“Cultural criticism, we should remind ourselves, can be almost as important as the art itself, can indeed be part of the art. There have been great creative critics, from Alexander Pope (in The Dunciad, Epistle to Lord Burlington, etc) and Dr Johnson onwards, who combined the two arts with the skill of genius. Byron was another, in his English Bards and Scotch Reviewers, Vision of Judgment, and parts of Don Juan. Can you name a great contemporary cultural critic? Someone who could, in writing about literature and other aspects of our culture, hold a candle to T. S. Eliot on poetry, or Herbert Read on modern art? I asked several highly knowledgeable people, who struggled to do so.”
Archives for March 2017
A Long Tradition Of British Writers Collaborating In Pairs
“For more than 200 years, male British authors (usually poets, usually in pairs) have co-written or co-edited collections, anthologies or scholarly travel journals. It’s a tradition that is in surprisingly rude health, with recent examples and forthcoming festivities marking the 50th anniversary of a collaboration that sold shedloads.”
Here’s A Problem: A Failure To Fail
“Learning resilience is fundamental to a successful career as a scientist. The experiments we try will fail many times before they work, whether as an undergraduate, a PhD student, or a postdoc gunning for a faculty position… But actually overcoming failure is challenging. Many students who began science degrees with me switched to other majors the first time a project failed. One failure and they were gone.”
Wexner Center Hires Lane Czaplinski As Director Of Performing Arts
The Wexner Center is about a $10 million organization, while On the Boards has a $1.7 million operating budget. “It’s a much bigger staff, much bigger institution,” Czaplinski said. “I want to work more on being a curator, being a producer, writing and making trouble in Ohio.”
This Neighborhood Is Helping Artists Buy Vacant Homes For Cheap
“In Indianapolis, one block in the Garfield Park neighborhood south of the city’s downtown is experimenting with a different model. An arts nonprofit worked with other partners to buy and renovate vacant houses and is now offering to co-own them with artists. Artists will pay half the cost–one $80,000 home, for example, will sell for around $40,000.”
Exit Interview: Doug Sonntag Reflects On 30 Years Of Dance At The NEA
“The level of dancing has improved tremendously. It’s especially notable in the ballet companies. The depth of technique really extends from the principals all the way to the corps de ballet. That’s quite astounding. There are also changes in the system of dance and not necessarily in a good way. When I came here 30 years ago, touring was still a viable option for most dance companies, in particular the modern companies. We had grants to dance presenters, to dance companies. There was a network of support for touring activity, which is crucial to dance. There were multiple streams of income that went towards those presentations.”
Is Martin Luther Responsible For The Concept Of Individual Liberty?
“Luther was not a lover of human freedom: he insisted on absolute obedience to the external authority of secular rulers; and his violent denunciation of the Peasants’ Revolt and his call for its bloody repression demonstrated a fanatical determination to uphold external authority.” And yet, argues historian Frank Furedi, his challenge to the authority of the Roman Catholic hierarchy led directly to the idea that one could challenge authority as such.
Rochester Art Center In Deep Financial Distress
The center is an important piece of the city’s Destination Medical Center economic development project, which aims to raise Rochester’s national and international profile by boosting its downtown. Cultivating the arts as a magnet to draw younger people to the region is key to the plan.
Minneapolis Central Library Has A Social Worker On Staff
“[Kate] Coleman works full time at the downtown library as part of a yearslong effort by the Hennepin County Library system to better help the homeless connect with tools and resources in the area.”
The Nonesuch Records Exec Who Made A Business Going His Own Way
Robert Hurwitz has run Nonesuch for 30 years. “At other record company parties, you’re expected to do cocaine with the Rolling Stones or something. At this company party, you listen to the record company president play Satie beautifully on his living room piano.”
Why Is It So Difficult For Theatre To Make Good Plays About The Art World?
As an art critic in the theater reviewer’s seat, I found myself wondering why the art market continues to hold dramatic appeal, and why so few people get it right. Of course biographical plays have always appealed, whether done straight, like the play “Red,” about Rothko, or more dreamily, like the Seurat-refracting “Sunday in the Park With George.” Yet the big-money domains of the auction houses and the largest galleries remain stubbornly beyond most writers’ faculties.
How One Song Changed The Arc Of ‘Natasha, Pierre, And The Great Comet Of 1812’
“More than just a nice showcase for Josh Groban, ‘Dust and Ashes’ makes the non-linearity of mental illness dramatically compelling.”
