Comedian Excluded From Performing At Montreal Club Because His Hair Style Is “Cultural Appropriation”
Even if the person wearing dreadlocks is not racist himself, the group says, the chosen hairstyle “conveys racism.” It calls cultural appropriation “a form of passive oppression, a privilege to be deconstructed and in particular a manifestation of ordinary racism.” – Toronto Star (CP)
Why Carol Channing Was Unforgettable
Charles McNulty: One of a kind, Channing was a like a cross between Marilyn Monroe and Gracie Allen, with a personality voice that could make a tune completely her own. When she sang, pixie dust shot into the air. She was an Al Hirschfeld cartoon sprung into swooning life. – Los Angeles Times
Why We Need Theatre That Hurts, That’s Unpleasant, That’s Uncomfortable
“I don’t fault my friend for fleeing the theatre. This is art that hurts, though, to me, the pain seems entirely appropriate, even welcome. It’s not art of the cloying variety; it doesn’t depict pain that is pity-seeking, or that aims to emotionally hijack an audience on a ride through some dreary personal catharsis.” – The New Yorker
The Disney Princess Body Proportion Issue
“Disney princesses have extremely small waist-to-hip ratios that are nearly impossible to achieve naturally,” write anthropologist Toe Aung of Pennsylvania State University and independent researcher Leah Williams. They argue that such characters “might heighten or reinforce our preference for lower waist-to-hip ratios, and the perception that physically attractive individuals with lower waist-to-hip ratios possess morally favorable qualities.” – Pacific Standard
Orange County Has Changed Politically. Its Stages Don’t Seem To Have Kept Up Demographically
“While our political transformation was reflected emphatically at the ballot box in 2016 and even more so in 2018, the effects of O.C.’s increasing diversity haven’t been felt everywhere. The local theater scene, for example, reflects only part of the new demographic reality.” – Voice of Orange County
The End Of Authors? Hardly!
“The dictionary meanings of words are only potentially meaningful until they are actually employed in a context defined by the relation between author and audience. So how did it happen that professors of literature came to renounce authors and their intentions in favor of a way of thinking — or at least a way of talking — that is without historical precedent, has scant philosophical support, and is to most ordinary readers not only counterintuitive but practically incomprehensible?” – Los Angeles Review of Books
Broadway’s Next Evan Hansen Is An Actual Teenager
“The role is wrenching, vocally and emotionally, and [Andrew Barth Feldman] will be the first teenager to tackle it on Broadway. The character is 17, but adolescent boys are often thought to be too immature to play adolescent boys, and all of his predecessors have been in their 20s.” — The New York Times
Winston Churchill, Artist
Of course he was better-known as a politician. But he was also a considerably accomplished amateur artist. His artistic work has had relatively little notice next to his political career, but his work is worth examining. – The American Interest
Conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto Faces Storms At Mexico’s National Symphony Orchestra
The 53-year-old Mexico City native, who is also music director of the Louisiana Philharmonic, is accused of paying exorbitant fees to foreign soloists, something both he and his manager insist is a currency conversion mistake. And musicians from the orchestra are reportedly urging Mexican officials to fire Prieto for poor leadership. — The New Orleans Advocate
Five Trends That Will Shape The Visual Art Market In 2019
The rise of Taipei, a realignment in New York, Saudi money… the art world has never been so internationally dispersed… – Artsy
On Balanchine’s ‘Apollo’ (Alastair Macaulay Is Back)
With observations from three New York City Ballet alumni who learned the title role from Mr. B himself, the recently-retired chief dance critic of The New York Times looks at what makes this ballet different from the rest of Balanchine’s oeuvre. — The New York Times
An Existential Threat To The Baltimore Symphony?
Gregory Tucker: “What has long been hailed as Baltimore’s ‘other major league team’ is about to risk losing its major-league status. The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s Board of Directors, of which I was a member until this past June, has decided that Baltimore and Maryland can no longer afford a major league symphony orchestra, given what are real and persistent financial challenges. It is proposing cutting the season by 12 weeks.” – Washington Post
Why The National Theatres In The British Isles Are So Fraught (And Fought Over)
“In London, it is possible to stage a state-of-the-nation play while remaining vague about the nation you mean. Not so elsewhere.” Just ask the folks at the national theatres of Scotland, Wales, and Ireland — the latter two of which are currently caught up in arguments that go right to the heart of their “national” status. — The Guardian
Consider The Lowly Pushbutton – A Challenge To Our Humanity?
