Sometimes I get the impression that all the hullabaloo over architecturally spectacular new performing arts spaces is basically a celebration of style rather than substance:
Here are recent reviews of the new Guangzhou Opera House from the New York Times and the Guardian. (Paul Goldberger writes about some of Hadid's other recent projects here.) I wonder whether part of the impetus of the currently proliferating spectacular performance venues is a way of providing more "added value" to entice people away from their computer screens by giving them an extra reason to buy a concert ticket. Kind of like how Björk's releasing an album with a bunch of fancy smart phone apps to give her fans a reason to buy it rather than just listening or downloading it online. (Meanwhile the opera world is not exactly in robust shape these days.)
Along the same lines, one of the little-noted reasons for the boom in 3D-movies seems to be part of the same trend of providing artworks with non-downloadable enrichment—3D movies are less susceptible to piracy so they're more likely to lure people to movie theaters, as Jeffrey Katzenberg explains:
No comments:
Post a Comment