ARTS

KEN BURNS CALLS SMITHSONIAN'S SECRET SWEETHEART DEAL WITH SHOWTIME
'OBSCENE'

NY TIMES - Some of the biggest names in documentary filmmaking have
denounced a recent agreement between the Smithsonian Institution and
Showtime Networks Inc. that they say restricts makers of films and
television shows using Smithsonian materials from offering their work to
public television or other non-Showtime broadcast outlets.
Ken Burns, whose documentaries "The Civil War" and "Baseball" have
become classics of the form, said in an interview yesterday that he
believed that such an arrangement would have prohibited him from making
some of his recent works, like the musical history "Jazz," available to
public television because they relied heavily on Smithsonian collections
and curators. "I find this deal terrifying," Mr. Burns said in a
telephone interview from San Francisco, where he is filming interviews
for a documentary on the history of the national parks. "It feels like
the Smithsonian has essentially optioned America's attic to one company,
and to have access to that attic, we would have to be signed off with,
and perhaps co-opted by, that entity."

OTHER NEWS REPORTS - a chorus of independent film-makers, including Ken
Burns, producer of many award-winning PBS series such as "Jazz" and "The
Civil War" and Laurie Kahn-Leavitt, producer of the award-winning film
"Tupperware!" call foul, protesting what appears to be a near-exclusive
deal. The filmmakers contend that the deal unreasonably restricts access
to the institution's scientists, archives, objects and collections.
Burns said, "I find this deal terrifying," and Leavitt declared, "I
think this is obscene...I am not against them having a deal with
Showtime that is lucrative, but the archives are for the public to use."

SI insiders report that decisions on the semi-commercial deal were made
"at the Castle level" with little consultation or input being sought
from the management and staff of individual museums that comprise the
Smithsonian family of museums. While SI officials assert that the
institution "explored other media outlets" the selection of Showtime was
not subjected to competitive bidding – the process generally adhered to
by governmental agencies when considering proposals from private sector
entities wishing to do business with the government. Reportedly, several
SI museums that work closely and have "an active relationship" with
filmmakers have concerns, as many of their filmmaker partners now feel
shut out. . .

||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

GRAFFITI ARTISTS COME UP WITH NEW TOOLS

WIRED - The group of 12 graffiti artists surrounds its target, a
sculpture in Manhattan known as The Cube, and waits for the signal to
begin tagging it up. It's a daunting task -- the 15-foot sculpture in
Astor Place was recently coated with anti-graffiti paint.

But within seconds, The Cube is covered in LED Throwies, the latest
innovation from the Graffiti Research Lab, or GRL, an open-source think
tank dedicated to developing new methods and tools for street artists.

Despite its coating of Acrolon paint and extra lacquer, the metallic
sculpture isn't protected from the magnetic, multicolored LEDs, which
attach themselves to every surface.

The commotion soon attracts a crowd of passersby, and suddenly everyone,
including kids, are throwing Throwies.

The GRL was started by graffiti writers Q-Branch and Fi5e after a
brainstorm on, among other things, how to get around anti-graffiti
paint.

To them, the lab is part of the cat-and-mouse game that graffiti artists
constantly play with city authorities. Anti-graffiti paint is simply the
most recent weapon in the battle against the artists, but "if the cat
ramps up, so does the mouse," said Fi5e. . .

Another development is the Electro-Graf, a technique that lets street
artists embed LEDs, motors, solar panels or other electrical objects
into a wall using conductive spray paint. Electro-Graf techniques give
traditional tags a vibrant shine or even moving parts.

http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,70552-0.html?tw=rss.index