And yet, that’s what some thought when push buttons first appeared on machines: “Do you not think that this prodigious diffusion of mechanism is likely to render the world terribly monotonous and fastidious? To deal no longer with men, but to be dependent on things!” Pushing buttons made life too easy, too simplistic, or too rote, when a single finger-action could conjure one’s desires. – Aeon
Critics Talk About The Pleasures And Pains Of Extremely Bad Reviews
“Who are Extremely Bad Reviews written for? What do they hope to accomplish? Are they spiteful acts of vengeance, or more principled demands for justice? Are outright slams more prevalent now, or more effective now, or both, or neither? The answers change with the medium, and the target, and the reviewer in question.” — The Ringer
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Russian Filmmaker, Facing Censors And Vigilantes, Puts Comedy On YouTube Instead Of Cinema Screens
When word got around that Aleksey Krasovskiy’s Holiday was a comedy about the Siege of Leningrad, the outrage came thick and fast. So did the threats, all from people who hadn’t seen the movie. So he gave up on distribution and put the film online — where viewers understood just what he was up to. — The New York Times
Anonymous Was A Woman And Its No-Longer-Anonymous Funder
“Last year, 77-year-old artist Susan Unterberg revealed that she’s the patron behind this grantmaking outfit” — which selects ten female artists over 40 each year for $25,000 grants — “though the nominators and final award panel members will remain shrouded in mystery. … While supporting creative women constitutes a grantmaking niche, its focus on equity aligns well with the ongoing social justice trend in arts funding.” — Inside Philanthropy
Screen Actors Guild Accuses Academy Of ‘Intimidation’ Over Oscars
In a statement, SAG-AFTRA [the actors’ union] has claimed that an ‘extraordinary and unwarranted pressure’ is being placed on their members” — that is, that the Academy won’t invite any actor who presents a trophy at the SAG Awards to be a presenter at the Oscars. — The Guardian
A String Bass That Actually Fits In A Manageable Travel Case
“The TravelBass breaks down into separate components for transport in a custom case, and is assembled for play when double bassists reach their destination. Its makers – out of Parma, Italy – reckon that roving musicians should be able to take it on aircraft as carry on luggage in a custom hard case … designed to survive life in the cargo hold.” — New Atlas
Carlos Acosta Named Director Of Birmingham Royal Ballet
The 45-year-old Cuban was one of the (London) Royal Ballet’s most popular stars in his 17 years with the company, from which he retired about three years ago. He says he hopes to “look for choreographers that the Royal Ballet isn’t looking at, people and ballets that might not be obvious.” — The New York Times
Vandal Attack At Denver Art Museum: Damage Estimate Reduced From $1.93 Million To Less Than $100,000
Last month, an 18-year-old allegedly ran through the museum’s “Stampede: Animals in Art” exhibit, knocking over a display case and smashing centuries-old sculptures and objects from China and the Mayan Empire. Fortunately, the museum has announced that almost everything he broke can be repaired and the financial hit taken by the museum will be much lower than feared. — Denver Post
Academy Of American Poets Gets $2.2 Million Gift From Mellon Foundation
The funds are divided into two grants. The first will help start a new fellowship program to support poets laureate of states, cities, United States territories or tribal nations across the country. … The second grant will go toward the Poetry Coalition, a national alliance of more than 20 poetry organizations.” — The New York Times
Author Francine du Plessix Gray Dead At 88
“[Her] novels and biographies often examined the lives of women as creative forces and as muses, and [she] published an acclaimed memoir that explored her complicated personal history … [with] what she later recognized as the monstrous egos of mother and her stepfather.” — The Washington Post
As Senegal Opens New Museum Of Black Civilizations, It Wants France To Return Objects Taken During Colonial Period
“The scale of artifacts in question is staggering. Up to 95 percent of Africa’s cultural heritage is held outside Africa by major museums. France alone holds 90,000 sub-Saharan African objects in its museums.” — The New York Times
Top Carnegie Hall Exec To Lead Berkeley’s Cal Performances
Jeremy Geffen, who has been Carnegie’s top artistic administrator for 12 years, succeeds Matias Tarnopolsky, now CEO of the Philadelphia Orchestra. “New York is wonderful,” said Geffen, “but it can be difficult to get people’s attention … whereas in Berkeley, I was struck by the degree to which people are aware of, and open to, great attractions.” — San Francisco Chronicle