There's been a change in the news coming out of symphony orchestras over the past summer. Usually there's a background drumbeat of struggle as orchestras fight to stay alive. But for months now, the beat has shifted, and we're hearing about orchestras that are not only surviving but thriving. Yes, Fort Worth Symphony musicians are on strike, the Pittsburgh Symphony is in the middle of … [Read more...]
What Neuroscientists Know About The Brain And Creativity: It’s Disruptive, Not Systematic
It appears many of us want a formula for creativity. There are 11, 386 books on creativity for sale on Amazon, most of them promising to unlock the secrets of being creative. Scientists studying how the brain works are mapping the brain's responses to creativity - music, color, art - as well as trying to measure neural activity when we are creative. There's a long way to go to understand how … [Read more...]
So What Exactly Is A “Quantitative” Measure Of The Arts?
Arts Council England says it will use a standardized assessment system called Quality Metrics in evaluating the arts it it considers funding. The system has been developed over several years and is an attempt to create a matrix by which arts experiences can be measured and evaluated. Here are the criteria: Self, peer and public: Concept: it was an interesting idea Presentation: it was … [Read more...]
Five ArtsTrending Stories From This Week’s AJ: Are The Arts Falling Into A Measurement Trap?
This Week: The remarkable new National Mall museum that doesn't look like the rest... An arts council's risky change in standards... What scientists have learned about the accomplishments of gifted children... Will algorithms take over the book business?... Seven things scientists have learned about creativity. Washington's National Mall Gets A Unique New Addition: The long-awaited National … [Read more...]
Why Music And The Concert Experience Are On The Front Lines Of Virtual Reality
Following on my post from yesterday about anticipating the kinds of experiences people will want from concerts comes this article from Wired about virtual reality and music. Evidently creating content for virtual reality is proving to be a challenge and music is so far the best showcase for VR. Outside of games, music is almost certainly the most popular content type in VR right now, which makes … [Read more...]
The New York Philharmonic’s New Hall Is An Opportunity To Rethink The Orchestra Experience (And Amplify It)
Last week Michael Cooper made a plea in the NYT to the New York Philharmonic for some upgrades to the concert amenity experience when the orchestra overhauls Geffen Hall (formerly Avery Fisher) in 2019. His list of excellent suggestions includes comfier seats (why should movie theatres be more comfortable?) more legroom, more bathrooms, real glasses for the bar instead of plastic, more seamless … [Read more...]
This Week’s AJ Arts Highlights: Has Entertainment Made Art Irrelevant?
This Week: Major shakeup in London's museum world... Nobel laureate says entertainment has killed art... Latest study of Hollywood reaffirms cultural inequality... Why did Wells Fargo disparage artists?... Did the Glenn Gould Foundation get ahead of itself in announcing arts Nobel prizes? Seismic Changes In London's Museum World: Two high-profile resignations this week. First, Martin Roth, … [Read more...]
This Week’s Notable AJ Stories: An Artist Erased, A Cautionary Tale
This Week: What exactly does cultural equity actually mean?... In our social media world everything is about images... A cautionary tale as an artist is erased from the internet... There's a difference between culture and art... Why Italy fought to keep Venice off the endangered list. A Good Survey Of Debates About Cultural Equity: The crew over at Createquity have written a comprehensive … [Read more...]
Artists Erased From The Web And Our Growing Problem With Facts
Artist and author Dennis Cooper got his blog back this week. Google had suddenly removed the 14-year-old blog a few months ago without warning and had refused to answer Cooper's repeated attempts to find out why. After the takedown got attention "from international media outlets, a statement of support from PEN America and a petition to recover the blog," Google finally responded to Cooper's … [Read more...]
TV Dying, Video Streaming Surging – So This Is How People Are Getting Their News (Uh-Oh)
A flood of stories this week show how TV is dying and video is on the rise. You think changing audience behavior is tough on arts organizations? Try it when you're a multi-billion-dollar conglomerate like NBCUniversal Comcast or Verizon. Olympics TV ratings were down 18% from 2012. NBC had paid $1.23 billion for rights to the broadcast MTV Video Awards ratings this week fell 30 percent … [Read more...]