“In recent years, not just in novels but in movies, television, poetry, video games and the visual arts, drones have taken on a life of their own. As a character, they are menacing, melancholy or gallant; beastly, blind, snub-nosed, noisy and fast … They show off the military talent of their users, or they are an expression of unbridled hubris. They represent protection or extermination – and they carry out both things at once.”
Why Is Reason Frightening?
The ideal of “clear and intelligent thought,” stripped of its condescension and its indifference to the non-rational dimensions of human life, deserves to be defended. We need not be a nation of intellectuals, but we must not be a nation of idiots.
Are Readers Really Open To Changing Their Taste?
“A new kind of book might offer pleasures we haven’t yet learned to enjoy and deny us pleasures we were expecting. Rather than fitting in with something we are long familiar with, it is asking us to change. And how many people are genuinely open to changing their taste?”
Could We Ever Really Program Computers To Write Fiction? (Maybe)
There are challenges, of course – getting machines to understand a plot arc, let alone metaphor or irony. But scientists are working on three programs – Scheherazade, the What-If Machine, and Metaphor Magnet – to tackle these problems. Tom Meltzer talks to the creators, while Nicholas Lezard reviews the stories.
Gabriel Prokofiev Is Bringing His Alt-Classical-In-Clubs Franchise To New York
“Nonclassical, the London-based indie-classical new-music label and club series run by the composer and producer” (and yes, grandson of the composer), “will present the first New York installment of the Classical Club-Nights series it presents monthly in London.”
John Leguizamo Tortures His Kids With Black-And-White Movies
“I bring plenty of adversity into their lives. … I mean, I’m a fun dad, but I’m a tough dad. They have to play a musical instrument while they’re under my roof, they gotta read all the time … I make them watch black-and-white movies, and foreign movies, so they have to read subtitles. … They’re like ‘Why?! Nobody else watches black-and-white movies.’ And silent films! I make ’em watch silent films. They’re being tortured.”
El Sistema Is A “Model Of Absolute Tyranny”, Says UK Academic
Geoffrey Baker: “I went to Venezuela in search of the program’s secret. But to my surprise, Venezuelan musicians and cultural observers told me privately about a different Sistema … Seen overseas as a beacon of social justice, at home the program was characterised variously as a cult and a corporation.”
No, El Sistema Isn’t A Tyranny, It’s A Flawed But Important Project
“I have to wonder if [Baker] spoke to any of the parents of the kids from the barrios, the slums, who are desperate to get their kids into El Sistema because for them the alternative is these kids getting involved in drugs or crime,” responded one Venezuelan.
At Harvard, Three Museums Become One
“The Renzo Piano-designed scheme on the edge of the Harvard campus doubles the museums’ combined square footage, increasing gallery space by 40%. But the changes at Harvard extend well beyond bricks and mortar and creating extra space to show more of its 250,000-strong art collection.”
The Golden Age Of Telegraph Literature
During the 1870s and 1880s in the U.S., there developed a huge body of stories, plays, and poetry written about – and often by – telegraph operators. “There’s something incredibly modern about these amateur stories and the way they handle technology, the influence of corporations, gender, and love in the time of hyperconnection.”
English National Opera Cancels First Project Outside London In 15 Years
Facing a 29% cut in funding from Arts Council England, ENO has pulled out of a co-production of Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo scheduled for next April at the Bristol Old Vic, which is now looking for a new collaborator for the project.
Alien Abduction Experiences – Could They Simply Be Post-Surgical Hallucinations?
“Alien abduction has been considered a fantasy, a hoax, and even to some, a fact; but it is now clear that it may also represent a recovered memory.” The key: “accidental awareness under general anesthesia” (waking up during surgery).
How Mobile Technology Could Transform Art
“We’re already so accustomed to mobile technology that experiencing art through it feels as natural as any other interface. It can be hard to see just how categorically it changes (and could yet change) art. Think wearable tech: Google Glass, for instance, or Oculus Rift, both of which extend the possibilities even further to virtual or augmented realities and audiences existing within artworks, not simply looking on.”
Thief Steals Conductor’s Scores With 30 Years Of Notes
Someone evidently took two scores and the baton case of Bramwell Tovey shortly after he conducted a Vancouver Symphony performance of Britten’s War Requiem on Saturday.
For The Centennial Of The Great War, A Reimagined Imperial War Museum
“Nothing symbolizes the mayhem of the 1914-18 war more than those crude lines of defense, so it is fitting that one of the most dramatic features of London’s newly redesigned [IWM] is a re-creation of a trench. More than 52 feet of dark, claustrophobic passageway, 8 feet high, filled with the infernal racket of whizzing shells, the rat-a-tat of machine guns, the roar of planes.”
London’s Imperial War Museum, Newly Redesigned, May Have To Close Its Library
“Coming just months after the museum’s reopening following a vast refurbishment,” a £4 million cut in annual funding “will result in the loss of up to eighty jobs” and a loss of access, for both academics and the public, to a major collection of documents and photos from World War I and all of Britain’s subsequent wars.
Using Culture To Combat Ebola
In Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, where many local communities deeply mistrust central governments, pop songs and radio soap operas are proving to be useful tools for convincing skeptical villagers to take safety precautions.
Top Posts From AJBlogs 11.11.14
Strategic Timing: Christie’s Gallery Announcement
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts Published 2014-11-11
After the Mellon, a Lemon? Sotheby’s Bidders Salute the “Flag” in Slow-but-Steady Veteran’s Day Sale
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2014-11-11
Christie’s and Sotheby’s Tout Fresh-to-Market Contemporary Wares (video)
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2014-11-11
BROTHAS… George Clinton book review
AJBlog: blog riley Published 2014-11-11
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What Goes On In The Minds Of Ballet Dancers?
Two principals and the artistic director of the Cairo Opera Ballet talk about the way factors such as the reactions of the audience, self-critique, and stage lighting affect their thinking process while onstage.
CNN International Pulls Out Of Russia
“CNN said its English-language news channel would not be available after the end of the year ‘in light of recent changes in Russian media legislation’. Russia has banned advertising on cable and satellite channels, while also preventing foreign companies from owning more than 20 per cent of media outlets from 2016.”
The Mess At The Rome Opera
The house has been teetering on the edge of bankruptcy for years and had been threatened with closure more than once. Riccardo Muti, who had raised musical standards and electrified audiences at the company, walked away in September. Then management abruptly let go the entire orchestra and chorus. What’s behind all these problems?
Richard Florida Looks At The Rural Creative Class
“The upshot: Just as with the nation as a whole, rural geography is becoming more concentrated and spiky. The rural economy has the same fundamental drivers as the metro economy: access to knowledge institutions and the clustering and concentration of talent and skill. No longer can rural areas expect to prosper based just on natural amenities like ski mountains and national parks.”
What Is – And Isn’t – Clickbait?
“The Oxford English Dictionary defines clickbait thusly: ‘(On the Internet) content whose main purpose is to attract attention and encourage visitors to click on a link to a particular web page.’ More colloquially, Josh Benton of Harvard’s Neiman Journalism Lab defined clickbait on Twitter (on the Internet) as ‘noun: things I don’t like on the Internet’.”
Annals Of Public Art: Whose Idea Was This Memorial To Nelson Mandela?
Cape Town artist Michael Elion, commissioned to create a sculpture to honor Mandela for the city’s waterfront, came up with a giant pair of Ray-Bans. (At least they’re facing toward Robben Island, where he spent 18 years in prison.)