ArtsJournal Classic (Text)

Dance

• USC’s New Kaufman School Aims To Be A Harvard Of Dance August 17, 2018
  “In 2015, [the University of Southern California Glorya Kaufman School of Dance] opened its studios to its inaugural class, now poised to graduate. Their accomplishments are a testament to (and test of) Kaufman’s unique approach: Grads will have studied a vast array of styles, spearheaded interdisciplinary projects, and completed a rigorous liberal arts education.” And […]
  Dance Spirit
• The Ballet Stars In ‘Carousel’ Talk About How Different Being On Broadway Really Is August 17, 2018
  Brittany Pollack, Amar Ramasar, and choreographer Justin Peck are all members of New York City Ballet; Craig Salstein is a recent retiree from ABT. The four talk to Gia Kourlas about what they like about Broadway and what they find hard. (“Just the repetition of doing the same thing on my body — you have […]
  New York Times
• ‘Letting Costumes Lead The Choreography’ – Moses Pendleton Of MOMIX August 16, 2018
  “For most dancers, the costumes act as the finishing touch. At MOMIX, however, the costumes are just the starting point. … We spoke with Pendleton and MOMIX dance captain Sarah Nachbauer to learn all of the details of how they get their concepts from the studio to the stage — and all of the costume […]
  Dance Magazine
• University Of Akron Cuts Art History Degree, Invests More In Dance August 16, 2018
  Programs cut include bachelor’s degrees in art history, French, geography, math and physics, along with master’s degrees in history, physics, sociology and Spanish. The university said it based its decision on program enrollment and number of degrees conferred in recent years, as well as any “duplication” of well supported programs at other, nearby institutions. Just […]
  Inside Higher Ed
• After 24 Years, San Francisco’s Smuin Ballet Finally Buys Itself A Building August 16, 2018
  “Eleven years after the fatal collapse of the choreographer, which many assumed would also be the collapse of his company, Smuin finally has its home, in a 1949 warehouse next to the old freight line on Potrero Hill.” Says one company exec, “For the first time ever, we will control the schedule, which will allow […]
  San Francisco Chronicle

Ideas

• Morality And US Higher Education, A (Fascinating) History August 17, 2018
  The transformation of American colleges and universities into corporate concerns is particularly evident in the maze of offices, departments and agencies that manage the moral lives of students. When they appeal to administrators with demands that speakers not be invited, that particular policies be implemented, or that certain individuals be institutionally sanctioned, students are doing […]
  Aeon
• Will We Still Need Companies When Artificial Intelligence Takes Over? August 16, 2018
  While there has been a lot of discussion about “what’s left for humans?” as AI improves at exponential rates — the customary answer is that humans need to focus on the things they are uniquely good at, such as creativity, intuition, and personal empathy — I think we now have to ask, “what’s left for firms?”
  Harvard Business Review
• Why It’s Sometimes Important To Be Cruel To Do Good August 16, 2018
  Sometimes, the only way to help someone seems to be a cruel or nasty approach – a strategy that may leave the ‘helper’ feeling guilty and wrong. Now research from my team at the Liverpool Hope University in the UK sheds light on how the process works.
  Aeon
• “Factfulness” Thinking Leads Us To All Sorts Of Bad Decisions August 16, 2018
  “Every group of people I ask,” says Hans Rosling, “thinks the world is more frightening, more violent, and more hopeless — in short, more dramatic — than it really is.” And because the media know drama interests us, they offer frightening, violent, dramatic news of fresh disasters. Good news is no news.
  The Tyee
• What’s The Most Important Idea Ever To Come From India? Nothing August 15, 2018
  Which is to say, zero. “The invention of the zero was a hugely significant mathematical development, one that is fundamental to calculus, which made physics, engineering and much of modern technology possible. But what was it about Indian culture that gave rise to this creation that’s so important to … the modern world?”
  BBC

Issues

• Closing Down UK Ticket Reselling Sites Won’t Stop Ticket Reselling August 17, 2018
  “Live music is the one part of the music industry generating sustained profits, which has meant that the balance of power has swung from record labels and artists to promoters such as Live Nation and its subsidiary Ticketmaster. The defence offered until now by Ticketmaster is that Seatwave existed to facilitate fans – both those […]
  Irish Times
• Empty The Museums – Most Of What’s There Belongs Elsewhere August 17, 2018
  Simon Jenkins argues for the return not just of artifacts looted from other countries, but pretty much any art not created for a museum or gallery: “I want to see the Parthenon marbles as Phidias intended, even if recarved by a computerised jig. … Sensible people would long ago have replicated them and sent the […]
  The Guardian
• Being An Artist In Berlin Is A Bigger Struggle Than You Think: Survey August 17, 2018
  “Artists in Berlin, the most important contemporary art production centre worldwide after New York, are facing poverty, tiny pensions and a gender pay gap of 28%, a survey of 1,745 artists has shown.”
  The Art Newspaper
• Cultural Center In Gaza Destroyed By Israeli Airstrikes August 17, 2018
  In response to a barrage of 180 rockets, one of which landed near the city of Beersheba, from inside the Gaza Strip, Israel bombed 150 targets in Gaza. One of them was the Said al-Mishal Cultural Center in Gaza City, which contained a theater, a library, and offices for arts groups. The Israeli Defense Force […]
  The Guardian
• SMU’s National Center For Arts Research And DataArts Merge August 16, 2018
  Since 2012, NCAR has made headlines with studies on such issues as the gender gap among art museum directors.Or whether grants by the National Endowment for the Arts benefit only the wealthy. It’s also delved into what significance arts leadership has with the success or failure of cultural institutions. It’s provided online diagnostic tools like the Arts Vibrancy Index – which measures communities across the U.S. based on […]
  KERA (Dallas)

