“While the issue of producing evidence of the impact is complex and much debated, researchers and practitioners have focussed energies on collecting information that gives a convincing picture of the relationship between good quality arts and cultural activity and outcomes for older people, in terms of quality of life, better health and wellbeing.”
Isamu Noguchi Left A Lot Of Work Behind In Japan – What’s Going To Happen To It?
Making a museum of the Japanese sculptor’s old studio on the island of Shikoku has proven to be a long, complicated matter, with challenging issues concerning the ownership of the artwork, the buildings and the land on which they sit.
Turning Combines Into Sculptures And Printmaking With Rhubarb Stalks: Minnesota Leads The Way In Rural Arts
“While some of the initiatives currently underway may benefit cultural tourism, most of the efforts seem to be based on an understanding of the intrinsic value of the arts in the life of any community and the sense of belonging that anchors people to a place.”
New York In The ’70s Was A Total Mess – Why Is The Culture Suddenly Acting Nostalgic For It?
“Recently there’s been, in TV and film and certainly in books, an intense yearning for a specific five-year period in New York City, those years between the blackout in 1977, and 1982, when AIDS was finally named by the Centers for Disease Control. … Collectively, these works express a craving for the city that, while at its worst, was also more democratic: a place and a time in which, rich or poor, you were stuck together in the misery (and the freedom) of the place, where not even money could insulate you.”
This Year’s Giller Prize List: Some Awfully Pleasant Surprises
“The 12 books they’ve chosen comprise the most intriguing and wonderfully unexpected list in the prize’s 22-year-history, an enticing mix of established names and emerging talent, and clear affirmation for the work being done by this country’s independent publishers.”
Remembering The Boozy, Wild Beginnings Of The Toronto Film Festival
“The first was a success, but not the way I thought it would be: It was a very duct-taped situation. Before this, Toronto was a dull black-and-white town. You went out to the opera, had a glass of punch, then went home. But we were partying as hard as we could into the small hours of the morning. We brought out the rock-and-roll side of Toronto.”
Is Political Correctness Cutting Off Necessary Debate?
“Argument and debate, however heated, outrageous, offensive, hurtful and, profane is the price we pay for the privilege of speaking freely. We are currently going through a period where speech is being severely restricted and goalposts of tolerance are moving closer to allegedly protect people from discomfort of any kind.”
When The Art Is Sarcastic…
“If you love art, you must be glad that thousands of people are supporting it by going to “Dismaland.” If you love cultural expression generally, you must be glad millions of people are participating in it on the Internet. But when you see bad expression praised as good — when your Facebook friends share a sarcastic news report, or a millionaire street artist puts mouse ears on an actress and tells her to frown — you must also feel some injustice has been done.”
This Dancing Robot Just Applied For A SAG Actors’ Union Card
ABB’s IRB 2400, is taking steps to prevent unjust treatment of other bots by filing for membership in the Screen Actors Guild after appearing in Tuesday’s episode of America’s Got Talent.
Unusual Fight Over Long-Dead Author’s Property
“Pascal Dufour, a lawyer whose family business goes back five generations, is being prosecuted for trying to sell the original manuscript of one of France’s best-known books, the Memoirs from Beyond the Tomb by Francois-Rene de Chateaubriand (1768-1848).”
Can Musicians Stop Donald Trump From Playing Their Music If They Don’t Want Him To?
“It’s not surprising that musicians would be upset at their work being appropriated this way. But do they have any rights to songs that they have released to the public? How are these messes likely to resolve?”
Playing A Violin, From The Violin’s Perspective
“Pavel Frumin hit the streets of Kiev, Ukraine, with a GoPro at either end of his violin. The cameras reveal his fingers racing up and down the instrument’s fingerboard as if in some crazy finger tap dance.” (video)
Mitsuko Uchida, Sylvie Guillem, Dominique Perrault, Tadanori Yokoo, Wolfgang Laib Win Japan’s $124,000 Praemium Imperiale
“Established in 1989, the Praemium Imperiale recognizes achievements in five cultural categories: architecture, painting, sculpture, music and theater/film.”
Four Bolshoi Stars Discuss The Most Romantic Ballet Of All
Evgenia Obraztsova: “Many people think that Giselle just dies and her ghost is a shell. I personally think it is a soul.” Anastasia Stashkevich: “I opened my eyes when the curtain closed and I just didn’t understand. I died with my heroine and couldn’t imagine how I could compose myself and perform the second act.” (video)
Top Posts From AJBlogs 09.10.15
Whopping Risk for Sotheby’s: Some $500 Million Guaranteed to Taubman Estate
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2015-09-10
Public Art Highlights from first week in September
AJBlog: Aesthetic Grounds Published 2015-09-10
From Fleet Street to Biafra … and to MI6
AJBlog: Straight|Up Published 2015-09-10
So you want to see a show?
AJBlog: About Last Night Published 2015-09-10
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Why Americans Give To What They Give To (A Debate)
“A 2010 survey by Hope Consulting found that only 16% of American donors give according to calculations of impact. For most, giving is guided by seemingly irrational ties to the communities in which they live. They give to organizations that are recommended by friends; that reflect their religious beliefs; that have had an impact on them or their loved ones; or that provide visible evidence of change within their local community. Yet according to the effective altruist philosophy, these reasons for giving are intellectually lazy and morally deficient, hopelessly constricted by a parochial viewpoint.”
San Francisco Chronicle Hires A New Art Critic
During a 40-year career in the arts, Charles Desmarais, 66, has been a curator, museum director, writer and art school president. When he joins The Chronicle in November, he will succeed Kenneth Baker, who retired last spring after 30 years as the Chronicle critic.
What Aeschylus Might Teach Us About The Refugee Crisis
“Leave it to the Greeks to compound the dramatic complications. They looked to their playwrights to teach them how to grapple with complexity instead of reaching for simple solutions that never solve anything. Yet a cautionary word to directors who may be lured by the topicality of Aeschylus’ drama: This is a play that is ultimately more curious about the contradictions in human and divine law than about the legal predicament of the refugees.”
Four Moments That Didn’t Make Stephen Colbert’s ‘Late Show’ Premiere
“Like someone who can’t help but overindulge on too many Oreo cookies, Stephen Colbert had more material than he needed for his first episode as host of CBS’s The Late Show on Tuesday. After a taping that ran about two hours, the show was cut down to about 70 minutes for air. Though some of that extra material has been released as bonus content on the web, here’s some of what you didn’t see on Mr. Colbert’s debut broadcast.”