HubArts.com

On the Rose, Brandeis alumni align with the administration

Here's a letter from the head of the Brandeis Alumni Association emailed to some members on Saturday:
Jan. 29, 2009
Dear fellow Brandeis alumni:
I wanted to share with you some perspective on the news you've undoubtedly read concerning Brandeis and the future of the Rose Art Museum. As president of the Alumni Association with a seat on the University's Board of Trustees, I was on campus Monday for the meeting where Brandeis' financial situation was discussed. The strategy to ensure the strong future of the academy and the value of what's essential to Brandeis... its students, its faculty and our Brandeis degrees were discussed at great length.
You must certainly know the decision about the Rose was not an easy nor lightly taken one. But the context of what else is going on in light of the new economic realities we all face is also important here. Like other universities, Brandeis is feeling the effects of the global financial downturn: the value of the endowment has decreased, gifts to the University may fall, and students need additional financial aid because their family economic situations have deteriorated. The administration has and is taking steps to reduce costs but it goes much beyond that.
Brandeis is embarking upon a new era where opportunities to adjust to the 21st century and a changing environment prevail. These include discussions with faculty, students, administrators and trustees in recent months...in fact there have been some 30+ meetings with these various constituencies on campus and they continue today when a new faculty-student committee was formed to discuss curriculum options. Other ideas ranging from a student summer semester, to slightly increasing the size of the student body, to a small decrease in faculty, to changing the structure of undergraduate majors to better highlight interdisciplinary study, field experience and experiential learning, are all on the table. And each idea under consideration is being thoroughly studied and vetted before final decisions are made. In addition, the University has already realized savings through the elimination of staff positions (through layoffs or attrition).
As for the Rose, the museum building will be converted to much-needed arts teaching and gallery space for Brandeis students and faculty. Through an orderly process that might take years, pieces of the collection might be sold. The University is well aware of market conditions and is not planning a sudden and drastic sale of the artwork, but rather a cautious approach with an eye towards the future. President Reinharz explained it well on NPR, if you want to hear more about it firsthand: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99974995.
There is sadness, disappointment, and grieving from within the Brandeis community about the painful decisions necessitated by the country's economic downturn and I regret that it has affected Brandies, too. But I feel confident in the University's leadership and its focus on the future for a stronger than ever Brandeis in the decades ahead.We especially need our alumni and their active support for Brandeis at this time more than ever. The administration is well aware of the range of opinions and emotions among alumni about the Rose and other issues...and is doing its best to respond to many of you directly. We alumni are integral to shaping the future of Brandeis and I hope you will consider taking an even more active role in ensuring a strong new century for our alma mater.

Sincerely,
Allen Alter '71
President
Brandeis Alumni Association

Brandeis updates

NEJAR has the sharpest Brandeis post, pointing out that the chairman of the school's board of trustees is a former Zayre exec who's a - wait for it - liquidation specialist. There's also a funny post suggesting what painting Brandeis should dump first. ... The Daily Beast, meanwhile, has a piece in which the COO of Brandeis suggests the school's financial problems are much worse than previously reported. ... In the Globe today, or Geoff's blog: The student protest over Brandeis' plan to close the Rose museum and sell off its art collection, and the related faculty senate move. But the really scary story for arts advocates everywhere ought to be the front-pager on the Shapiro foundation and what Bernie Madoff has single-handedly done to charity funding throughout the community.

J. Geils Band to reunite for House of Blues; tix tom'w

Here's the press release from Live Nation:

BRINGING THE HOUSEPARTY TO HOUSE OF BLUES ... J. GEILS BAND TO REUNITE GRAND OPENING WEEK AT HOUSE OF BLUES® BOSTON ... FIRST TIME PERFORMING TOGETHER IN OVER TEN YEARS

Boston, MA (January 28, 2009)- For the first time in over ten years the legendary J. Geils Band will reunite to perform during the grand opening week of the new House of Blues in Boston on Thursday, February 19, 2009 at 8:00 pm. The appearance will include original members of this celebrated Boston band –Peter Wolf, Magic Dick, Seth Justman, Danny Klein and Jay Geils.

Known for their electrifying live performances as well as classic hits such as "Freeze Frame", "Centerfold", "Musta Got Lost", "Love Stinks", "Give it to Me" the J. Geils Band continues to be one of the most influential bands in rock history. Their hard driving rhythm and blues shows are the thing of legend and for one extraordinary night only the J. Geils Band is bringing the "houseparty" to the House of Blues Boston. Fans will not want to miss the opportunity to be a part of this once in a lifetime event.

