“Have I mentioned that one thing a critic learns, over time, is that there is not a single Right Way to hear music? … And that brings us to the slippery notion of taste. No matter what critics may assert, taste is both individual and fluid. Yes, there are rules and standards separating the tasteful from the crude, and in theory, there are absolutes and boundaries that shouldn’t be crossed. But if you listen long enough, you’ll hear a good many of them crossed after all.”
Ig Nobels 2015: Insect Sting Pain Scale, Unboiling An Egg, And ‘Huh?’
“Professors, researchers, students and actual Nobel laureates from around the world gathered at Harvard University at the 25th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony, the absurdist celebration of science that ‘makes you laugh, then think’.”
The Hirshhorn’s New Director Isn’t Snubbing DC, She’s Trying To Save The Museum
“Few of her critics could possibly know the depths of the crisis at D.C.’s favorite bunker. She arrived at a museum in much worse shape than people on the outside knew. The staff was depleted, a result of natural attrition but also chaos over the last few years.”
Former Granta Editor Launches Starry New Literary Journal
“Two and a half years ago, the critic and editor John Freeman abruptly resigned his post as editor in chief of Granta, the tweedy British literary magazine that he’d spent several years remaking for a 21st-century readership. … Finally, last summer, Freeman announced the more long-term venture everyone was waiting for: Freeman’s, a Granta-like literary magazine-meets-anthology that he would publish regularly in partnership with Grove Atlantic.” The first issue arrives next week.
Italian Gov’t Declares Cultural Sites ‘Essential Services’ After Unions Lock Tourists Out Of Colosseum
“Unionized workers at the Roman amphitheatre held a 2½ meeting in the morning, keeping the gates locked until they had finished their discussions. They said the stoppage was within their rights, but confusion reigned outside the Colosseum.” In response, the Cabinet put cultural sites alongside hospitals and transit on the list of essential services in which work stoppages are restricted.
Charlie Chaplin Was A Real Outlaw (And Not Just Cinematically)
“Chaplin’s art overflowed the bounds of cinema and raised the tides of history; but Chaplin’s life also overflowed the bounds of law and norms and submerged those who stood in the path of his desires.” As the man himself wrote, “I have no morals in the sense that I abide with them in awe. I respect no book of rules for they have been written by someone else.”
Zaha Hadid Pulls Out Of Tokyo Olympic Stadium Project
The British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid has abandoned her attempt to re-enter the race to build the main stadium for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, two months after her initial design was scrapped amid soaring construction costs.
An Aboriginal Painter, Famous Enough At Home, Finds Himself Also Pretty Big In New York
“Some of the stories, which are told in song, can be painted for public consumption, but others are too sacred or powerful to be revealed to outsiders. ‘My land, my country,’ said Mr. Tjapaltjarri, the only English words he uttered during an interview, pointing at a painting with a circle made out of dots.”
The (Surprisingly) Thriving Queer Art Scene In The Midwest
“People in larger cities probably have the opinion of queer people in the Midwest that they are surrounded by narrow-mindedness or having a bigger struggle. That’s true, but there are beautiful things happening in a lot of cities, like St. Louis and Kansas City — even Denver. There is a cultivation of acceptance happening. We have a lot of really positive representation within the queer communities, and it’s just starting to trickle out to the outer areas.”
Denzel Washington To Bring All 10 Of August Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle Plays To HBO
“‘I’ve been given the opportunity by the August Wilson estate, he did 10 plays—I’m directing, producing and acting in one, and I’m executive producing the other nine,’ said Mr. Washington. ‘I made a deal with HBO. We’re going to do one a year for the next nine years.'”
A New Artistic Director For A Formerly Modest Company In The Midst Of Transformation
“Smith is now two days away from the opening of the first show of his first season at the Flea, Thomas Bradshaw’s ‘Fulfillment,’ a comic drama about New York strivers and a supposedly perfect downtown apartment. The season also happens to be one of the last before the Flea — founded in 1996 by Mr. Simpson and others, to raise ‘joyful hell in a small space’ — itself trades up to a new $21 million home. It’s tempting to spot a sly metaphor.”
Women Are Everywhere In Ballet. Except This One Thing…
“Boston’s was one of eight ballet companies started in cities across the U.S. — including Philadelphia, Houston and Washington D.C. — that were launched with a $7.7 million Ford Foundation grant in 1963. Created and nurtured by strong female artistic directors, these companies grew in size and stature, and all are thriving today. But the women leaders are gone; all of these troupes are headed by men.”
Why Are Media Moguls Suddenly Interested In A 50-Year-Old Teen Pop Star Magazine?
“‘Look, you can’t tell kids something is cool. No one’s really been able to reach teen girls,’ Patricof says.’“My kids are addicted to Snapchat, but it’s a tool.'”
Native Artists From The U.S. And Mexico To Create A Border Fence – Made Of Air
“Titled ‘Repellent Fence,’ the piece will run for four days and will consist of 28 balloons — each 10 feet in diameter — flying at a height of 75 feet at staggered points in Douglas, Ariz., and Agua Prieta, Sonora, in Mexico.”
Post Millennial – They’re Already Racing To Define “Generation Z”
“With the oldest members of this cohort barely out of high school, these tweens and teens of today are primed to become the dominant youth influencers of tomorrow. Flush with billions in spending power, they promise untold riches to marketers who can find the master key to their psyche.”
Marin Alsop To Step Down From Cabrillo Festival
“Alsop first came to the Cabrillo Festival in the summer of 1992, following in the job famed composer John Adams who served on an interim basis for one year after the 17-year stint of Dennis Russell Davies. In her time at Cabrillo, the festival has become one of the most high-profile summer new music festivals in the world. She has brought a couple of generations of composers, musicians and conductors into Santa Cruz every summer that would have been her otherwise.”
Can Science Of The Brain Explain How Our Music Works?
“The cerebellum helps to understand rhythm, while the center part of the brain knows the difference between a piano and a flute. There isn’t a simple science to the particular genre you like—pop, opera, classical or jazz. “It’s a combination of cultural background, and then looking at musical attributes, like melody, instrumentation, timbre, and text.”