THE ARTSVan Cliburn Winner: Italian pianist Simone...

THE ARTS

Van Cliburn Winner: Italian pianist Simone Pedroni won the prestigious Ninth Van Cliburn International Competition in Ft. Worth on Sunday. It was his North American debut. Russian Valery Kuleshov, 30, won the silver medal, followed by bronze medalist Christopher Taylor, 23, a Harvard graduate from Boulder, Colo. As gold medalist, Pedroni, 24, is guaranteed $15,000, a debut recital at New York City’s Carnegie Hall, concert tours, management for two years and a recording on the Philips label for release this September. Contest officials estimate the total prize, named for esteemed concert pianist and Ft. Worth native Van Cliburn, is worth $200,000. Kuleshov and Taylor will each receive lesser cash awards, two concert tours, management and a recording contract. A documentary about the competition, which is held every four years, will air on PBS on Dec. 15.

Bush Pressure on ‘NEA Four’: Former President Bush pressured a government agency to deny art grants three years ago to four controversial stage performers, it was disclosed in federal court documents that came to light in conjunction with the government’s $252,000 settlement this weekend with the so-called “NEA Four.” Lawyers for performance artists Tim Miller, John Fleck, Karen Finley and Holly Hughes--who were denied NEA grants in 1990--said the artists had uncovered a letter from Bush to then NEA chairman John Frohnmayer before the grants were rejected. In the letter, Bush said: “I do not want to see censorship, yet I don’t believe a dime of taxpayer’s money should go into ‘art’ that is clearly and visibly filth.”

New LACMA Curator: J. Patrice Marandel, curator of European paintings at the Detroit Institute of Arts, has been named curator of European paintings and sculpture at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, effective Oct. 4. Marandel, a specialist in 18th- and 19th-Century French paintings, will succeed Philip Conisbee, who is moving to the National Gallery of Art in Washington as curator of French paintings.

TELEVISION

TV Violence Hearings: The second in a series of U.S. Senate hearings on TV violence will be held in Washington today, with principal witnesses to include representatives from the TV branches of Hollywood studios, including Paramount, King World, Lorimar and Universal. Jack Valenti, president of the Motion Picture Assn. of America, is also scheduled to testify. Meanwhile, Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and representatives of at least 16 national groups concerned with the effect of TV violence on children were scheduled to announce Monday a new national task force on TV violence. The task force’s goal would be to “influence” TV executives who will meet Aug. 2 in Los Angeles for an industry conference in TV violence.

MOVIES

‘Speed Racer’ on Film: Speed Racer, the action hero of the long-running 1960s animated television series by the same name (and still seen in reruns on such venues as cable’s MTV), makes a big-screen debut this week with “The Speed Racer Show,” a campy 90-minute film tribute to the series, including three original episodes. The film’s world premiere is on Wednesday at Landmark’s Nuart Theater in West Los Angeles, where the tribute runs through next Tuesday. KROQ-FM (106.7) morning deejays Kevin and Bean will host the premiere event, which includes appearances by the original “Speed Racer” voices Peter Fernandez (Speed Racer) and Corinne Orr (Trixie).

UCLA Fellowship: Noted producer-director Bud Yorkin has established an annual $15,000 film fellowship for graduate students at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television. Highland Park resident Francisco Velasquez is the first recipient of the award, which stipulates that recipients must complete a film on a preset timetable and be completely within the $15,000 budget.

EVENTS

Another Weekend: The Renaissance Pleasure Faire, which was to have concluded its annual run at Glen Helen Regional Park on Sunday, has added an additional weekend because of last weekend’s rain. The fair will run from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

QUICK TAKES

Director Ang Lee won both Best Picture and Best Director Golden Space Needle honors for his film, “The Wedding Banquet,” at the Seattle International Film Festival’s closing gala Sunday night. Liv Ullmann won the coveted New Directors Showcase Award for her feature debut, “Sofie.” . . . Singer Michael Bolton will perform a benefit concert for the United Negro College Fund’s “Ladders of Hope” program at the Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on June 26. . . . “60 Minutes” executive producer Don Hewitt and actor-activist Edward James Olmos will receive honorary degrees from the American Film Institute on Thursday.

Quotable: “They work without creativity and fill the screen with simple scenes of sex and violence.”--Actress Lauren Bacall,

discussing the U.S. film industry while accepting the Golden

Dolphin award from Portugal’s Troia Film Festival.