Media

• Time For Asian-Americans To Forgive ‘The Joy Luck Club’? August 17, 2018
  “If you want to see a community turn against an artwork that depicts them, make it the only one. If that artwork is by a woman, about women, and openly feminist, half the job’s already done. … [The Joy Luck Club‘s] greatest achievement — becoming the most prominent example of Asian-American representation on screen for […]
  Slate
• A Color-Blind – Make That ‘Color-Inclusive’ – Film Of ‘David Copperfield’ August 17, 2018
  In the upcoming adaptation by Armando Ianucci (Veep, The Death of Stalin), Dev Patel takes the title role, with black, Asian, and white actors spread throughout. Says producer Kevin Loader, “I think we felt this was how you’d get the best cast more than anything else. And suddenly you can have Benedict Wong coming in […]
  The Guardian
• AMC Reports Its Movie Theatre Subscription Service Is A Hit August 16, 2018
  AMC said the service, an extension of the company’s loyalty program, has accounted for about 1 million admissions, or roughly 4% of attendance at the company’s U.S. theaters. The company announced the new offering in June to fend off New York-based MoviePass, which shook up the industry by offering a movie a day for less […]
  Los Angeles Times
• Study: Progress Being Made In Portrayal Of Women In Movies August 16, 2018
  An analysis of 50 of the top-grossing films of 2016 finds females make up only one-third of all characters. But that’s a significant improvement over the last such survey, which looked at films released in 2002. And, perhaps more importantly, it reports females are now far more likely to be depicted in positions of power.
  Pacific Standard
• People Are Still Playing Those Pixelated Old ’80s Video Games August 16, 2018
  “Older games feature pixel-based graphics that can look fuzzy on modern televisions and can be frustrating to play for even experienced gamers. Yet in 2016, Nintendo released a NES Classic Edition console and sold out all 2.3 million of them in just three months. The company made more and began selling them in June 2018.” […]
  The Conversation

Music

• A Rock Critic Has His First Experience With Near-Total Silence August 17, 2018
  In the final entry of his 18-year column “Resonant Frequency,” Mark Richardson writes about the joys of a life lived with music blasting through headphones (and for him, those joys are very real), and his middle-age exploration of silence, culminating in a visit to an anechoic chamber.
  Pitchfork
• Cleveland Orchestra Begins Formal Investigation Of Harassment Claims Against Concertmaster August 17, 2018
  “The Cleveland Orchestra released a statement Thursday detailing the group it has appointed to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct against suspended concertmaster William Preucil.”
  The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)
• Philadelphia Orchestra Starts Program To Read New Scores By Women Composers August 17, 2018
  “The [Sept. 6] reading session in Verizon Hall isn’t open to the public. But by inviting select decision-makers such as conductors and artistic administrators from other orchestras, the organizers aim to encourage further exposure and opportunities for these composers.” What’s more they’ll each get to keep a recording of the reading, and a sample recording […]
  Philadelphia Inquirer
• Bayreuth Has Outlived Its Usefulness August 16, 2018
  Volker Hagedorn: “You might think you’re just there for the music, but the fact is that you are still participating in an entirely invented, cultish religion. … For me, Bayreuth nowadays is more of a curiosity than anything else. A gigantic hamster wheel, with directors racing each other to prove their relevance; an exhausted Dracula, […]
  VAN
• The Most Underrated Composer In History? Reconsidering Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov August 16, 2018
  “If your reaction to hearing the name Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov is a shrug, even a smirk, you’re not alone.” Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim visits the Bard Music Festival, dedicated to the man Richard Taruskin calls, yes, “the most underrated composer in history.” Responds CdFW, “I can’t say that’s a judgment I quite came to share … But […]
  New York Times

