Since their release, Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova have begun using their new-found fame, connections and energy for the cause of prison reform. Masha Gessen describes the horrific conditions they faced in their penal colonies and explains why this new work could have far more resonance within Russia than singing about Putin in a Moscow cathedral did.
Archives for January 10, 2014
Russia Reclaims One of the Great Avant-Garde Painters
Natalia Goncharova and her husband left Russia in 1915 to work with Diaghilev; after the Revolution, they never went back. With a big retrospective at the Tretyakov Gallery, art lovers in Goncharova’s homeland and beyond are getting a fresh look at her work.
Nicholas Hytner, Post-National Theatre, Will Start Commercial Production Company
“He is planning to set up a new concern with the National’s executive director Nick Starr when the pair leave in 2015.”
Seems Like Hollywood’s Shooting Movies Everywhere But In Hollywood
“How much longer can Hollywood claim to be the movie capital of the world? Can the California Legislature reverse the slide of film production away from Los Angeles simply by enhancing tax credits for the movie and television industry or, one day, will the Oscars be presented in Atlanta or Toronto or New Orleans?”
Can Stanford University Turn Palo Alto Into an Arts Hotbed?
“Stanford has been the catalyst of the Silicon Valley revolution, and we want to have the same effect on the arts. The Bay Area has the human and material resources needed to become the Florence of the 21st century.”
Reading a Novel Rewires Your Brain, Says Study
Today in neuropsychological research performed on undergraduates: fMRIs indicated that students who read a particular novel developed “heightened connectivity in the left temporal cortex” (one of the brain’s language centers) for at least five days after finishing the book.
This Video Game Makes You Dance (Literally)
Bounden “asks two players to dance together, each holding onto the ends of an smart phone and twisting their bodies to make the cursor hit a series of intended bullseyes.” Choreographers from the Dutch National Ballet collaborated on the game’s design.
The Accordion Is Cool Again? Hell Yeah!
They Might Be Giants aren’t outliers anymore. There’s Arcade Fire, Mumford and Sons — heck, there’s now an accordionist in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. (And by the way, Hallie Golden reminds us, a hundred years ago the accordion was positively glamorous.)
Goodspeed Theater’s Director to Retire After 45 Years
“Michael Price, who has led Goodspeed Musicals in Connecticut since 1968, producing more than 200 shows and sending 19 of them to Broadway” – including Annie, By Jeeves and Shenandoah – “will retire at the end of the year, the theater company’s board of trustees announced on Thursday.”
Meryl Streep Is Right: Walt Disney Was a ‘Gender Bigot’. So What?
Robin Abcarian: “Born in 1901, he was a man of his times … [and] creative genius who had a certain totalitarian streak. Have you ever been to a Disney park? Did you feel ‘free’ there?”
Three Days of Drinking Vodka With Gary Shteyngart
“And then [Gary] raises a glass to the fish: ‘Here’s to herring … It’s really kept Russia going all these years.’ I didn’t know we were going to keep going with the toasts. ‘Endless toasts,’ he says. ‘It’s so annoying, but it has to be done.'”