The band's last official tour took place in 1999 where they played together at a benefit for the Worcester Firefighters at the Orpheum Theatre as well as a benefit for the Cam Neely Foundation.

A portion of the proceeds from the concert benefit International House of Blues Foundation®, a 501(c) 3 organization dedicated to promoting cultural understanding and creative expression through music & art (www.ihobf.org).

Tickets for the show are $45.00, $125.00 and $160.00. Concert tickets will go on-sale beginning Friday, January 30, 2009 at 10:00 am. Tickets are available at www.livenation.com, www.hob.com/boston and at all Ticketmaster ticket centers, online at www.ticketmaster.com or by phone 800-745-3000.

The Blizzard of '78 wants you

A little scary, I know, but it's the name of a local band. And given the white wasteland outside my window, that was enough to get me to hook you up for Blizzard of '78's CD release party for their new "Book of Lies," tonight at the Lizard Lounge. Nothing like a little straight-ahead rock to shake you out of the malaise that seems to pervade the atmosphere. Tix are here. And here's one of their little ditties to get you started:

Paul Schrader in Cambridge

One of the most brilliant and bleakest minds in movies is coming to the Harvard Film Archive. Paul Schrader wrote "Taxi Driver" and "Raging Bull" for Martin Scorsese and wrote and directed "American Gigolo" and "Mishima: A Life In Four Chapters" (right). He'll appear twice at the HFA's "The Style of Loneliness - A Paul Schrader Retrospective," beginning Friday night. Schrader will be at screenings of "Mishima" on Friday night and "Light Sleeper" on Saturday night, presumbly for a chat with the audience. Tix are $10 for those screenings, and several other Schrader films will screen over the weekend. HFA doesn't do advance ticketing. Click the link above for more info.

Plays that had to be written

“Blanche Survives Katrina in a FEMA Trailer Named Desire”!

Tortured reasoning at Brandeis

Brandeis officials tell the Globe's Geoff Edgers that they may not have to sell the university's art collection after all, but they are definitely closing the Rose Art Museum this summer. And the reason, according to Edgers' story? "Marty Krauss, Brandeis provost ... said university officials believed they could not operate a museum, which is expected to abide by a code of ethics limiting the reasons it can sell off art, and then sell art to pay for needs other than the museum." So they may not sell off their art, but they're definitely going to close the place where they exhibit it, so they have the freedom to sell it if they want. The end result could be an important art collection in storage - or hanging on the walls of the presdent's office. And all this because the endowment has fallen 25 percent - to just over half a billion dollars. Is it just me, or does this sound nuts? It will be interesting to see how many students turn out for today's 1 p.m. protest.

Springsteen, Phish coming to town

Boston dates!

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band
At the TD Banknorth Garden
Tuesday, April 21 and Wednesday, April 22, 2009 at 7:30 pm
Tickets, $97.50 and $67.50, go on sale Monday at 10:00 am
Tickets are available at the TD Banknorth Garden Box Office, by logging on to www.livenation.com or at Ticketmaster by calling 1-800-745-3000.

Phish
At the Comcast Center
Saturday, June 6, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Tickets, $49.50, go on sale Saturday at 10:00 am
Tickets are available exclusively at www.livenation.com, by calling 877-598-8689 or at the Comcast Center Box Office.

Harvard Square will still host a newsstand

Here's some good news. Although it appears the Out of Town News name may go by the boards, there will continue to be a newsstand in the middle of Harvard Square. The Harvard Crimson reports that Muckey's Corp., which runs newsstands under the name Patriot News Inc., will take over the space, having signed a five-year lease for the landmark venue. The background is here. (Via Universal Hub.)

Brandeis plan faces major opposition

Predictably, the plan by Brandeis to close the Rose Art Museum and sell off its $350 million art collection to rescue the university from financial straits is looking like it will turn into a courtroom clusterfuck. The Globe reports this morning that museum supporters are up in arms - not surprisingly, that includes the woman for whom a new wing was named in 2001 after a $5 million gift from her husband. And with 80 percent of the collection received as gifts - many of which come with legal strings attached - the Brandeis administration has its work cut out for it. Best quote: "The trustees and the president should call Barack Obama and say we can solve the financial crisis," (one sale opponent) said. "Why don't we sell all the collections in the Smithsonian?" The Globe's art critic makes a case against the sale too, batting away some of the administration's rationalizations. Meanwhile, both Boston Mayor Tom Menino and the incoming House Speaker are looking for ways to tap college endowments to help government with its fiscal crisis. Nice timing guys!