People

Theatre

• London’s National Theatre Commits To Telling Actors If They Haven’t Been Cast August 17, 2018
  “It is vital that we pay respect to the actors we meet by always acknowledging their work and contribution to the casting process, which is why the NT wholly supports the #YesOrNo initiative.” He added that while the NT is not always able to make decisions right away, it will let actors know if they […]
  The Stage
• New York Times And Guardian Theatre Critics Get Together And Compare Their Greatest-Play Lists August 17, 2018
  Earlier this summer, the Times critics got together and hashed out their choices for the 25 best plays of the last 25 years; a month later, Guardian senior critic Michael Billington assembled his own list of Britain’s best scripts from the last decade. And on “one very sticky afternoon last month,” Brantley invited Billington over […]
  New York Times
• New York International Fringe Festival Splits Itself In Two August 17, 2018
  “One, FringeNYC will present over 80 staged productions in the West Village from Oct. 12-28, while FringeBYOV (bring your own venue) will involve venues in the boroughs outside Manhattan like the Irondale Center in Brooklyn and the Secret Theater in Queens selecting their own performers and shows (Oct. 1-31).”
  New York Times
• Could Audiences Really Replace Theater Critics As They Disappear? Here’s The Problem With That August 16, 2018
  Responding to Lyn Gardner’s recent column arguing for “a new approach to theatre criticism, in which theatres see developing critical voices as part of audience and artist development,” Bill Marx writes that what Gardner seems to be suggesting is both vague and, well, unlikely: “Is the money invested in theater development these days dedicated to […]
  The Arts Fuse (Boston)
• An ‘Oklahoma!’ With Same-Sex Couples? Sure – The R&H Folks Are Fine With It August 16, 2018
  Laura Collins-Hughes visits the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, where artistic director Bill Rauch convinced keeper-of-the-Rodgers-and-Hammerstein-catalog Ted Chapin to let him go ahead with a production of the musical in which both Laurey and Curly are gals and Will Parker pairs off with Ado Andy.
  New York Times

Visual

• 3D Images Of The Uffizi’s Sculptures Are Now Online August 17, 2018
  The newly launched website, which was introduced at a ceremony in Florence last Tuesday, allows anyone with internet access to see and study the Uffizi’s world-class collection. Since the project was first announced in 2016, the Indiana University team recorded 3D scans of more than 300 artifacts, fragments, and sculptures under the direction of Indiana University […]
  Artnet
• Clues To How Max Hollein Will Run The Met Museum? August 17, 2018
  Hollein, who as of this August is the Met’s tenth director, strikes many people as being preposterously well qualified for the position. Forty-nine years old and armed with degrees in art history and business administration, he has already directed five museums and overseen the fund-raising and building of a new wing for one of them. […]
  Vogue
• Why Is Chinese Art Around The World Being Stolen? August 17, 2018
  In the face of China’s repatriation campaign—and the recent robberies—museums are now scrambling. Some have stood their ground, arguing the legitimacy of their acquisitions or touting the value to the Chinese of sharing their culture abroad. Others have quietly shipped crates of art back to China, in hopes of avoiding trouble with either the thieves or […]
  GQ
• Fifty Years After An Earthquake In Italy: A Radical Public Art Experiment August 17, 2018
  While such “Concrete Utopias” are now getting attention in museums, it was actually the concrete Utopian city of Gibellina Nuova that became an open-air laboratory for assessing the healing capabilities of public art. Today, 50 years since the earthquake struck, many look back on Carrao’s radical experiment in civic engagement, rehabilitation, and unification as a […]
  Artnet
• Banksy Protests A “Banksy” Show In Russia In Banksian Fashion August 17, 2018
  When Banksy’s correspondent implores the artist to put out a press release expressing his displeasure, he replies with appropriate irony: “Hmm—not sure I’m the best person to complain about people putting up pictures without getting permission.” Instead, it seems, he just chooses to post the text exchange as a dig at the Russian “Banksy” show.
  Artnet

Words

• Controversial: Where Our Speech Patterns Come From August 17, 2018
  Tracing the linguistic path of mmhmm, and many other words commonly used today, from West Africa to the U.S. South is difficult, is riddled with controversy — and experts say it has lingering effects on how the speech of African-Americans is perceived.
  NPR
• If There Can Be A Single Book That Defines Iran And Iranians, It’s This One August 17, 2018
  The 11th-century verse epic Shahnameh (Book of Kings), the longest poem ever written by a single author (Abolqasem Ferdowsi) is perhaps the single most important source of the history and lore of pre-Islamic Persian civilization. It’s also considered the founding work of the modern Persian language, and some give it credit for the language’s survival.
  BBC
• How Poetry Constructs A Way Of Navigating The World August 16, 2018
  “In my view, poetry is the most organic art form; it does not require money or physical labor. A poem doesn’t need to follow any particular grammar rules; it is the record of one’s own experience of the singular mind and/or body, a singular voice. For many of us, it is also a way of […]
  The New York Times
• Of Course Librarians Have The Answer To Everything August 16, 2018
  Some people act as though librarians have (or should have) the answers to everything. As in – do you have: The book with the blue cover, the book with the red cover, the book with the green cover…The book that’s about horses . . . but not like about, horses, you know?… Breath mints (cinnamon preferred)
  Lithub
• Are ‘New York’ Magazine And Its Websites For Sale? August 16, 2018
  The Wall Street Journal, followed up by the Financial Times, reported that the Wasserstein family (as in investment bank Wasserstein Perella), which owns New York Media, has retained a firm to explore a sale. Then an internal email from CEO Pam Wasserstein became public, and it makes things seem much more ambiguous.
  CNBC