Monday, November 17, 2008

German Enlightment Joined By Dutch Enlightenment? ... Desperately Seeking American Enlightenment

Dutch Culture Minister halts Concertzender closure

DEN HAAG 17 NOV 17.35h - Culture Minister Ronald Plasterk has approached the Board of Directors of the Dutch Public Broadcasting System (NPO) to insist that classical internet station Concertzender remain onair. This promise was made by the Minister in response to questions posed to him by Parliament Member Boris van der Ham (party D66).

Concertzender heard last week that the NPO would terminate its financial support as of January 1st. "I am ready to enter into discussion with the Board of Directors to figure out how the valuable contributions of Concertzender to the Dutch music culture can be given an appropriate spot in a new structure," says Plasterk.

Van der Ham had asked Plasterk for clarification regarding the situation in the middle of October. According to Van der Ham the Concertzender makes a positive community contribution, with "exceptional programming of serious music which is not available from other public radio stations."

Via On An Overgrown Path, Norwich, United Kingdom

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Sharon Rockefeller's Classical WETA-FM, so-called public radio in Washington, D.C.

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The 'German Enlightenment 2008' Show at the Zach Feuer Gallery, New York


















Judith Leyster [1609 - 1660] 'A Boy and a Girl with a Cat and an Eel'. National Gallery, London.

Signed, right: iudiyh [sic], followed by a star.

"It has recently been suggested that this painting serves as a warning against foolish and mischievous behaviour. The boy has used the small eel to entice the cat into his grasp and then withholds the bait, while the girl teases the cat further by pulling its tail. Judging by its extended claws the cat is about to scratch the boy. The picture thus seems to allude to the Dutch saying: 'He who plays with cats gets scratched', meaning he who looks for trouble will get it. It was common in Dutch 17th-century painting to use children in order to point out the foolish behaviour of adults."

Image credit: National Gallery of Art, London

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