“Sometimes adults play children’s roles for absurd effect … but the bigger challenge is pulling off realism, creating the illusion that the adults onstage are plausible as the much-younger characters — a feat accomplished by two of Broadway’s biggest hits, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and To Kill a Mockingbird.” Stuart Miller talks to the performers in question about how they do it. – Los Angeles Times
A Way To Make College A Lot Cheaper?
This is how universities could break the tuition cost curve—by making the price of online degrees proportional to what colleges actually spend to operate the courses. So far, colleges have been more aggressive in launching online graduate programs. But there’s huge potential for undergraduate education, too, including hybrid programs that combine the best of in-person and virtual learning. And yet nearly every academic institution, from the Ivies to state university systems to liberal arts schools, has refused to pass even the tiniest fraction of the savings on to students. They charge online students the same astronomical prices they levy for the on-campus experience. – Huffington Post
A History Of The Color Blue (Yes, There Is One)
Blue was once little-known in the Western palette. Homer’s sea was “wine dark”; blue would not be used as water’s color until the seventeenth century. It has evolved from its original association with warmth, heat, barbarism, and the creatures of the underworld, to its current association with calm, peace, and reverie. – Claremont Review of Books
Will Non-Physicists Ever Be Able To Intuitively Understand The Connection Between Space And Time?
Theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli thinks that “counterintuitive phenomena — for example, of time moving slower for faster travelers — will, slowly, become intuitive. ‘It has happened with the fact that the Earth is a sphere (clarified two millennia ago) and the fact that it spins (clarified a few centuries ago). At first these were extremely counterintuitive ideas; nowadays we accept them as comprehensible. But it takes time.'” – Nautilus
How 3D-Printed Replicas Of Objects Are Changing The Ways Museums Can Engage Their Audiences
“Being able to touch, explore the shape, feel the weight and even smell the replica of an artefact has the potential to transform cultural heritage experiences. In reality, these connections are the closest that most people could ever have with heritage objects. What is new about digitally-fabricated replicas is that they can be extremely accurate with regards to the shape of the original.” – The Conversation
For Its National Book Week, The Netherlands Makes Trains Free If You Showed A Book Instead Of A Ticket
Not just any book, mind you. “Traditionally, a well-known Dutch author writes a special novel – the book week gift or Boekenweekgeschenk – which is given out for free to people who buy books during the festivities or sign up to a library. But the special book … can also be presented instead of a rail ticket on every train in the country on the Sunday of book week.” – The Independent (UK)
Federal Judge Strikes Down Oklahoma Law About Marketing Of Native American Art
“U.S. District Judge Charles B. Goodwin ruled that the Oklahoma Indian Arts and Crafts Sales Act violates the U.S. Constitution because it is more restrictive than a federal law with the same purpose — protecting and promoting Indian artists. The Oklahoma law requires artists to be members of a federally recognized tribe if they are to market their art as American Indian. The federal law also allows members of tribes recognized only by a state to market art as American Indian, along with artists certified by Indian tribes.” – The Oklahoman
Emmett Till, Censorship, And The Creation Of ‘The Twilight Zone’
“[Rod] Serling, riding off the success of his most well-received teleplay to date, felt compelled write a teleplay around the racism that led to Till’s murder. But the censorship that followed by advertisers and networks, fearful of blowback from white, Southern audiences, forced Serling to rethink his approach. His response, ultimately, was The Twilight Zone, the iconic anthology series that spoke truth to the era’s social ills.” – Smithsonian Magazine
National Ballet Of Spain Names New Director
Rubén Olmo, a 39-year-old dancer and choreographer from Seville who performed with the company from 1998-2002, will succeed Antonio Najarro as of September 1. Olmo’s plans include increased touring and “opening [the company] to the vanguards of dance and new trends in flamenco.” (in Spanish; for Google Translate version, click here) – El País (Madrid)
Marjorie Perloff: It’s Not A Great Time For Poetry Right Now
Why? “I’m not eager to write poetry criticism right now because the current scene strikes me as pretty unchallenging vis-a-vis, say, fiction or documentary. It’s just not a great moment for poetry.” – Tablet
Art Institute Of Chicago Postpones Major Native American Show After Realizing It Didn’t Get Enough Native Input
“‘Worlds Within: Mimbres Pottery of the Ancient Southwest’ … was slated to open May 26 in Regenstein Gallery, the museum’s primary space for temporary exhibitions. But [director] James Rondeau … said that as the show approached it became increasingly clear that more work needed to be done to represent native voices in the project.” – Chicago Tribune
Dept. Of Chutzpah: Mercedes-Benz Uses Artists’ Murals On Its Instagram, Then Sues Artists
“Mercedes-Benz USA has filed lawsuits against four artists, seeking a federal judge’s ruling that its use of their outdoor Detroit art in Instagram posts in 2018 did not infringe on their copyrights. … The lawsuits, filed Friday, claim that a year after the Instagram post, artists Daniel Bombardier, James “Dabls” Lewis, and Jeff Soto and Maxx Gramajo threatened copyright infringement lawsuits against the company. ” – Detroit News
It’s Getting Almost Impossible To Judge Plagiarism In Pop Music
In 2019, the ways in which music is borrowed is more subversive. That’s because the job of a pop star is different than what it used to be. Once, you were expected to craft and curate your own musical pocket universe alongside a team of trusted collaborators. Today, it’s a game of ceaseless, crafty annexation. – New York Magazine
The New York Times Asked Readers All Over What They Want From Their Local Theaters. Here’s What They Said.
