find an agent once they pass 50, making it almost impossible to present scripts.”
Canadian Opera Company’s Unpleasant News
It’s been a great year for the Canadian Opera Company. Artistically the company’s on a high, and it finally got money to build a new home. But then there’s a nasty deficit rearing up. “Ironically, the crisis in operating funding comes as the federal government is showering the arts with millions after ten years of devastating stinginess. Ottawa is contributing $25 million to building the opera house. But that’s for a building. Operating money is something else.”
Havana’s Capital Of Jazz
“If the United Nations ever decided to put on a jazz festival, it might look something like the gloriously multicultural, border-defying event that shook this island for the past week.”
The Sagging Old Guard
So the dependable crankers-outers of blockbuster bestsellers are seeing their book sales sag. Your Tom Clancys, your Stephen Kings, your John Grishams – “the old guard is visibly sagging. Like childbearing, delivering blockbusters every year takes it out of you. King’s latest reads suspiciously like a Christine retread (old cars with strange powers). Clancy (with his fantasia of papal assassination) bet the store on John Paul II dying, and the pontiff perversely didn’t (despite Cardinal Law’s best efforts). So, too, with Turow’s and Grisham’s legal thrillers. It’s all deja lu; been there, read that.”
Dr. Seuss, Deconstructed
“The Cat in the Hat” transformed the nature of primary education and the nature of children’s books. But it wasn’t just a simple story that became phenomenally popular. It was a product of its time and made an impact on American education all out of proportion to its simplicity. Louis Menand parses the good doctor’s layers.
More Raves For Fort Worth
Critic Paul Goldberger is impressed with architect Tadao Ando’s work on the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. “Many museums these days look their best before any art is installed in them. This is the first great museum building in a generation that gets even better when art is added.”
Sydney’s 2003 Festival
In a country of international festivals, the Sydney Festival is Australia’s largest. Last year’s emphasis on younger-playing attractions boosted ticket sales from 48,000 to 91,000. Keeping a big festival fresh, says director Brett Sheehy, even a successful festival, is a constant game of innovation and trial-and-error…
National Gallery Review Motivated By Politics?
The Australian government is launching a review of the activities of the embattled National Museum of Australia. “While some see it as a necessary process for any new cultural institution, others fear the agenda is primarily political.” Particularly as it looks like the museum director’s contract will be cut short.