"The Ledge" now off-Broadway

Hi everyone,
I had mentioned in class that "The Ledge" has just been turned into a play that is currently in production in New York. Here are the details--if anyone is planning a trip to NYC next weekend, could be an interesting thing to check out:

THE LEDGE
A New Play Based on the Short Story by Lawrence Sargent Hall

Written by Jack Hanley
Directed by Christopher Eaves
Starring Mike Houston

Friday March 24
Saturday March 25
Friday April 7
Saturday April 8

8:00 PM (Doors Open at 7:30)

Dixon Place
258 Bowery, 2nd Floor (South of E Houston)
New York City

TICKETS: 212 219 0736

For more information visit http://www.eavesdrop.net or http://dixonplace.org

Bambi ad

While surfing the web the other day, I came across this ad. It's yet another example of how Bambi has impacted our society. Advertisers use the sentimentality that people feel toward Bambi to help their campaigns. The problem of forest fires is one environmental issue brought up by the film. Whether the fire in Bambi was set intentially to scare game or whether it was simply a campfire that got out of control, people see the importance of teaching forest fire safety and environmental protection, and Bambi is a means that everyone understands.

pre-exam humor...

The Ralph Lutts article included a comment about a short video entitled "Bambi Meets Godzilla". The sequel to this short is available at www.ifilms.com if you search "Son of Bambi Meets Godzilla" and is worth the ten seconds it takes to watch it.

-Emily Benning

review sessions

Hi everyone,
just a reminder that there will be two review sessions for the mid-term. Jocelyn will run a session on Sunday afternoon March 12 in Fernow 304 at 4:00 pm. Then on Monday March 13 we will hold a review in Fernow 304 at 2:00 pm.

thanks everyone.

Hudson River School painters in the news

Hi everyone,
it's been a quiet week on the blog, but showing Asher Durand's painting, Progress, this morning made me think of another of his famous paintings--Kindred Spirits (1849), shown here.

This painting made the news last year when the New York Public Library decided to sell it off, and the buyer turned out to be Alice Walton, heir to the Wal-Mart fortune.

The rumored but uncomfirmed purchase price is estimated to be somewhere in the ballpark of $35 million, the largest amount ever paid for a work of art by an American artist!

This sparked a lot of commentary from critics who argued that the Library should have held on to the painting; or, if they had to sell Kindred Spirits, that at the least it shouldn't have gone to Wal-Mart.

Here are a couple of links to articles discussing the sale and whether it was appropriate. Another "UTPT"--Ultimate Term Paper Topic!

2005 Article "Kindred Spirits: Art and Money" from the Gotham Gazette, an NYC arts commentary publication.

Rebecca Skolnit Feb. 19, 2006 OpEd piece: "Not-so 'Kindred Spirits'" in the LATimes. You need to register with (for free) with LATimes to read the article. It's worth it.