'Obamao' artwork tests limits of free speech in China

Anyone who has been following President Obama's visit to China this week has no doubt heard of "Obamao" -- the graphic superimposition of Obama's face on the body of Chairman Mao that has found its way onto T-shirts and other souvenir items around the country.

The phenomenon, which was first reported during the summer, has reached a cultural tipping point this week, as Obama makes his way through the country as part of his first tour of Asia as president. Everyone -- NBC as well as  Gawker -- has weighed in on "Obamao." On Friday, the Christian Science Monitor reported that the Chinese government had gone so far as to ban the image by threatening to shut down vendors selling the popular T-shirts. Apparently, the government fears the image will offend the visiting president.

Culture Monster finds it is somewhat ironic that the Chinese government is cracking down on an image of Obama just as Obama himself publicly urged the country to embrace the freedom of speech. As reported this weekend in The Times, Obama spoke recently in Shanghai about "free expression, worship, political participation and access to information," which the president termed "universal rights."

"They should be available to all people, including ethnic and religious minorities, whether they are in the United States, China or any nation," he said.

Obama also stated that unrestricted access to the Internet "should be encouraged."

Judge rules Shepard Fairey can switch lawyers in AP case

Artist Shepard Fairey is set to change his legal team after a federal judge denied a request by the Associated Press to halt the switch.

The Los Angeles-based street artist, who is currently embroiled in a fair-use suit with the AP over his "Hope" poster of Barack Obama, admitted in October that he knowingly submitted false images and deleted others in the legal proceedings.

Soon after, his legal team, headed by Anthony Falzone of Stanford University's Fair Use Project, said to various parties that it intended to withdraw from the legal proceedings at an undetermined date.

On Monday, the AP filed papers in a Manhattan federal court asking that the request to change lawyers be turned down because Fairey's attorneys have “unique knowledge” that is germane to the case.

The AP also stated that a change in counsel would cause "additional prejudice and undue delay," according to the papers.

On Tuesday morning, a judge ruled against the AP, thus paving the way for Fairey's new team to assume its place.

The artist's new legal representation will consist of Geoffrey Stewart and Meir Feder of the law firm Jones Day.  Also joining the team will be William Fisher, a professor at Harvard Law School and director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, as well as John Palfrey, another Harvard Law professor. (Harvard Law School itself does not have a role in Fairey's representation.)

Sources have told The Times that Fairey is likely to be sanctioned as a result of his misconduct during the case. When the court will hand down those possible sanctions is unclear.

Fairey has stated that the fair-use issue at the center of the legal dispute remains unchanged, even though he has admitted that he used a certain image by AP photographer Mannie Garcia for his "Hope" poster.

The artist and the AP have filed a series of suits and countersuits against each other relating to the case.

-- David Ng

Photo: Shepard Fairey at the symbolic re-creation of the Berlin Wall in Los Angeles earlier this week. Credit: Stefano Paltera / For The Times

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Monster Mash: Obamas change mind about painting; Gerard Butler goes Shakespeare; Pompidou's roving museum

-- Second thoughts: The first family has apparently changed its mind about an artwork by Alma W. Thomas titled "Watusi (Hard Edge)" that was chosen in October to hang in Michelle Obama's office. (ARTnews and Washington Post)

-- Tough times still here: Foundation giving is expected to decline by more than 10% in 2009 and to fall even further next year. (Crain's New York Business)

-- Star power: Gerard Butler has joined the cast of Ralph Fiennes' coming film adaptation of Shakespeare's "Coriolanus." (Hollywood Reporter/Reuters)

-- Mobile art: The Pompidou Center in Paris plans to create a traveling museum that will bring masterpieces to disadvantaged neighborhoods in France. (Associated Press)

-- Songbook legend: Singer Michael Feinstein's "All About Me" is set to open on Broadway on March 30. (Variety)

-- Queasy: A chamber music group from Montreal has canceled a concert after the majority of the ensemble contracts salmonella poisoning. (Montreal Gazette)

-- Cutting back? Students at the Fleisher Art Memorial in Philadelphia fear the institution may be curtailing free classes and other programs. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

-- Art appointment: Maine's Farnsworth Art Museum has named Christopher Brownawell as its new director. (Bangor Daily News)

-- And in the L.A. Times: An Ed Ruscha print sells for a record amount; the Obamas host an evening of classical music at the White House; CalArts launches a new degree program.

-- David Ng

Photo: Alma W. Thomas' "Watusi (Hard Edge)." Credit: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

Obama tattles on JFK as he greets White House classical music audience

Etiquette and protocol probably figure into any proceedings in the East Room of the White House.

But with classical music on the agenda Wednesday evening, President Obama was alert to some special do's and don'ts as he welcomed an audience for performances by violinist Joshua Bell, guitarist Sharon Isbin, cellist Alisa Weilerstein and pianist Awadagin Pratt, with some young student musicians sitting in.

Obama harked back to the Kennedy White House's "Camelot" legacy of cultural involvement, but not altogether reverently.

Here's the humorous insider-anecdote he shared, as relayed by the White House press office in a transcript of the president's remarks.

