“New Jersey philanthropist Herbert Axelrod’s 2-for-1 challenge grant, issued last Monday to help the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra buy 30 of his rare, 17th- and 18th-century Italian string instruments, has so far only netted a few thousand dollars for the NJSO. For every dollar contributed to the orchestra by today, Axelrod offered to take two dollars off the purchase price of $25 million, to a maximum of a $10 million drop in cost. Yesterday, though, it appeared that only a few thousand would be coming off the price tag,” and the orchestra will likely not be able to complete the sale.
Tag: 12.31.02
Spiegelman Leaving New Yorker. Yes, Again.
Cartoonist-and-so-much-more Art Spiegelman is leaving The New Yorker, as he has several times before, citing differences with the direction the venerable magazine has taken since 9/11. Spiegelman, who has never hesitated to express unpopular ideas in his work, praises editor David Remnick, but says that “the place I’m coming from is just much more agitated than The New Yorker’s tone. The assumptions and attitudes [I have] are not part of The Times Op-Ed page of acceptable discourse.”
Spiegelman Leaving New Yorker. Yes, Again.
Cartoonist-and-so-much-more Art Spiegelman is leaving The New Yorker, as he has several times before, citing differences with the direction the venerable magazine has taken since 9/11. Spiegelman, who has never hesitated to express unpopular ideas in his work, praises editor David Remnick, but says that “the place I’m coming from is just much more agitated than The New Yorker’s tone. The assumptions and attitudes [I have] are not part of The Times Op-Ed page of acceptable discourse.”
Can We Freeze Her Assets Until She Finishes The Next Book?
Harry Potter may not measure up to Lord of the Rings on the big screen, but J.R.R. Tolkien isn’t alive to rake in the residuals, and J.K. Rowling is, with the consequence that Rowling is now officially the highest-paid woman in the U.K. (And the Brits count Madonna as one of theirs, so you know we’re talking serious money!) Rowling, who was last seen trying to stall for more time to finish the latest Potter installment by auctioning off an index card, reportedly made $77 million in 2002.
Everything’s Changed. Oh, Wait. No, It Hasn’t.
As 2002 began, art was supposed to be forevermore infused with the post-9/11 sensibility. Materialism and schlocky marketing were out, serious contemplation of the human condition was in. Riiiiight. So why does Frida Kahlo now have her own posthumous perfume, and why is the star of the year a shoplifting actress who hasn’t made a good film since (arguably) Girl, Interrupted? “In a year where the world was too much with us, art could at least be bewildering.”
Everything’s Changed. Oh, Wait. No, It Hasn’t.
As 2002 began, art was supposed to be forevermore infused with the post-9/11 sensibility. Materialism and schlocky marketing were out, serious contemplation of the human condition was in. Riiiiight. So why does Frida Kahlo now have her own posthumous perfume, and why is the star of the year a shoplifting actress who hasn’t made a good film since (arguably) Girl, Interrupted? “In a year where the world was too much with us, art could at least be bewildering.”
A Bare-Bones Art Repatriation
“The Canadian Museum of Civilization is preparing to return dozens — perhaps hundreds — of bones taken from native burial grounds to the Algonquin people whose ancestors inhabited the Ottawa area before white settlers arrived in the 19th century and began unearthing Indian graves. The proposed ‘repatriation’ of human remains… follows a series of [Ottawa] Citizen stories earlier this year revealing that a communal cemetery holding about 20 aboriginal skeletons was dug up 160 years ago on a point of land in Gatineau now occupied by the museum itself.”
A Bare-Bones Art Repatriation
“The Canadian Museum of Civilization is preparing to return dozens — perhaps hundreds — of bones taken from native burial grounds to the Algonquin people whose ancestors inhabited the Ottawa area before white settlers arrived in the 19th century and began unearthing Indian graves. The proposed ‘repatriation’ of human remains… follows a series of [Ottawa] Citizen stories earlier this year revealing that a communal cemetery holding about 20 aboriginal skeletons was dug up 160 years ago on a point of land in Gatineau now occupied by the museum itself.”
Toronto’s Unfinished Business
The local and provincial governments serving Toronto have finally agreed to allocate a significant bit of cash for a grandiose set of architectural and cultural plans which aim to revitalize Canada’s largest city. But even as art lovers rejoice over the influx of public money, observers are quietly noting that the government’s CAN$232 million is a drop in the bucket compared with what’s needed to stabilize the city’s major cultural players. From the National Ballet to the Canadian Opera Company, Toronto’s arts groups are still in need of nearly half a billion dollars of additional investment.
Death As A Plot Device
A filmmaker is engaged in a court battle with three Hollywood studios over whether his documentary on Tinseltown’s bizarre and undeniable obsession with death and killing will ever see the light of day, or the dark of a screening room. Peter Livingston’s film uses clips from the 25 most-watched movies of all time, and notes that “only four had no humans killed at all, 16 showed dead people being resurrected, just two showed natural deaths, only one had a birth in which the baby survived, and some portrayed mass killing to such an extent the total came to nine-billion corpses.”