Shshshshshsh... Listen carefully. Hear that sound? The chainsaws and the hammers? There's a large pit where I'm standing where the theater and concert hall are going. And then of course the artist colony is over there, and the beautiful glass and wood dance hall will cantileaver over the lake. The amazing Medici.TV, is already helping us stream live opera and classical performances around the world. We got plenty of seats and the art gallery is looking great. We're in building mode, our sleeves are rolled, I've got dirt on my face and life is good.
We launched the Huffington Post art page only five weeks ago. Every time I see the tag line below the masthead saying "News and Opinion", I feel the phrase warrants some refinement and clarification. While certainly art "news" -- stories of who transfered to which museum or what record breaking painting was sold for, etc. is fascinating (ish) -- for us, the real news here is the art, the artists we feature, and the opinions of writers who wrap their minds around the work.
Some commentators have noted a slight emphasis on the visual arts. I am, after all, a visual artist, so this is the planet that I've been beamed from. But since most arts sections of newspapers usually have performance and film up front, I personally find it refreshing even as we flesh out the remaining disciplines (music, theater, dance, etc.) on the page.
During my last post about the arts section "Week 2: It's Alive!", commentator La Perrier astutely wrote
"Having ARTS to cover all that is out there is a bit like all the rest of the Huff Po being condensed into only three tabs: "BEHAVING BADLY", "LOOKING GOOD", then "BEING KIND". If we get those three categories in such detail, could you not have a separate tab for each of the major creative disciplines as a balance??"
I couldn't agree more. Attempting to gather all the arts in one section is an outrageous endeavor. Fortunately, The Huffington Post has something called "Big News Pages" that aggregate stories around topics and keywords. Every time we gather enough content surrounding a discipline, it will have it's own Big News Page (right along Angelina Jolie and Afghanistan.). Hand-in-hand with being "under construction", this page is a living breathing work of art --a canvas for expression and experimentation-- in and of itself. Soon you will see prominent artists actively contributing original artworks to the quilt of stories and spotlights already here.. but I'm saving that subject for my next entry. Stay tuned!
Yours,
Kimberly BrooksArtist/Arts Editor
*If you have a special event/performance/exhibition to share; if you wish to contribute as a blogger; if you have a story; or if you know of a great blog we should be reading, please go to this link and tell us about it.
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