The cultural vestiges of the year gone by
Articles on the «cultural life of the year» is an annual tradition as one year ends and another begins. Selection is not made according to personal preference, but is rather based on what the writers of this newspaper felt was the public’s reaction to people, events and new places, and on what they appeared to enjoy or not. Cultural variety reflects the variety of society itself, and today’s cultural events reflect much wider change because we ourselves live in a constant state of flux. We can discern – but only just – two trends in the artistic output of 2003: On the one hand are the mainstream arts; broad-based, they aim at touching everyone. Though produced with mass consumption in mind, they are often well done and evoke genuine sentiment. On the other, we see innovative, daring works that are also enjoyed, albeit by a far smaller audience, and which can arouse and express latent sensitivities as well as having an impact. Comparing a musician with fleeting music hits with an innovative composer (and not just in order to make a point) is a risk, but together, they compose the mosaic of artistic creativity. The writers who have contributed to this review will be credited with their initials at the end of each piece. They are: Nikos Dontas, Maria Katsounaki, Margarita Pournara, Dimitris Rigopoulos, Iota Sykka, Nikos Xydakis and Vassilis Angelikopoulos.
