It’s Increasingly Difficult To Make A Living As A Writer. Why?
There was a time when writers – of books, of magazine articles – could make a decent middle class living. That’s increasingly rare. And yet, if anything, we’re reading more. So what has happened? – The New York Times
Published on 01.05.19
Edo De Waart Named San Diego Symphony’s First-Ever Principal Guest Conductor
The Dutch conductor, who is currently music director of the New Zealand Symphony and has held the same post with the symphony orchestras of Antwerp, San Francisco, Milwaukee, and Netherlands Radio, will conduct three to four weekly programs each season, beginning in 2019-2020. — Times of San Diego
Published on 01.10.19
That 17th-Century Viol That Alitalia Smashed Up Last Year Is Restored And Back In Action
The destruction wrought on Myrna Herzog’s 1661 Edward Lewis bass viola da gamba by the Italian airline during Herzog’s trip from Rio de Janeiro to Tel Aviv last January made headlines internationally. Fortunately, Alitalia readily agreed to pay for restoration, and after a year’s worth of work by luthier Shlomo Moyal, the instrument is repaired and ready for performance. — Classic FM (UK)
Published on 01.03.19
Arms Manufacturer Shamed Out Of Sponsoring Museum Shows Changes Its Name To Leonardo
Jeez, talk about artwashing. A string of PR disasters, including demonstrations against Britain’s National Gallery of Art for accepting sponsorships, led the Italian defense company Finmeccanica to rename itself after the Renaissance genius (who did, after all, design weapons and war machines). But the tactic hasn’t entirely worked: just last summer, the Design Museum in London came under fire (ahem) for hosting a reception for the company, despite the new name. — Artnet
Published on 01.11.19
Alastair Macaulay Takes Issue With Dance Magazine Over 180-Degree Leg Lifts Story
The newly-retired dance critic of The New York Times wrote an actual letter to the editor saying that, while he quite liked Emma Sandall’s article this week about the history of high leg lifts in ballet, there were a few historical assertions in it that he takes issue with. — Dance Magazine
Published on 01.10.19
Incoming Director Of DC’s National Gallery Is Bringing Quite A Lot To The Job
Kaywin Feldman is coming to Washington from the Minneapolis Institute of Art, where attendance more than doubled during her ten-year directorship. As Peggy McGlone reports, Feldman did that with an engaging and persuasive personality, a belief in data-driven marketing, and a commitment to serving multiple communities. — The Washington Post
Published on 01.10.19
Upright Citizens Brigade To Close One Of Its Theaters
“[UCB], facing substantial financial pressures, announced on Wednesday that it would be closing its East Village location in Manhattan, a month after laying off several staff members. That will leave the comedy theater with three venues: Its struggling flagship in Hell’s Kitchen, which opened last year, and two locations in Los Angeles.” — The New York Times
Published on 01.10.19
Sergei Polunin Gets Himself In Trouble Again, This Time With Homophobic Instagram Post
“Though Polunin has long had a reputation for behaving inappropriately, in the last month his posts have been somewhat unhinged. … A troubling tirade about gender and sexuality remains on his feed, … though it’s hard to discern his point through his manic language.” In reaction, some Paris Opera Ballet dancers are objecting to his upcoming guest appearance in the company’s Swan Lake. — Dance Magazine
Published on 01.10.19
‘The Most Trusted Woman On TV’, Reporter Sylvia Chase, Dead At 80
“[Her] professionalism and perseverance in the 1970s helped a generation of women infiltrate the boys club of television news … She broke ground on topics like sex abuse in the workplace and in prison. She also reported on a diet pill that was linked to lung disease; … racism in law enforcement; and publicly funded programs that provided horrific care for disabled children.” — The New York Times
Published on 01.07.19
Royal Shakespeare Co., Punchdrunk, Philharmonia Orchestra At Work On New Immersive Virtual Reality Project
“The RSC-led performance project is a collaboration of 15 organisations, including Epic Games, the creator of online video game Fortnite. Other collaborators include theatre company Punchdrunk, the Philharmonia Orchestra and Manchester International Festival. … Public body Innovate UK is awarding the funding as part of its Audiences of the Future programme.” — The Stage
Published on 01.10.19
That Caravaggio That Turned Up In An Attic? French Gov’t Decides It’s Not Authentic And Can Be Sold
“The painting, found in April 2014 in the attic of a house near Toulouse, southern France, was thought to be another version of the famed [Judith Beheading Holofernes] by the maverick 16th-century Italian artist.” The French ministry of culture promptly put an export ban on it and reserved the right to buy it for a national museum — an option the government has now allowed to expire amid continuing questions about the Caravaggio attribution. — The Art Newspaper
Published on 01.10.19
Fighting Hindu Nationalism With Urdu Poetry
As prime minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party continues to encourage an exclusionary Hindu version of Indian nationalism, more liberal-minded Indians (by no means only Muslims) are reading, writing, reciting, and listening — in venues from tea shops to stadiums — to poetry in Urdu, the (to oversimplify) Islamized version of Hindi that has a revered, centuries-old tradition of verse across the subcontinent. — The Guardian
Published on 01.11.19
Once-Feted Dancing Girls Of Lahore Fall On Hard Times As Pakistan Becomes Ever More Conservative
“The dancing style is known as ‘nautch,’ and is a sophisticated art form that arose out of the Muslim Mughal empire and peaked in the mid-19th century.” After partition, many of India’s nautch dancers settled in Lahore, where the form had a new heyday. Now the Pakistani authorities have cracked down, closing venues and schools, and most of the best dancers have gone abroad. — The New York Times
Published on 01.05.19
So Now Detroit’s Cool Again, Who Gets To Call Themselves A Detroit Artist?
