The “Statue of Unity,” which is actually of independence leader Vallabhbhai Patel and is currently the world’s tallest statue, was completed last fall, and more are on the way: a statue of the 17th-century warrior-king Shivaji in Mumbai, and enormous images of the Hindu god Rama and the 19th-century holy man Swami Vivekananda in Ayodhya. Why? A desire to stand out on the world stage, sure, but even more because of the Hindu nationalism of Narendra Modi’s government. – Apollo
What Are Vices Of The Mind, And Why Are They Dangerous?
“So-called ‘virtues of the mind’, such as open-mindedness, thoroughness, and intellectual humility, have been extensively discussed by philosophers. Arrogance, imperviousness to evidence and an inability to deal with mistakes are vices of the mind. They have until very recently attracted much less philosophical attention.” Philosopher Quassim Cassam argues that these vices need more attention, because they can cause so much damage. (Exhibit A: The Iraq War.) – IAI News
AI Is Not Just Changing How Scientific Research Is Done, It’s Changing The Scientific Method
Some scientists see generative modeling and other new techniques simply as power tools for doing traditional science. But most agree that AI is having an enormous impact, and that its role in science will only grow. Brian Nord, an astrophysicist at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory who uses artificial neural networks to study the cosmos, is among those who fear there’s nothing a human scientist does that will be impossible to automate. “It’s a bit of a chilling thought,” he said. – Quanta
How Did Street Art Get Corporatized?
As more corporations and real estate developers across the country turn to murals to hawk their products, controversy follows. In New York City, for instance, Target had to apologize for a mural it installed inside a new store in the East Village. While the mural was designed as an homage to the neighborhood’s history as a home to punk rockers and struggling immigrants alike, it drew criticism for making light of the gentrification that had transformed the neighborhood. – In These Times
Toronto Symphony Offers Its First Concert Geared For Neurodiverse Audiences
The TSO is calling this and future concerts of this type “Relaxed Performances,” the term already in use for similar events in the UK. With specially designed changes to the concert format, accompanying materials, and the concert hall, “Relaxed Performances are designed specifically for people living with autism spectrum disorders, sensory and communication disorders, learning disabilities, or anyone who wants a more casual concert experience.” – Toronto Symphony Orchestra
A Point-By-Point Guide To Making Concerts More Accessible To People On The Autism Spectrum
Chrysanthe Tan, the autistic violinist who wrote last week’s open letter to other musicians: “Today, I present you with … an organized, actionable reference guide to help you enact a permanent framework for autistic accessibility in your musical efforts. These tips aren’t just for organizations and presenters; they are also for musicians, students, teachers, and other music-adjacent allies. If you are not autistic, consider this required coursework.” – NewMusicBox
Jill Lepore On The Animating DreamS Of American Democracy
The history of the United States is a history of bias and brutality and hubris, but it is also a history of idealism and hard work and soaring optimism. What emerges is an invitation to regard these tessellated truths and conflicting motive forces with an equanimous understanding that can inform a juster, more beautiful, and less conflicted future. – Brainpickings
Does Listening To Classical Music While You Work Help Your Productivity? Study Says It Depends
For instance, on the simplest task, if someone was generally not prone to boredom, they tended to perform better when listening to the most complex form of music than with either simple music or complete silence, albeit when the volume of the music was relatively low. If the volunteer was prone to boredom however, the opposite was the case, and silence was the best condition. – Forbes
Hirshhorn Proposes New Entrance Garden To National Mall
“The plan recognizes the shifts in art-making in the 40-odd years since we were founded,” said Hirshhorn Director Melissa Chiu. “Many artists create work on a larger scale, and we want to create a space for performance and other interactive work.” – Washington Post
‘I’m Not A Gay Writer, I’m A Monster. Gay Writers Are Too Conservative.’ Are American Readers Finally Ready For James Purdy?
“Despite praise in his lifetime from Langston Hughes, Susan Sontag, Edward Albee, Gore Vidal, as well as – in later years – John Waters and Jonathan Franzen, Purdy … cast out by the US literary establishment,” which wasn’t ready for either his experimental style or his outré subject matter. (Nelson Algren called one of Purdy’s books “a fifth-rate avant-garde soap opera [about] prayer and faggotry.”) And Purdy’s delight in burning bridges didn’t help. – The Guardian
Our Cities Are Lousy With Memorials. One Thing: Do They Really Help Us Remember?
