“The conductor Daniel Barenboim’s efforts to lead the Berlin Staatskapelle at a concert in Tehran drew criticism this week from the Israeli culture minister, who called the performance anti-Israel, and a rebuff from Iranian officials, who said on Friday that they would block the concert because of Mr. Barenboim’s Israeli citizenship.”
Archives for August 2015
How A Theatre Season Can Come Together To Support – Or Ignore – Diversity
“There are hundreds of priorities to balance in the process of planning a season. The decisions we make reveal the hierarchy of those priorities. It is the season, not the mission statement, that expresses what we believe in, what we fight for, what we privilege right now, in this moment. A season is an expression of our values, both personally (as leaders) and institutionally. Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, this is the bottom line. A season does not ‘just come together.'”
Frank Lloyd Wright House Picked Up And Moved To Arkansas
“The Bachman-Wilson House, a New Jersey home originally designed in 1954 by world-famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright for Abraham Wilson and Gloria Bachman, was being threatened by repeated flooding at its original location along the Millstone River.” So the Crystal Bridges Museum bought it and moved it, and “the house is scheduled to open to the public on November 11, 2015, the museum’s four-year anniversary.”
A Dance Critic Takes On ‘So You Think You Can Dance’
“While I may be impressed by the calibre of these performances, being ‘impressed’ has little to do with what I expect or want from dance. Imagine if critical engagement with literature centred on its ability to impress, rather than its ability to provoke thought and feeling, to trouble and inspire, to mitigate the disjuncture between our conscious and unconscious minds. The demotion in richness, in complexity of experience, would be self-evident.”
Small Villages In Turkey Use Whistles To Talk From Town To Town – And That Changes Their Brains
“Researchers in Current Biology discovered an interesting effect whistled Turkish has on the brain: since it’s composed of auditory features like frequency, pitch, and melody, it lights up the whistler’s right brain in addition to their left brain.”
Inside The Persistent Boys’ Club Of Animation
“Animation professionals interviewed for this article knew the conventional wisdom: ‘Boys’ shows are general audience and girls’ shows are niche.'”
Remembering German Opera Director Nikolaus Lehnhoff
Alex Ross: “Lavishly cultured and innately musical, Lehnhoff occupied a middle ground between traditional and radical approaches to directing opera.”
Dr. Oliver Sacks, Author Of ‘The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat’ And So Much More, Dies At 82
“Describing his patients’ struggles and sometimes uncanny gifts, Dr. Sacks helped introduce syndromes like Tourette’s or Asperger’s to a general audience. But he illuminated their characters as much as their conditions; he humanized and demystified them. In his emphasis on case histories, Dr. Sacks modeled himself after a questing breed of 19th-century physicians.”
You Should Know The Work Of These 12 Choreographers
“From the early days of the Great White Way to the greatest hits of the past ten years, here are 12 legendary choreographers who have (literally) given shape to Broadway as we know it.”
Is British TV Dying?
“On the face of it seems to be in rude health. America has been buying up British production companies, British TV formats continue to spread around the world and the global market for quality drama is growing. However, there is also anxiety about the Government’s attitude towards the BBC and the questions it is asking about reducing its size and scope.”
What Ursula Le Guin Still Has To Teach – And Learn – In Her 80s
“In telling a story, you’ve got to leap, you’ve got to leave out so much. And you’ve got to know which crag to leap to.”
First African American Actor To Play Jean Valjean On Broadway, 21, Dies In Fall From Brooklyn Fire Escape
“‘The tragic loss of Kyle to our company, just as he was on the threshold of a brilliant career, is a numbing reminder of how precious life is,’ said Cameron Mackintosh, the producer of Les Misérables, in a statement. ‘His spirit was infinite and his voice from God.'”
The Complete MoMA Art Collection – All Of It – Available To See Right Now
“For each piece, the database tells us the work’s title, some brief biographical information about the artist, the year of creation, the medium and dimensions, and how and when MoMA acquired it. These aren’t exactly trade secrets: It’s basically the data printed on the placards posted next to each painting. But, in MoMA’s case, it’s assembled in one place, comprehensive, easy to use, and recent. The museum made the database freely available online last month.”
Can The Internet Crowdsource The “Perfect” Song?
‘This is an experiment in crowd-sourced songwriting. A melody is currently being generated, note by note, in real-time, using the popular vote of the crowd,’ says crowdsound.net.
The Science Behind Why Some People Are Selfish
“What is interesting, then, is that when you show calculating people what they expect — that you are ready to exploit their vulnerabilities for self-gain — there is no sign of surprise. When you respond to their selfish behavior with kindness, their brains immediately start planning how to best take advantage of you. They are, in fact, selfish jerks.”
Frustrated: Editor Blasts Critics Complaining About Lack of Diversity And Transparency at Writers Conference
Editor Kate Gale took aim at the charges in a blog post at Huffington Post in a plea for members to stop questioning (attacking) the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP).
Editor’s Rant About Diversity Complaints Brings Down Wrath Of The Internet
The language in Kate Gale’s piece has set off a firestorm. Discussing a complaint that AWP is not inclusive of various ethnic groups–and responding directly to a charge that the organization has been dismissive of Native Americans–Gale writes of trying to find the potential “Indian hater” in the organization. Then, speaking about issues of diversity around gender and sexuality, Gale asks, rhetorically, ” How gay is AWP?,” before stating that she feels she is “30% gay” because of “all the time with girls before I started dating guys.”
Director Accuses Theatre Of “Setting A Dangerous Precedent” By Cancelling ISIS Play
“If a single company gets scared and it is willing to pull work that it has invested time and money and love into… that is a very dangerous precedent.”
Director Of Russian Museum Fired Amid Charges Of Theft And Forgery
“Patrons and employees of the museum — also known as the Karakalpak State Museum of Art — vociferously protested her dismissal. They defended Marinika Babanazarova, the granddaughter of a former ruler of the region, as the collection’s stalwart protector.”
Time To Abolish The Idea That Social Interaction Is A “Science”?
“Social science was — it is best to speak in the past tense — a mistake. The dream of a comprehensive science of society, which would elucidate “laws of history” or “social laws” comparable to the physical determinants or “laws” of nature, was one of the great delusions of the 19th century.”
Measuring The Creative Economy: Can We Measure How The Artists Are Doing?
“Interestingly, in all the responses to the article, no one so far has been able to suggest a data source that suggests that mean or median incomes for musicians have declined since 1999, adjusted for inflation. Everything that I have uncovered in many months of researching this article suggests that the story of music since 1999 is one of steady but small growth for musicians. Not some glorious renaissance, but certainly not a crisis.”
Photography As A Weapon
“The weaponization of photography is a partial reflection of a modern culture that is willing to consume and interpret imagery without analysis or concern for who might be victimized by the image. And the rate at which photos and video can spread online feeds this insatiable consumption. It wasn’t always like this.”
A Revolution In Photography? Maybe, But Not The Way You Think
“The number of people armed with cameras today has never been greater – in the past 10 years the act has become utterly ubiquitous. But it isn’t the first time this kind of thing has happened. It’s the second.”
Sometimes You End Up Having To Paint Your Castle Yellow: The Perils Of Historical Restoration
“The story of how the restoration of the Great Hall of Stirling Castle led to it being painted bright yellow illustrates the unexpected complexity … It comes down to this question: When you choose to restore something, at which moment in time are you restoring it to?” (podcast with transcription)
Fire Destroys Second City’s Chicago Offices
Second City CEO Andrew Alexander: “It has gutted our two levels of offices. But we’ll fix it. … The theaters are fine. The most important thing is that no one is hurt. Thank the Lord.”