“How do you design cities and civic spaces in ways that account for people’s varied reactions to sound itself? Where does “sound” end, and “noise” begin?”
Can Neuroscience Explain Aesthetics?
“What in the brain triggers aesthetic experiences? And how does knowledge of basic brain mechanisms inform our understanding of these experiences?”
Is Meditation Overrated?
A review of the published clinical trials indicates that, with a few limited (though important) exceptions, there’s very little scientific evidence so far for the health benefits that meditation is said to provide.
Assi Dayan, 68, Giant Of Israel’s Film Industry
“The son of the late defense minister and general, Moshe Dayan, Assi starred in dozens of movies, directed a handful of classic films, and was the lead, playing a psychologist, in one of the most successful Israeli television series of all time, BeTipul, which was adapted by HBO into the American show In Treatment.”
That Art Dealer Who Asked To Run A Program For Bronx Kids Instead Of Going To Jail? Didn’t Work
“With a stinging rebuke, a federal judge on Wednesday sentenced Hillel Nahmad, an Upper East Side gallery owner and scion of a powerful art family, to a year in prison on a gambling charge, saying that money could not prevent his incarceration.”
In This Whitney Biennial Piece, The Donation Box Is The Art
“I don’t know how much I’ve amassed. There’s certainly a nice quantity of things other than legal tender — some I’ve been able to identify: bumper stickers, a credit card, museum literature, invite flyers. (There’s one $1 bill that has “Fuck You Daren Bader” written on it — awwwww.)”
Yet Another Trailblazing Gay Bookstore To Close
“The Internet, however, has been relentless in its gradual destruction of the store and cultural landmark. So, come mid-May, Giovanni’s Room – one of the nation’s few such bookstores – will close, ending its run as an oasis for gays in search of literature, and even shelter during more hostile years gone by.”
Why MOOCs Are A Major Advance In Learning
“First, because modern information technology allows for unprecedented interactivity and inter-personal connection, the formation of communities of learners on a global scale. Second, because the ability of computers to process information means that we can, for the first time, replicate and improve upon fundamental processes of learning.”
Why I Miss Arts Critics
“The dull-and-earnest J-skool instructors will tell you that reviews, like other news stories, are the first draft of history and our community’s public record. They’ll add that public money always requires public scrutiny. Sure. But that’s not why readers read. We do it to be amused, to think, and to understand the world.”
The Best Place In The World To Buy Classical CDs
“What’s astonishing about it is the range and depth of what they’ve got on the shelves. You ain’t seen nothin’ in terms of physically available CDs if you haven’t been to this particular patch of classical-music paradise.”
Labor Violations Continue At Abu Dhabi Museum Construction Projects
“A report released this morning by Gulf Labor, a coalition of international artists, confirms the ongoing violation of local and international labor laws at the site of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, Louvre Abu Dhabi, and Zayed National Museum, among other institutions.”
Now You Can Conduct Your Own Virtual Orchestra
“The Mendelssohn Effektorium, by design studio WhiteVOID, is an interactive installation that allows you to have complete control over a virtual symphony. In this world you’re Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, and your instruments come in the form of 13 upright speakers with digital displays on them.”
What’s An Arts School Worth To The Movie Industry? In CalArts Case: $30 Billion
“The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) has published an interactive graphic demonstrating that since 1985, graduates of the school’s programs in character and experimental animation have brought Hollywood $30.6 billion in worldwide box office revenue as directors of feature films.”
Analyzing Blockbuster Movies – Here Are The Data
“Chases showed up in 36 percent of the films in our data set and in half of the films released since 2005. Maybe a car explodes, as one does in 20 percent of the films in our set. Indeed, explosions in general are critical — since 2010, 77 percent of blockbusters featured at least one explosion.”
Why Haven’t Comic Books Evolved?
“Right now, most digital comics are just print comics scanned. You’re writing for an old medium. The screen is widescreen. Why are we not writing and doing art for those as the delivery system, rather than as just a secondary way to look at [comics]?”
Why Do Audiences Ask Such Stupid Questions? (Or Are They?)
“It’s time to wonder whether these people who come to see us talk about our books are really asking dumb questions, or the wrong questions. Why are writers so determined to focus exclusively on their novels, as if there were no continuity between writing and life?”
London Arts Organizations Defend Arts Funding In the Capital
London arts leaders said it is “imperative” that any redistribution of money away from London did not unfairly disadvantage those companies based in the capital that work across the country.
Looking At World War I Onstage From Four Sides – In Four Languages
Director Luk Perceval examines “the war to end all wars” from German, Flemish, British and French perspectives in what he describes as a “polyphony in four languages” titled Front.
Are Conductors Really Necessary?
“Is a conductor no more than a combination of timekeeper and showman, emoting like mad for the crowds? Or does he (or she) truly reveal something extra in the music, some extra ounce of expressive intensity or layer of meaning that the players might not discover for themselves?” Ivan Hewitt’s answer to these two questions is – yes.
Kylie Minogue’s Choreographer: Okay, Fine, We Should Pay Our Dancers
“The choreographer for Kylie Minogue’s controversial video clip I Was Gonna Cancel has described the initial offers of non-payment to dancers on the shoot as a ‘mistake’.” (Modern dance mavens may be surprised at who this choreographer is.)
Indianapolis Opera Artistic Director Resigns By Email
After 33 years with the company, on Monday James Caraher “sent a ‘very short email’ to the board and staff that … said he had decided to resign, effective immediately.”
Sonic Boom: The Difference Between Sound (Good) And Noise (Bad) And How Digital Tech Is Changing The Balance
Megan Garber looks at the nature of sound, how acousticians are changing the way cities regulate noise, how engineers can alter sound levels in everything from earbuds to buildings, and how appliance manufacturers calibrate the noises their products make so that the sounds become marketing tools. (includes audio deconstruction of a vacuum cleaner)
Twitter Is Not Dying – It’s About To Get Even Bigger
“Wall Street – along with everyone else who’s down on Twitter because it has ‘a growth problem’ – is making a mistake by comparing it to Facebook. Twitter is not a social network. Not primarily, anyway. It’s better described as a social media platform, with the emphasis on ‘media platform’.”
The Best Art Deco Designer Whom Almost No One Remembers
Hildreth Meière’s murals, medallions, mosaics, and stained glass windows earned her success and admiration during her lifetime, and many of them can still be seen today – from Radio City Music Hall and a Manhattan synagogue to the Cathedral in St. Louis and the Nebraska State Capitol.
Al Feldstein, 81, ‘The Soul Of Mad Magazine’
“He had been a writer and illustrator of comic books when he became editor of Mad four years into its life and just a year after it had graduated from comic-book form to a full-fledged magazine. … Feldstein gave Mad its identity as a smart-alecky, sniggering and indisputably clever spitball-shooter of a publication.”