“Was it better to be bold and risk failure, or to give money to a project that had a good chance of success? And how soon would success have to happen in order to count—five years? Ten? Was it better to be patient or impatient?”
Gay Tours Of The Vatican’s Museums (Yes, They’re Real)
“Among the many ways that Pope Francis has changed the tone of the Vatican is with his seeming openness to groups that have long been shunned, from divorced Catholics to children of gay couples. His approach has inspire one Italian gay travel company, Quiiky, to look at the Vatican Museums’ vast art collections from a gay perspective.”
Architect Rafael Viñoly: The View From The Top Of The World
“Architecture is the only media you cannot turn off. You can go to the movies or not go to the movies, and you can read a book or not read a book, but with [buildings] you don’t have a way out.”
Is This Man The Satan Of The Art World?
“In exchange for extraordinary support, Stefan Simchowitz asked not for his artists’ souls but for their art, a deal that many of his protégés lived to regret.”
The Problem With The Whole Free-Tickets-For-Critics Deal (No Good Pretending It Doesn’t Exist)
“In other words, there is an entrenched and rather touching belief on our part that disinterested media coverage plus freebies doesn’t equal oxymoron. Although it is a far from satisfactory state of affairs the system continues because it is mutually beneficial. Mostly.”
The Man Who Brought North Indian Classical Dance To The U.S. Has Died
“As a solo performer, Mr. Das proved an uncommonly entertaining exponent of Kathak. His slashing rhythmic attack, electrifying footwork, dazzling turns and verbalizations, all accompanied by the ringing of the weighty bells he wore around his ankles, won him lifelong fans.”
Algerian Author Tries To Figure Out How To Live With A Fatwa Issued Against Him
“There are elements of the absurd about the plight of Kamel Daoud, an Algerian writer whose debut novel reaped glowing international reviews, literary honors and then, suddenly, demands for his public execution.”
Writers Everywhere Feel Censored – Or Have Censored Themselves – Thanks To Omnipresent Surveillance
“The idea that we are seeing some similar patterns in free countries to those we’ve traditionally associated with unfree countries is pretty distressing.”
Science Says It’s True That Most Popular Music Sounds (Almost Exactly) Alike
“The success of a song or album has little to do with its complexity or quality, and more to do with social influence, or what other people seem to enjoy listening to.”
He Defied The Communists – With Poetry
“A writer who combined broad learning with sly incisiveness, Mr. Baranczak was widely considered a ‘dissident’ poet for his subtly acerbic political poems and his activism. In the 1970s he was banned from publishing in Poland, though he continued to write for underground outlets, and his work became a samizdat pass-around.”
Expertise Can Be So Very Overrated (Especially In Critics)
“The problem with demanding a certain kind of knowledge or a certain kind of expertise in criticism, then, is that it can end up presupposing, or insisting upon, a certain kind of conversation.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs For 01.04.15
Who Will Run the National Gallery? The Odds-On Favorite…
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts Published 2015-01-04
There’s A Brouhaha In Tokyo Over Zaha Hadid’s Stadium Design
“The debate illustrates how Olympic stadiums engender more passion than almost any other buildings, and how the massive, expensive public projects become potent symbols of architectural prowess and economic pride — structures in which countries invest nothing less than their national identities.”
The Oscars Want Small Intimate Movies … That Make A Lot Of Money
“‘The movie that’s on fire right now is Selma,’ Karger said. ‘A $900,000 opening on only 19 screens is huge.'”
Libraries Need To Innovate With A Lot More Than Coffee (Though Coffee’s A Good Start)
“Despite massive cuts to budgets and opening hours over the past few years, a third of the population uses libraries (50% in poorer areas). A fifth of people still don’t have the internet at home and more still don’t know how to use it.”
The American Version Of The DVD For ‘Pride’ Removes References To The LGBT Main Characters
“The image on the back of DVD cover has also apparently been digitally altered to exclude a banner in the background, which reads ‘Lesbians & Gays support the miners.'”
What Large-Scale Puppets (And Theatre That’s For Fun) Mean To Audiences
“Over time, I’ve narrowed it down or finessed it to: A puppet is an inanimate object that’s manipulated in such a way that an audience believes it is alive and thinking.”
Christo May Get His Arkansas River Project After All
“Members of Rags Over the Arkansas River, also known as Roar, filed the lawsuit, contending the project threatens bighorn sheep, public safety, traffic on US 50 and businesses that depend on the scenic river.”