"Now, if any of you in the audience are newcomers to classical music, and aren’t sure when to applaud, don’t be nervous. (Laughter.)  Apparently, President Kennedy had the same problem.  (Laughter.)  He and Jackie held several classical music events here, and more than once he started applauding when he wasn’t supposed to.  (Laughter.)  So the social secretary worked out a system where she’d signal him -- (laughter) -- through a crack in the door to the cross-hall.   

"Now, fortunately, I have Michelle to tell me when to applaud.  (Laughter.)  The rest of you are on your own.  (Laughter.)

"This is, of course, a unique concert venue.  But tonight, all across America, in community centers and concert halls, in homes and in schools, the sounds of classical music are lifting hearts and spurring imagination, just as they always have.  And it’s easy to understand why.  There’s precision, of course; but there’s also great feeling and improvisation.  There’s structure; but there’s also creativity.  It’s music that defies simple definition even as it speaks to a common, universal language.

"So whether you are new to classical music, or have been an aficionado for many, many years, we hope that you enjoy tonight."  

-- Mike Boehm

[An earlier version of this story mistakenly referred to Joshua Bell as a cellist.]

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Michelle Obama tells international audience why the arts matter

Obama takes power classically

Photo: Obama addressing the White House audience Wednesday. Credit: Joshua Roberts/Pool/Getty Images

Sarah Jessica Parker, Thom Mayne, Anna Wintour named to Obama's arts committee

If eclecticism was the goal for Barack Obama in choosing members for the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, then he has succeeded hands down, judging from today's announcement of 25 appointees.

Ranging from Hollywood actors to veteran cultural leaders, the committee members represent a wide spectrum of American culture and entertainment.

Among the most famous names on the list are actors Sarah Jessica Parker, Edward Norton, Forest Whitaker and Alfre Woodard, "Vogue" editor Anna Wintour, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, theater director George C. Wolfe and architect Thom Mayne.

Established in 1982, the committee's mission is to work with organizations including the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities to encourage partnerships between the public and private sector on cultural projects. The committee also seeks to initiate and support cultural programs, according to its official website.

In September, Obama named three people to lead the committee: television producer George Stevens Jr., theater producer Margo Lion and New York University's Mary Schmidt Campbell.

Other new appointees to the committee who have Southern California ties include Bryan Lourd, managing director of Creative Artists Agency; Andy Spahn, an entertainment industry consultant; and Christine Forester, a former architect who runs her own marketing company.

-- David Ng

Photo: Sarah Jessica Parker. Credit: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

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Obama expected to sign bill to increase cultural funding

For once, some good news on the cultural funding front.

President Obama is expected to sign a bill this weekend that will increase funding for the nation's main cultural bodies to their highest levels in nearly 16 years.

This week, Congress approved the Interior Appropriations Bill for the 2010 fiscal year. Among other things, the bill provides funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities at $167.5 million for each agency.

Earlier this year, Obama had proposed a 4% increase in the NEA's 2010 budget, to $161.3 million from its current level of $155 million. The agency's new 2010 budget goes beyond what Obama had proposed, representing an 8% increase over this year.

But Congress nixed the president's proposed $171.3 million budget for the NEH. The agency will receive the same amount as the NEA for 2010.

The NEA has also received additional federal funding through Obama's economic stimulus package.

In June, the House of Representatives approved budgets of $170 million for both the NEA and NEH. But a Senate committee called for $161.3 million each. The final budgets were negotiated this week in Congress.

Rocco Landesman, the new head of the NEA, told Culture Monster recently that he didn't think that his agency would receive more funding than what had already been proposed.

Christmas in October, Rocco.

-- David Ng

Photo: President Obama. Credit: Joshua Roberts / EPA

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Michelle Obama makes room for classical music at the White House

Classical music education will get some welcome attention next week when Michelle Obama opens the White House for a special concert.

Next Wednesday, the first lady will host a Classical Music Student Workshop Concert, which will feature an appearance by superstar violinist Joshua Bell, guitarist Sharon Isbin, cellist Alisa Weilerstein and pianist Awadagin Pratt. The afternoon concert, which will be held in the East Room, is part of the White House's ongoing Music Series, which was created by the first lady to celebrate the arts and demonstrate the importance of arts education.

The White House said that the concert will include two young performers: cellist Sujari Britt and marimba player Jason Yoder, who will perform with Weilerstein. On the same day, the White House will hold music workshops for 120 middle and high school students from around the country. 

The Obamas' have previously hosted concerts of country music and jazz at the White House as part of the Music Series. Last month, the White House hosted a festival of Latin music titled Fiesta Latina.

While it is unclear if Michelle Obama plays a musical instrument, it has been reported that first daughters Sasha and Malia have taken piano lessons as well as dance classes.

And if the White House is open to suggestions for future concerts, Culture Monster would like to nominate Gustavo Dudamel and L.A.'s very own YOLA Expo Center Youth Orchestra. As their recent Hollywood Bowl concert demonstrated, the youngsters are a photogenic group that can send a strong message about the possibilities of music education.

