Over on Slate this week Brian Wise posted a piece about Donald Trump and his playing of Puccini's Nussun Dorma at campaign events. Trump had been using a recording of Pavarotti singing the aria and the singer's family had contacted him to ask him to stop. Musicians have been complaining for years about politicians using their music at events without permission, and it's always fun to ridicule a … [Read more...]
Are We Building Artistic Leadership?
Are the arts about selling tickets to shows or about art? Of course performances and exhibitions don't happen if they don't have money to be produced, but - as evidenced at an arts marketing conference where I recently spoke - the business of selling tickets seems often to determine the measure of success rather than the art. "Art" is a positioning for selling tickets. I'm currently working on … [Read more...]
Is Opera The Real 21st Century Art Form?
A 2015 survey by blogger Mae Mai reported that 260 new opera companies started since 2000 in the United States. There are 80 opera companies now working in New York alone. Over the past couple months the New York Opera Fest showcased many of the New York companies. For the most part, these don't look like your grandpa's operas - just clicking the website confirms that. New opera embraces the … [Read more...]
Attention Deficit Disorder: Our Walled-Garden Problem
As the digital world pummels us with more information and choice, many of us react by walling off the things we simply won't pay attention to. It's a survival strategy. We increasingly define ourselves by the things we choose to pay attention to, and bestowing attention is a form of currency we are reluctant to squander. This is a problem if you're trying to grow an audience. Building a better … [Read more...]
Editor’s Picks: Five Highlights From Last Week’s AJ – How To Define Art Edition
This Week: In an age of artists what is the definition of being an artist?... Canadian study says arts workers are most at risk... What is R&D in the arts?... Edinburgh Festival's success shows the broadening impact of festivals... In the information age our opinions seem to be more arrogant. We're All Artists Now (So Maybe It's Worth Asking What Is An Artist?): We equate creativity with … [Read more...]
Editor’s Picks: Five Stories You Shouldn’t Miss, Factually Challenged Edition
This week: How did our culture get to the point we don't trust facts?... Are artists actually detrimental to neighborhoods?... Our notions of "greatness" need an overhaul... Europe's new cultural paradigm desperately needs artists... Are donors to museum building projects do their museums a disservice? Do Facts Matter Any More? (Let's Define "Facts" Please): It's as if we live in parallel … [Read more...]
Our Don’t-Miss Stories From Last Week’s ArtsJournal: Musical Prime Minister Edition
This week: A penetrating portrait of artist Chuck Close, a reality check on meritocracy as a concept, a look at anger and our access to visceral emotion in a media-saturated world, the enduring meritocracy of the Emmy as measure of success, and a Prime Minister exits stage right, humming. A Virtuoso Artist Profile: Wil S. Hylton's profile of Chuck Close for the New York Times endeavors to … [Read more...]
Do Artists Have A Vision For The Future?
Around the beginning of the 20th Century, some French artists were asked to design a series of cards that would imagine what life would be like 100 years in the future in the year 2000. The first cards were created for the 1900 World Exhibition in Paris and eventually there were at least 87 of them. This was the mechanical age, the dawn of automation. So it's not surprising that the artists' … [Read more...]
Five Highlights From Last Week’s AJ: Ethics, Success, And Documentation Edition
This week: What ethical responsibilities do funders and funded have to one another?... The gatekeeper problem is still a thing in the internet age... What should the measure of success be in opera?... Historians are going to have a real problem documenting today's artists... Our all-image culture suggests the place of images in art may be changing. What Ethical Responsibilities Do Funders … [Read more...]
Five Highlights From Last Week’s AJ You Shouldn’t Miss
This week: Alas, hard work probably doesn't trump innate ability... It's tempting to believe extravagant claims for technology, but there are limits... Yes, by all means let's talk about equity, but be sure you know what it means... A real-world experiment in ticket pricing (and some surprising results)... The death of the mid-budget Hollywood movie. We Like The Idea That Hard Work Trumps … [Read more...]