Parks and squares are littered with markers that failed at their only job: to keep their topics from falling into oblivion. You may have paused a thousand times at the feet of that mounted king with the two swords crossed above his head in Central Park, but would you be able to pick Jagiello out of a lineup or recite a single fact about his exploits at the Battle of Grunwald? – New York Magazine
Now You Can Listen To T.S. Eliot Read, And Talk About, His Poetry
“On December 4, 1950, two years after winning the Nobel Prize in Literature, T.S. Eliot stood behind a lectern in the Kaufmann Concert Hall at the 92nd Street Y and read some of his best work in front of hundreds of people.” The director of the Y’s Unterberg Poetry Center and the poet Billy Collins recently came across audio of that event, and they’ve offered excerpts for streaming. – The New York Times
Hirshhorn Museum Wants New Sculpture Garden To Be ‘A New Front Door On The Mall’
“Seeking to raise its visibility and welcome more visitors, the Hirshhorn Museum plans to redesign its sunken sculpture garden to create an expanded entrance on the Mall and directly connect the artsy oasis to the museum’s main plaza.” Says the board chairman, “You have 25 million people walking on the Mall every year and right now our garden is largely invisible.” – The Washington Post
The Choirs With No Name (There Are Four Of Them)
Each of them — in London, Liverpool, Birmingham, and Brighton — really is called The Choir With No Name, and they’re all for people who have struggled with homelessness, addiction, and/or mental illness. Melanie Webb checks in with the London group as they prepare for a March 13 performance. – Bachtrack
If Attention Is Currency, Critics Need To Reconsider How They Spend It
“It’s time for arts writers, critics, journalists, gatekeepers, and arbiters of culture—anyone whose job it is to bestow attention onto others—to reconsider how to allocate that currency. More specifically, the most responsible thing we can do, as people who professionally dole out attention, is to withhold it more often than not. But hear me out—there’s more to it than that.” Oregon Arts Watch
Should Spotify Ban Michael Jackson And R Kelly From Its Platform?
There’s a big difference between no-platforming and not promoting. I know that’s obvious, but it feels like this distinction isn’t stressed enough in debates about free speech. Spotify was right to remove Kelly from its featured playlists because that equals promotion. And it was right not to ban his songs altogether because that gets you into really dangerous territory: it turns the likes of Spotify into a moral arbiter and opens up a can of worms about who deserves to be banned next. – The Guardian
A Dance Company For Black Women, Without Mirrors, Music, Or Body-Shaming
“Incorporating four components into their practice: dance, discussion, writing and American Sign Language, dance company BLAQ works to give black women a space where they can be free of the stereotypes and discrimination they experience in daily life and heal through the unfiltered expression of dance.” Reporter Becca Most visits the Minneapolis studio with BLAQ founder Deja Stowers. – AP (Minnesota Daily)
Once Again Trump Proposes Killing PBS. Congress Won’t. So Why Keep Trying?
There are a few reasons. A presidential budget is essentially a messaging tool these days, a way to show your supporters that you’re addressing their priorities; Congress has to actually decide where real money will go. Just about every member of Congress has a public radio or TV station in his or her district; any transition from rhetoric to reality would be felt back home. But it’s also because public broadcasting is actually pretty popular and pretty trusted by Americans. – NiemenLab
Composer-Pianist Lives His (Other) Dream — And Has A Finger Snap Off ‘Like A Twig’
“Yotam Haber is an established composer and pianist, an assistant professor at the University of New Orleans, a former artistic director of New York’s MATA festival and winner of a Guggenheim fellowship and a Koussevitzky Foundation commission, among many other honors and awards. Since childhood, though, he has had another dream: to race sled dogs in Alaska. Last week, Haber’s dream came true” — but at quite a cost. – The Washington Post
Actors Theatre Of Louisville Appoints Artistic Director
“After a nationwide search that began in 2017, Actors Theatre of Louisville has found its new artistic director — Robert Barry Fleming, a Kentucky native who was previously working as associate artistic director of the Cleveland Play House. Fleming will replace Les Waters, who announced his departure from the organization after leading it for seven years.” – Inside Louisville
Cellist George Neikrug, 100
He served as principal cellist with the Baltimore Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, and Los Angeles Philharmonic, and was a widely admired teacher, and he’s best remembered for a still-legendary 1960 performance at Carnegie Hall of Ernest Bloch’s Schelomo with the NBC Symphony under Leopold Stokowski. – The Strad
In Gaza, A Theatre Revives Itself Amidst The Wreckage
ASHTAR Theatre had made its home in a Gaza City cultural center that was destroyed last August in an Israeli airstrike (launched to retaliate for rockets from Gaza fired at Beersheva). Nevertheless, they persist: ASHTAR members have been continuing the theatre’s work, throughout the territory and literally on the ruins of its old home. – American Theatre
Pamela Tatge on Curatorial Practice
I’ve found strikingly few resources available in any media about the craft, practice, and management of arts organizations in the live performing arts (beyond the usual-suspect books). So I’ve started a series of video interviews with performing arts professionals. First up is Pamela Tatge, who took the reins at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in 2016. – Andrew Taylor
Kara Walker Chosen As Next Artist For Tate Modern’s Turbine Room Commission
Frances Morris, the Tate Modern director, said: “Kara Walker fearlessly tackles some of the most complex issues we face today. Her work addresses history and identity with a powerful directness, but also with great understanding, nuance and wit. Seeing her respond to the industrial scale of the Turbine Hall – and the wider context of London and British history – is a hugely exciting proposition.” – The Guardian
Misty Copeland On Erica Lall
Copeland’s colleague at American Ballet Theatre used to be a kid looking up to her – and Copeland is impressed with the adult Lall: “Erica is very mature in terms of knowing what she wants and being assertive in a way that I think really works — especially as a Black dancer. There’s a fine line between maintaining your identity, and not becoming someone you’re not just to fit in with a certain culture.” – Refinery29