-- David Ng

Photo: Michelle Obama. Credit: Alex Brandon / Associated Press

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A night of awe for L.A.'s youth orchestra

Despite technical glitches, Obama's cultural evening is powerfully intimate

Monster Mash: Museum wants Obama's Nobel money; Ingmar Bergman's property; Levine's setback

-- Wishful: The Dayton International Peace Museum hopes that President Obama will donate some or all of his $1.4-million Nobel Peace Prize money. (Associated Press)

-- Good use: Ingmar Bergman's former properties will become a nonprofit center for artists and scholars. (New York Times)

-- Still recuperating: Conductor James Levine experiences a setback in his recovery from surgery. (Boston Globe)

-- Organizing: Stagehands at New York's Joyce Theatre -- a popular dance venue -- have voted to join the same union that represents workers on Broadway. (Bloomberg)

-- Tough ruling: A New York judge has ruled that a gallery worker cannot receive a refund on an incorrectly valued work by Julian Schnabel. (New York Law Journal)

-- Classical substitution: Rufus Wainwright postpones the debut of his "Five Shakespeare Sonnets" at the San Francisco Symphony, but Duncan Sheik will fill in with selections from his upcoming musical "Whisper House." (San Jose Mercury News)

-- Sober: Opening-night parties on Broadway aren't what they used to be. (Variety)

-- Diva behavior: The Argentine opera singer who was arrested in a New York restaurant for disorderly conduct said she was talking on her cellphone to the organizers of the Las Vegas premiere of Michael Jackson's film "This Is It". (Associated Press)

-- Clever promotion: Twentieth Century Fox will try to break the Guinness world record for tallest ice sculpture today in Santa Monica by creating one in the shape of an "Ice Age" character. (All Headline News)

-- Hopeful: A New York actress rebounds from homelessness to a role on Broadway. (New York Times)

-- Passing: Landscape architect Lawrence Halprin has died at age 93. (San Francisco Chronicle)

-- And in the L.A. Times: Some local schools are trying to put an end to explicit moves on the dance floor; Scarlett Johansson will make her Broadway debut in January in Arthur Miller's "A View From the Bridge"; Terry Riley has resigned from his role as the head of the Miami Art Museum.

-- David Ng

Photo: President Obama, speaking about winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Credit: Gerald Herbert / Associated Press

Using Shepard Fairey to trash President Obama

You have to hand it to the right-wingers. For them, any excuse to trash President Obama is a good excuse, even when the inherent self-contradiction and plain falsehood of the claim make them look as dumb as a box of rocks. Shamelessness is apparently its own reward.

The latest example is Charlotte Allen, a contributing editor for a website of the far-right Manhattan Institute. Writing on the Op-Ed page of today's Times, Allen scolds Obama for having said as a candidate that he was "privileged" and "proud" to have been the subject of graphic artist Shepard Fairey's now-famous "Hope" poster. Fairey, embroiled in a fair-use lawsuit with the Associated Press over the Obama photograph he employed for the work, confessed last week to having lied to the court about the image he used and destroying evidence.

Allen claims that he got away with the deception "because Fairey was 'one of us' in the eyes of the fiercely liberal cultural and intellectual elite." Her examples? She cites exactly one: "The New Yorker's art critic, Peter Schjeldahl, wrote reverently of the works, calling them 'epic poetry in an everyday tongue'...."

Reverently? The quoted review of Fairey's big retrospective at Boston's Institute of Contemporary Art in fact laments that Schjeldahl wished Fairey "were a better artist." The New Yorker's critic goes on to bemoan Fairey's acts of vandalism in his street art and his "energetic but unoriginal enterprise involving a repertoire of well-worn provocations."

Monster Mash: Obamas' family portrait; 'Spider-Man' delayed; Will Smith, Jay-Z invest in 'Fela!'

-- Say cheese: The White House has posted a portrait of the first family taken by Annie Leibovitz. (The White House)

-- Another setback: Broadway's new "Spider-Man" musical, featuring songs by Bono and the Edge, is expected to open later than scheduled. (New York Times)

-- Honored: Artist Ryan Trecartin has won the Wolgin International Competition in the Fine Arts. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

-- Major investment: Will Smith and Jay-Z are said to be putting in a combined $3 million in the Broadway production of "Fela!" (New York Post)

-- Natural voices: The amplification system used by New York City Opera at its home in Lincoln Center has been removed. (New York Times)

-- Public art: A controversy has erupted over a mural in Washington, D.C., depicting a female African American boxer. (Artnet)

-- Star casting: Eric Bogosian joins the Broadway cast of the coming "Time Stands Still" by Donald Margulies. (Variety)

-- Scenes from a real-estate deal: Ingmar Bergman's home on a remote Swedish island has reportedly been sold to a Norwegian businessman. (Associated Press)

-- And in the L.A. Times: Art critic Christopher Knight discusses the controversial art at the new LAPD headquarters in downtown. (Los Angeles Times)

-- David Ng

Photo: The Obamas. Credit: Annie Leibovitz / White House