ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

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Can The Arts Lead A Green Recovery?

"Many people working in culture have been forced to take a time out of the day-to-day and reflect on the big stuff. And there is no bigger stuff than the environmental crisis." - BBC

The Fascinating Political History Of Dubbing Movies

Dubbing is a brilliant tool for film censorship. Sound films began to appear in the early 1930s, a time when many countries were falling under the sway of totalitarian regimes. - The Conversation

Why It’s So Easy To Ridicule The Art World

The contemporary art world is, more often than not, represented as a ridiculous shell game in which empty provocation is propped up by canny marketing and rampant financial speculation. - ARTnews

“An Outsized Image Forged From Undersized Gifts” — How Did Eugene Ormandy Do It?

His baton technique was, er, idiosyncratic; he couldn't conduct complex meters; he could be cruel. And after 44 years as music director, seemingly everyone was relieved to see him retire. Yet he and the Philadelphia Orchestra became worldwide legends together. - Classical Voice North America

The Serendipity Of Almanacs

Almanacs are an anomaly in the 2021 literary landscape, a choose-your-own adventure of print culture. So much of reading, especially online, is about seeking: looking for a fact, an image, a bit of information. - Los Angeles Review of Books

The Italians Who Dangle From Ropes To Repair Historic Sites

"EdiliziAcrobatica's team has rock-climbed up and abseiled down some of Italy's most significant historic monuments. … Suspended from ropes, the acrobatic technicians can perform a whole range of tasks, from the waterproofing of roofing to welding." - Apollo

Washington’s Signature Theatre Picks A New Leader

Matthew Gardiner takes over the 32-year-old company, which operates two performance spaces in Arlington’s Village at Shirlington, at a tumultuous inflection point. - Washington Post

Remember Waacking? It’s Back

The kinetic, flamboyant, arm-waving dance style was born in the Black and Latino gay nightclubs of L.A., spread via the TV show Soul Train, faded away after the 1980s, and found a long-term home in East Asia. - The Guardian

Mapping The Reopening: A TRG Report

55% of U.S. organizations plan to host performances before October 2021. U.K. arts and culture organizations are even more optimistic, with 83% planning a return to performance before September 1. - TRG

Donald Pippin, San Francisco’s Pied Piper Of Opera, Dead At 95

For 40 years, he and his resourceful company, Pocket Opera, used young singers, small instrumental groups, and librettos in English to bring unfamiliar works to thousands of new audience members. His dozens of libretto translations are still in use all over the globe. - San Francisco Classical Voice

How Musical Memories Evolve

Our unreliable memories of musical events are only partly the result of faulty powers of recall. Another contributing factor is the aging process. - The Nightingale's Sonata

What Happens If An Archivist Sneezes On A Centuries-Old Manuscript?

First, for God's sake, he shouldn't wipe it off himself. (This lesson was learned the hard way.) Beyond that, there are ways of repairing the damage, or at least keeping it from getting worse. - The Atlantic

Pornhub Is Now Offering Virtual Museum Tours

The website has launched "Classic Nudes", a curated selection of NSFW art at the Louvre, the Met, the Prado, etc. View the works online or in person with your phone; adult actor Asa Akira is your audio guide. The promo video features none other than Jeff Koons's ex, Cicciolina. (second item) - Artlyst

California Budgets $50 Million In Pandemic Relief For Small Theaters

"The subsidy came after intense lobbying from small theaters concerned about their future after a 15-month shutdown. Compounding the effects was the prospect of sharply increased labor costs for many theaters as a result of a new gig worker law that took effect in 2020." - The New York Times

Court Throws Out Judge Roy Moore’s Lawsuit Against Sacha Baron Cohen

The former Alabama jurist and Senate candidate sued the actor/mockumentarian over the scene in the Netflix series Who Is America? in which Baron Cohen's supposed "anti-terrorism expert" wields a supposed "pedophile detector" which goes off as it gets close to Moore. - The Hollywood Reporter

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