- The Art World's Most Powerful - A List The British magazine ArtReview has made a list of the 100 most powerful people in the art world. "British collector Charles Saatchi is No. 1; Ronald Lauder, who just opened his own museum in New York, is No. 3; and No. 9 is former Sotheby's chairman and major stockholder Alfred Taubman, who is spending an enforced vacation at Uncle Sam's spa, convicted of price fixing." Only one artist cracks the top ten... San Francisco Chronicle 01/13/03
- Revolution - How Digital Will Create A New World Order A new book from Sweden says the digital revolution - "the move from a society controlled by printed and broadcast mass media to an information age that provides interactivity is 'at least as dramatic as the move from feudalism to capitalism'. The more information technology dominates, the more culture, society and the economy change. It’s the birth of a 'whole new world' — a world undergoing a paradigm shift right under our noses. Say goodbye to the nation state and governments. Capitalism will be no more and its chief proponent, the bourgeoisie, will gradually lose power and become a mere 'underclass'." Mail & Guardian (South Africa) 01/12/03
- Andras Schiff On Coughing Audiences Pianist Andras Schiff has a sore spot for those who come to his concerts and cough: "Luckily I was in a good disposition, so I just very quietly stood up and said, 'Could we now make a coughing break. Please feel free to cough,' and I just walked off. I was told by friends that this person got very red and left the hall, and after five minutes I came out and started again, and all went beautifully." The Telegraph (UK) 01/14/03
- Curators - The Season Of Their Discontent Curators are not a happy lot these days. Indeed, they're "the embodiment of demoralization, resentment, anxiety, stress, and alienation over what was happening in his or her museum." There is a mounting chorus of voices "articulating this critical disconnect in art museums. The gap is not necessarily between curators and their directors—though in some institutions that exists as well. Mostly the conflict is between the dramatically changing role of the art museum and the mounting pressures imposed by those changes on the people who have traditionally been the custodians, students, and interpreters of the art objects inside their institutions." ArtNews 01/03
- Material Breach - Moden Art Falling Apart Modern art materials are falling apart in their cases and storage closets. "As the most adventurously made art ages, inherent vice has overtaken collectors and museums largely unprepared for its ravages. Fat is melting. Cellulose nitrate is powdering. Rubber is disintegrating. Nettles are crumbling. Dried mud is flaking and blowing away. The contemporary art conservator must be open to ingenious and humble solutions, not just technically sophisticated ones." Washington Post 01/12/03