The Young Composer Whose Way With The Orchestra Impresses Even Riccardo Muti
“He looks like a club DJ. The titles of his pieces – Omnivorous Furniture, for one – are punk-rock friendly. The music itself sounds so spontaneous it has to be at least partly improvised.” David Patrick Stearns talks to composer Mason Bates.
Being A Flamboyantly Gay Man In The Ballet World Is Not Easy, But These Two Are Doing It Fiercely
A Q&A with James Whiteside, 32 and a principal at ABT, and Parker Kit Hill, a 21-year-old student at the Joffrey Ballet School with triple-threat talent, a decidedly un-classical look, and a big social media presence.
Did Russian Hackers Plant A Fake Adult Coloring Book On Amazon?
“Publishers believe that Russian individuals are behind the creation of an fake book parodying a self-styled manual for resisting US president Donald Trump and other populist leaders, with the author, historian Timothy Snyder, claiming the listing to be the latest attack in a series of efforts by Russians to undermine his work.”
Miami City Ballet’s Patricia Delgado – The Exit Interview
“I’m a very hard worker, and I know that about myself. But I like a supportive environment, and I don’t necessarily think I do my best in that competitive, edgy vibe. And I knew something different down here. I knew that there was like a real supportive family vibe. I’m just very grateful that this existed down here. If it hadn’t, I don’t know – I don’t know if I would have pursued it.”
Philadelphia Museum Of Art Launches Half-A-Billion-Dollar Fundraising And Renovation Campaign
“The campaign, which already has raised $326 million, according to museum officials, is aimed at completely revamping the interior of the museum, enhancing programming, and adding to the museum’s endowment, which now stands at about $448 million, well below comparable institutions across the country.”
Westminster Choir College Is Officially For Sale
The college’s parent school, Rider University (which bought Westminster in 1992), has been facing financial pressures and declining enrollment (though Westminster’s enrollment is healthy), and wants cash from the sale. The Rider board’s stated preference is for a buyer to continue to operate Westminster at its Princeton campus, though separate sales of the school and its real estate are possible as well.
What Will Brexit Mean For Culture?
“A combination of shock, motivation and fears for the future can be … felt throughout the country’s cultural institutions. The insecurity is also an economic one. The cultural industry, which includes film, the art trade and the TV industry, contributes 84.1 billion pounds (97 billion euros) to the British economy.”
G7 Holds Its First-Ever Culture Summit
The culture ministers of the Group of Seven industrialized countries (the US, Germany, Japan, France, UK, Italy, and Canada) are gathering in Florence to discuss cultural diplomacy, protecting cultural heritage, and fighting the traffic in stolen and looted art and artifacts.
Frank Delaney, 74, ‘The Most Eloquent Man In The World’
As NPR’s Scott Simon said of the broadcaster, author, and literary scholar, “We kept asking him back to talk about books, Ireland and even soccer because no one could make more of a ceremony out of a sentence.”
What The Young Ella Fitzgerald Really Wanted Was To Dance
For Ella’s upcoming 100th birthday (April 25), Amy Henderson recounts the story of that fateful Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater, Ella’s original plan for it, and why she changed her mind just before going on.
Artists’ Resale Royalties Must Be Paid By Sellers, Rules French Court
“There has been a new twist to an eight-year old legal battle between Christie’s and France’s associations of antique dealers and galleries. A French court stated on 24 March that artist’s resale rights must be paid by sellers, with no exception. Saying that the ruling might hurt the contemporary art market, the auction house is now challenging the judgement in front of the high court.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 03.30.17
Bonding with Bondil: Montreal MFA’s Head on Succeeding as a (Female) Museum Director
“In the end, I’d say that I’d hope I had been chosen for what I had between my two ears and not because of what I don’t have between my two legs,” Nathalie Bondil, director … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2017-03-30
Art, Censorship, and the Death of Emmett Till
Well, it’s really come to this, hasn’t it? … read more
AJBlog: CultureCrash Published 2017-03-30
Is classical music consolation?
Classical music … its role in our culture … that’s something I’ve pondered for a long time, and talked about often here. My usual answer hasn’t been very positive. … read more
AJBlog: Sandow Published 2017-03-30
Why DC’s National Symphony Had To Go To Play In Moscow
“On one level, these performances can be seen as an act of homage. The Russians are certainly noting the symbolic implications of an American orchestra coming to honor a Russian, playing literally under a banner emblazoned with Rostropovich’s portrait above the Conservatory stage… On another level, the NSO’s performances can be seen as a viable alternative to political diplomacy, showing people from different societies brought together by a common love.”