For instance: “I’m looking for inspiration in three ways: quality, intimacy and creativity.” “New Work, New Work, New Work.” “I want ideas. I want debates, opinions. I want words that move us forward, using phenomenal storytelling, and engaged, committed professionals with a variety of voices. I want it all, and I intend to have it.” – The New York Times
In Its Biggest Deal Ever, BBC Sells Streaming Rights To Its Nature Docs For $391 Million
The ten-year, £300 million agreement will allow a new worldwide streaming service operated by the Discovery Channel to stream both new and archived natural history shows by the BBC to viewers everywhere but the UK, Ireland, and China. – BBC
The Arts Power 50: New York Observer’s List Of Top ‘Changemakers’ For 2019
“Here, in our second edition of this list, we bring you a group of individuals each working to strengthen the impact, reach, social responsibility or financial stability of a field that is seemingly in a constant state of flux.” (While not all 50 are involved in the visual arts, there does seem to be a bias in that direction.) – The New York Observer
Chicago Symphony Strike Drags On As Talks Come To Standstill
“The strike — started on March 10 — is going into its fourth week, with no solution in sight. There is continued deadlock in negotiations for a new labor agreement over salaries and pension benefits. What’s worse, there are no active negotiating sessions, only a series of cancellations.” – San Francisco Classical Voice
Polish Priests Burning Harry Potter, Twilight Books
If only this were an April Fools joke. As part of “spring cleaning,” the clergy of a parish in Gdańsk asked their faithful to bring objects “linked to the occult and magic” to a bonfire after Mass on Sunday. They brought books from the popular children’s series about student magicians and the young adult romance series about a chaste vampire — as well as (among other items) a Hindu figurine and a Hello Kitty umbrella. – Yahoo! (AFP)
Ballet Shoes In Darker Skin Tones Are Finally Here
“The new shoes” — made by the British shoemaker Freed in partnership with the UK troupe Ballet Black — “come in two versions, bronze and brown, and they’re a huge leap forward for inclusion in the ballet world. Indeed, the most common reaction from outside ballet, says troupe director Cassa Pancho, has been shock that they didn’t already exist.” – The Guardian
To Celebrate April Fool’s Day: A List Of Famous Literary Hoaxes
So what makes a good literary hoax? Well the world needs to be sucked into believing it of course. And that means of course that you don’t know the fraud until the deception has been revealed. Tragedy (usually for the hoaxer) ensues. Is there a common thread through these examples? – The New York Times
LA Times Restaurant Critic’s Fabulous April 1 Takedown Of NY Restaurants
In Los Angeles, we’re spoiled by the breadth and quality of our dining options. In addition to outstanding year-round produce, I can get great huaraches, refreshing mul naengmyeon and impeccable chả giò within 15 minutes of where I live. But what about New York, a largely culturally bereft island that sits curiously between the Hudson and East Rivers at the foot of the Catskill Mountains? Sure, we’ve all heard of hotdogs, a staple of every New Yorker’s diet, famously gnawed on by rodent and human alike in that “toddling town.” – Los Angeles Times
Paying attention
The New York Times apparently wants us all to be more productive, since it’s hammering away at the subject from many fronts. – Andrew Taylor
No worries
Yes, my recent car crash scared me terribly, and yes, I know how very lucky I was to escape without a scratch. Even so, that seems to have been the end of it. I haven’t had any flashbacks, or any bad dreams about car crashes. Unnerving though the immediate experience was, it appears to have passed through me without leaving a trace. – Terry Teachout
David Friesen, Bassist And Pianist
David Friesen, My Faith, My Life (Origin)
Friesen’s virtuosity brought him to prominence as a bassist nearly fifty years ago. This two-CD album presents him on the first disc playing his compositions on the Homage bass, an instrument he developed. – Doug Ramsey
The Shed Opens This Week At Hudson Yards. So What Is The Shed?
It’s a fancy configurable space in the middle of the mega-billion-dollar New York luxury development that says it wants to be an art space that “doesn’t compete with anything else.” Early on, many arts leaders questioned The Shed’s purpose and why the city gave so much money to an institution that did not yet exist. But isn’t that true of Hudson Yards generally? – The Art Newspaper