Ordinarily, the fact that a celebrated pop star would offer her thoughts on the political scene wouldn’t attract all that much attention. What is different in Swift’s case is that, at least until now, she has scrupulously avoided partisan politicking, to the point where she has been denounced for her “political silence.” In an Instagram post, she explained that recent events had led her to become more open about her political beliefs, and I’m sure that’s true. More interesting to me—I confess I’m not an expert on Swift’s inner life—is what her intervention tells us about the larger cultural and political landscape.
Uh-Oh, What Did Patti LuPone Say This Time?
“I am exacting, and I push. If someone has the talent they have the RIGHT to be temperamental. They complained about Bette Midler when she was doing Dolly, but she wouldn’t be exciting if she wasn’t temperamental. It’s only the ones who don’t have the talent and are temperamental who make you say, ‘Just get out of here!'”
Sympathy for the monster: a Frankenstein opera-in-progress debuts at Green-Wood Cemetery
After walking through David Lang’s Mile Long Opera on the High Line last week, I thought Gregg Kallor’s double bill of The Tell-Tale Heart and still-in-progress Frankenstein at the Green-Wood Cemetery catacomb in Brooklyn almost seemed mainstream — well, somewhat.
Banksy’s Hanky-Panky at Sotheby’s, Part II: Can You Create a New Work by Shredding an Old One?
While Banksy’s prank has become the talk of the art world, there’s no consensus about what to make of it. People’s interpretations of the deeper significance (or lack thereof) of Banksy’s provocation are colored by how they regard the perpetrator, the art market in general and the auction market in particular.
Classical music reborn
What would classical music be like, after it’s reborn as a contemporary art? When it involves people far more diverse than what we see now? Here’s part one of an answer.
Composer Unsuk Chin Wins $200K Kravis Prize And New York Philharmonic Commission
The Berlin-based Korean composer, who has already had three major works performed by the Philharmonic, receives the biennial award just a week after the orchestra premiered the previous prizewinner’s commission — Louis Andriessen’s Agamemnon.
Why The Backlash Against The Ads On The Sydney Opera House Was So Strong
Waleed Aly: “This week happened because a deep anxiety about the health of our society was triggered. A vein was opened, but it was the build-up of ages that came gushing forth. The notion of public space is at the very heart of this.”