curiosity, confused, whatever, I don't know
Mayor James E. West of Spokane, a Republican opponent of gay rights, was accused in a newspaper on Thursday of molesting two boys decades ago and the paper also says it caught him using the trappings of his office to try to court a young man online.
Mr. West denied the accusations, but acknowledged he "had relations with adult men."
He admitted offering autographed sports memorabilia and a possible City Hall internship to what he thought was an 18-year-old man on the Web site Gay.com. The man was actually a computer expert hired by the newspaper, The Spokesman-Review, as part of a sting operation.
Mr. West, 54, a former Boy Scout leader and Army paratrooper who was married for five years in the 1990's, denied that the online offers constituted abuse of his office, and he said he would serve out the more than three years remaining in his term. [...]
Mr. West, a conservative, rose to become majority leader of the State Senate during a two-decade legislative career. He consistently opposed efforts to expand civil rights protections for gay men and lesbians and voted for the Defense of Marriage Act, a ban on same-sex marriage, in 1998.
The newspaper had hired a computer expert to create a fictitious identity as an 18-year-old boy to chat with Mr. West, whose online aliases included "RightBi-Guy."
Mr. West would not characterize himself as gay. As for the reason for his online visits to Gay.com, he said, "curiosity, confused, whatever, I don't know."
- ASSOCIATED PRESS, "The Mayor of Spokane Is Accused of Molesting," new york times May 5, 2005
posted May 06, 2005 in politics, printemerging artists will need to rethink how they bring their work to market and manage their careers
From alternative investment funds specializing in fine art, to corporations, to individual collectors around the country using the web to access gallery inventories and auction house catalogues, more people are buying contemporary art now than at any point in the past 15 years. This increased demand has significant market impact. Established galleries are selling out shows of mediocre work by well-known artists. Many of these middling pieces are flipped on the secondary market within two years, setting auction records. Prices are unsustainably high at the top end of the market right now.
Current levels of demand have implications lower on the food chain as well. Because non-established collectors are unable to get truly innovative work, they chase novelty. To meet this demand, smaller galleries snatch students from MFA and BFA programs and give them solo shows before they complete their degrees. Emerging artists today have more market opportunity than ever.
Art fairs have played a role too, as they have become a movable feast for celebrating collectors and their dealers. When listening to WPS1 Art Radio’s dispatches from Art Basel Miami Beach last fall, I was struck by the similarities to what I heard at stock investor conferences in the late '90s: the enthusiasm and excitement, the self-congratulatory tone, the continual talk about the market’s strength, the absence of any acknowledgement of a potential for downside correction. [...]
When the market starts to cool, we’ll see several changes. Newer, smaller dealers will face cash flow challenges and will close their doors. Larger dealers who represent established artists will cut back. They’ll present more conservative and saleable work while they pay their bills through profits generated from private back-room deals. If these predictions come true, emerging artists will need to rethink how they bring their work to market and manage their careers.
- Todd Gibson , "What Happens When the Bubble Bursts?" nyfa current may 5, 2005
posted May 06, 2005 in art, print