Curiouser and curiouser
Source: The Artful Manager | Published on 2014-01-31
Finland is selling a Sibelius house. Interested?
Source: Slipped Disc | Published on 2014-01-31
The Cost of Poor Care: Multi-millions
Source: Real Clear Arts | Published on 2014-01-31
Looking Back, Dancing Now
Source: Dancebeat | Published on 2014-01-31
Week in Review: Obama on Art vs Factories, and More
Source: CultureCrash | Published on 2014-01-31
“The script of a play is not a finished product: It’s a set of instructions. A play is not a play until it’s performed, and unless it’s a one-person play that is acted, directed and designed by the author, many other people will be deeply involved in the complicated process that leads to its performance.”
Gordon Sprenger, retired CEO of Allina Health Systems, was described by one source as “a healer.” He will need that quality as he tries to unite an organization that has been torn by a labor dispute that resulted in bitterness on all sides.
Two of Wales’ best-known cultural venues – St David’s Hall and the New Theatre – are under threat as part of a huge cuts programme proposed by Cardiff council.
When the Hammer Museum unveiled its “Made in LA” biennial two years ago, the decision to award $100,000 to one artist through a combination of jury selection and online voting became an unlikely lightning rod for criticism.
“While traditional data analysis tends to focus on data that has intrinsic, meaningful value, Big Data allows us to aggregate otherwise meaningless data and find insight in the group. By way of analogy, it probably won’t tell us much to observe the individual meanderings of an ant, but when observing the colony together, patterns emerge.”
So called “high culture” hasn’t fared well under this president who, like so many politicians, seems reflexively afraid of being associated with anything that might be seen as elitist.
“The biggest threat those of us working in colleges and universities face isn’t video lectures or online tests. It’s the fact that we live in institutions perfectly adapted to an environment that no longer exists.”
“In addition to a lack of clarity of about what is fair use — the section of copyright law allowing for non-licensed use of copyrighted material for commentary and other “transformative” purposes — arts professionals fear the costs, in time and dollars, of seeking out permission for licensed use, the report says.”
“As Ukraine’s crisis enters its third month since President Yanukovych’s abrupt decision to walk away from a deal for closer trade and political links with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Russia, social media activists and local filmmakers are playing a key role in alerting the world to the country’s plight.”
“A treasure trove of more than £1.7bn-worth of old masters paintings, Greek, Roman and Egyptian antiquities, ancient weapons and prehistoric archaeological items were allowed to be sold overseas in the year to May 2013, according to official statistics issued by the government.”
“Critics complain that the effort to find heirs has been sluggish and inefficient, despite increased online genealogy resources and the rise of social media. So I decided to see if I could trace the ownership of any of the works.”
“Biopics used to be a mix of entertainment, education, and guilt-free voyeurism—a peek behind the curtain at people who touched our lives in some way. Now, they’re a contradictory mix of hagiography and revisionism, lionizing their subjects while somehow managing to diminish them in comparison to the products of their imaginations.”
“The National Association of Theatre Owners says of the nation’s 40,000 screens about 37,000 have gone digital, but it seems likely that at least a few may end up going dark instead.”
Just two weeks before opening, director William Friedkin decided to replace Steven Berkoff and says he can’t engage a suitable replacement on such short notice.
Charlotte Higgins, The Guardian’s chief arts writer and a classicist herself, recounts how the poems were found, explains how we know they’re Sappho’s, and provides plenty of background – plus a translation of one of the poems.
“Scientists have linked the eruption of Turkey’s Mount Hassan with a Neolithic painting found in the nearby proto-city of Çatalhöyük.”
“[He] displayed a mastery of light and line across seven decades and a wide range of work, including wartime propaganda posters, street scenes of New York and effervescent views of Italy.”
“Looking to expand its brand to international proportions, the Apollo Theater is kicking off its 80th anniversary with a series of global initiatives – including a first-ever international tour of its original production about the Godfather of Soul.”
“While online video streaming in the U.S. has shown that the Internet can be effectively monetized by film and television, the fear of piracy in Russia has limited the spread of such services here. Only now, a few companies are taking the plunge and offering online streaming services, and The Moscow Times spoke to three of them to get a sense of the online video market in Russia today.”
- a 34-year-old Londoner who makes just under £20,000 a year. She has a university degree, likely works two jobs (at least one of which in administration), has had five jobs in the past ten years, and isn’t being supported by anyone else. Behold the UK Arts Salary Survey 2013/14
After David Adjmi’s 3C had an Off-Broadway run, attorneys for the producers of the old ABC sitcom sent a cease-and-desist letter alleging copyright infringement, and the play has not been staged since. Now Adjmi has gone to U.S. Federal court, arguing that fair-use laws regarding parody proyect him and his script.
Jared Loughner in Tucson. Aaron Alexis at the Washington Navy Yard. Raulie Wayne Casteel in Michigan. Timothy McVeigh. Lots of people believe in strange conspiracy theories; why are some people driven to serial murder because of them?
“But is this a problem with our noses, or with English?” Or simply a matter of practice, compared with hunter-gatherers?
In advance of Renée Fleming’s appearance at the Super Bowl, the always-witty mezzo lays it out in plain language for regular folks: “Opera singers have to train for years.” “Opera was into color-blind casting way before it was a thing.” “Opera is not just for the rich. Period.” (Especially compared to the cost of Super Bowl tickets.)
Laura Miller: “That’s one of the most acrimonious, endless and irresolvable discussions in the literary world. … But there are a few places where deciding whether a book is a classic or not has real consequences. One is, obviously, classrooms, but the other is bookstores.” How do, or should, they make that decision?
Last fall it was over Immanuel Kant. This time it was the superiority (or not) of poetry over prose. (Was vodka involved? Need you ask?)
The Cost of Poor Care: Multi-millions
Source: Real Clear Arts | Published on 2014-01-31
Looking Back, Dancing Now
Source: Dancebeat | Published on 2014-01-31
“Passion” and a Life in the Arts
Source: CultureCrash | Published on 2014-01-30
From John Steinmetz: A life-changer
Source: Sandow | Published on 2014-01-30
“Classical music isn’t dying. I also say to all of you: some people will write bad articles, and that doesn’t signal the death of journalism, either. But for those of us who love the field, let’s think of more productive ways to marshall our intellectual resources than shooting fish in a barrel and congratulating each other about it afterwards.”
Twenty percent of the music on Spotify has never, ever been streamed — perhaps the most striking illustration of exactly how vast and unknowable the online music catalogue gets. Here’s a site that streams it…