“A truly traumatic thing occurs to the family and then the family begins to unravel. The misery of this family’s daily life takes a slow toll. Real life is plotless, but the experience of reading books that replicate this can be irritating.” Akhil Sharma explains how he approached this “technical problem” of writing his autobiographical novel Family Life.
Repetition In Music: We’re Hard-Wired To Respond To It
Music psychologist Elizabeth Margulis found that she could make ordinary listeners respond positively even to Berio by simply adding repeats to it. Why did that work? (includes audio)
When Artists Go All ‘Social Practice,’ How Do We Judge Their Art?
“These kinds of manufactured encounters aren’t unique to the art world. ‘The entire foundation of the Apple Store was that it would be a place of human relations,’ he says. ‘Sales people were trained to be empathetic, and the cash register was purposely kept hidden. There is a global interest in human relationships.'”
Poll: What Americans Think About Popular Music
“Forty-two percent of Americans think that this decade has the worst music compared with the other four most recent decades. Next in order are the 2000s (15 percent), 1990s (13 percent), 1980s (14 percent) and the 1970s (12 percent).”
Milwaukee Art Museum To Add Another Extension
Wait, didn’t they just add that Santiago Calatrava building with the wings? Actually, that was 13 years ago. Not only will this new addition add 8,000 square feet of exhibition space, the price tag is, as these things go, relatively modest.
Hey, That Painting In Our Basement Is A Rembrandt!
Omaha’s Joslyn Art Museum has had the work for 72 years, but had concluded by 1987 that it was by a Rembrandt student – until a leading scholar authenticated it this year.
All Writers Pine For A Vera Nabokov
“Twenty-three years after her death, Vera Nabokov remains a revered figure in capital ‘L’ Literature … Vera not only performed all the duties expected of a wife of her era … but also acted as her husband’s round-the-clock editor, assistant, and secretary. … So it seems likely that having, or not having, a Vera could be the missing piece in creating gender parity within literature.”
The Great Living-Room War: Live TV vs. Internet TV
Derek Thompson: “TV, as we know it, is cable packages and live channels. But the new players are building an Internet-video experience around apps with very little access to live television. It’s not TV. It’s Internet TV. Even as these tech upstarts are battling each other for living-room dominance, they’re also battling the legacy of traditional television and the sturdy cable bundle.”
‘It Sounds Like A Stupid Fairytale’: Jean-Christophe Maillot’s Wishes Come True With Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo
When Princess Caroline invited Maillot to lead Monaco’s ballet company, he says, “I wanted to show the world that this company wasn’t the toy of a princess. I wanted a company that would have its own identity. And I wanted Monaco, so small and so specific, to experience the whole possibility of dance.”
In January Minnesota Dance Theatre’s Entire Board Resigned. Now There’s A New Board
Artistic director Loyce Houlton said that there were “disconnects” between the departed board and the organization. While she would not go into details about what precipitated January’s startling news, she “took responsibility,” as a board member and artistic director.
Russia Debates Quotas On Hollywood Movies
“Russia’s minister of culture threw a lifeline Monday to Hollywood studios fearing the introduction of movie import quotas in the country, which could harm U.S. interests at the Russian box office.”
Progress On Saving Trisha Brown’s Dance Legacy
“The company’s plans — which are being supported by several major foundations — are the latest attempt to deal with questions about the legacy of a major 20th-century choreographer.”
American Non-Profits Report: We’re Not Keeping Up With Demand
“Leaders from more than 5,000 nonprofits nationwide participated in this sixth annual survey. Many reported daunting financial situations, and said they are looking at new ways to secure the future of their organizations for the benefit of the people they serve.”
How Open-Source Is Changing The Way American Business Thinks
“Open-source software is no longer synonymous with “cheap, good-enough software.” It’s now driving the innovation agenda for the entire industry, offering higher-quality software and more room to shape that software to meet individual needs.”
Senator Chuck Schumer’s Plan To Give Theatre Big Tax Breaks
“U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer’s proposal would allow 100 percent of any live theater investment to be deducted up to $15 million per production, whether the eventual show is a hit or a flop, a benefit that is currently being granted to film and TV projects.”
No Britons Among Finalists For No-Longer-The-Orange Prize
Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah are considered the leading contenders for what is, as of this year, the Bailey’s Women’s Prize for Fiction. Also in the running are novels by Jhumpa Lahiri, Hannah Kent, Audrey Magee, and Eimear McBride.
German Authorities Reach Deal With Cornelius Gurlitt on Allegedly Looted Art
“Cornelius Gurlitt, the German man who had been hiding more than 1,000 works of art – some believed to have been looted during World War II – has reached an agreement with German officials regarding his secret stash.”
Now It Begins: Competing Claims to Paintings From Gurlitt’s Trove
“Lawyers for Cornelius Gurlitt, an octogenarian collector of art plundered by the Nazis, said Monday that a rival claim had been filed for a well-known Matisse painting” – Seated Woman/Woman Sitting in Armchair – “delaying plans to return the picture to descendants of the French art dealer Paul Rosenberg.”
Greed Is Good: A 300-Year History of a Dangerous Idea
“We sometimes forget that the pursuit of commercial self-interest was largely reviled until just a few centuries ago. ‘A man who is a merchant can seldom if ever please God,’ St. Jerome said … It was not until the mischievous moralist Bernard Mandeville that someone attempted to gloss greed as anything other than a shameful motive.”
Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet Names New Artistic Director
It’s a tough job that Benoit Swan-Pouffer left behind about a year ago – “running a well-funded, New York-based operation with an extensive repertory of work by big-name choreographers”. But the company’s ballet mistress is ready to take it on.
Top Posts From AJBlogs 04.07.14
The Allure Of The New
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts | Published 2014-04-07
BlogBack: David Ross Argues Against Deaccession Legislation
AJBlog: CultureGrrl | Published 2014-04-07
Visiting soloist hits the town with free pop-ups
AJBlog: Slipped Disc | Published 2014-04-07
From Julia Villagra: Wooing my peers (1)
AJBlog: Sandow | Published 2014-04-07
[ssba_hide]
Study Casts Doubt On Superiority Of Strads
Regarding the guesses over whether an instrument was old or new, 31 were right and 33 were wrong. “The data rather clearly demonstrate the inability of the players to reliably guess an instrument’s age,” the researchers write.
Magazine Sends Its Staff To Luxury Hotel Internship To Learn Art Of Service
“The idea is that reliable, top-notch service at a hotel translates to any high-end brand, including magazines.”
Have We Lost The Language To Be Able To Talk About Quality Music?
I hear the phrase “it’s a matter of taste” quite a lot. What a prohibitive position—it sounds like “our differences in perception present irreconcilable differences and we should stop talking now.” “Taste” and “quality” strike me as entirely different forces.
The Largest American Art Show Ever? (It’s Outdoors)
“Beginning Monday, curators are asking the public to vote online to choose which artwork will be featured on 50,000 displays for the “Art Everywhere” initiative in August. Members of the Outdoor Advertising Association of America are donating the space.”