“I mean if you are a Cranbrook student or AIR, you are not a Detroit artist. If your studio practice is based in Pontiac, you are not a Detroit artist. If you just moved to Detroit, you are not a Detroit artist. Why is this false narrative being pumped? We all have a place of origin why aren’t you repping that? I got one real question though, Where were you when we were shooting in the gym?” – Hyperallergic
Published on 01.09.19
Artists Protest Dublin’s Abbey Theatre: “We’re Being Paid What We Earned 20 Years Ago”
“Actors feel they’re being shoved to the bottom of the food chain again. The Abbey’s success is at our expense. They have managed with this model to reduce our already poor remuneration to pre-millennium levels.” – Irish Times
Published on 01.09.19
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- That 17th-Century Viol That Alitalia Smashed Up Last Year Is Restored And Back In Action
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American Cultural Mythology: Authenticity Above All Else (Hollywood-Style Of Course)
Bohemian Rhapsody, picked apart by cultural commentators for its divergences from the real story of Queen’s rise, is great for its realness? A band that campily reimagined rock and roll as opera, that played with baby talk and disco beats, whose lead singer paraded about in royal finery, is the ensurer of authenticity? – The Atlantic
Published on 01.08.19
Billion-Dollar Foundation Dedicates Itself To Racial Equity. Founder’s Heirs Protest
Some of the 340 heirs of John Andrus, whose estate created Minnesota’s Surdna Foundation, back in the 1930s, are protesting the foundation’s funding of progressive causes and its decision to devote itself to racial equity. What would Andrus have wanted? – Chronicle of Philanthropy
NY’s Prototype Festival Shows How Hard It Is To Reinvent Opera
Anne Midgette: “Most of them could be called opera, but most of them have little to do with what you might see in an opera house. Opera houses are looking for ways to connect with new audiences; the Prototype festival shows just how far they need to change the template to really try to do it.” – Washington Post
Opera Roles Are Classified By Voice Types. Also Gender Types. Is This A Problem?
“Imagine a soprano who has just changed her voice type from mezzo-soprano to soprano. She’s immediately at a disadvantage if she lists every role that she’s performed on her resume, because it will immediately cause the review panel to question the legitimacy of her soprano-ness. The next inevitable step is that they’ll question her ability to sing the role for which she’s currently auditioning. This isn’t a gender issue any longer, but rather an issue of the current classification system’s inability to handle change.” – NewMusicBox
Why Did All The Bells On Philly’s Avenue Of The Arts Stop Ringing?
In 1996, when a multimillion-dollar renovation of South Broad Street was completed, sound artist Robert Coburn attached 39 small bronze bells to lampposts along the newly-christened “Avenue of the Arts.” For a year or so, they played melodies fed from an electronic terminal, but they’ve been silent for two decades now. A reporter found out why. — The Philadelphia Inquirer
Published on 01.09.19
A New Phase In Art And Dance Made By Artists With Disabilities
This new wave “is a consideration of the aesthetic possibilities of disability. It’s not about adaptation or accommodation. It’s about how unique bodies, minds, senses and phenomenological experiences of disability and impairment—along with the political aspects and intersectional identities—can create new work.” – Vice
Why Did This 11th-Century Woman Have Lapis Lazuli In Her Dental Plaque?
The likely answer not only opens up a new avenue for archaeology, it indicates that a highly-skilled medieval art associated with men (chiefly monks) had female practitioners as well. — The Atlantic
Published on 01.09.19
How Sound Can Tip Us To Things Like Climate Change
Scientist Garth Paine: “I have spent decades making field recordings in which I create a setup before dawn or dusk, then lie on the ground listening for several uninterrupted hours. These projects have taught me how the density of the air changes as the sun rises or sets, how animal behavior shifts as a result, and how all of these things are intricately linked.”
Published on 01.08.19
How Did A Quiet Belgian Director Become ‘The Most Important Auteur On The International Stage Circuit’? Three New York Times Critics Debate Ivo Van Hove
“In this edited conversation, Ben Brantley, co-chief theater critic for The Times, and the critics Elisabeth Vincentelli and Jason Zinoman aim to make sense of Mr. van Hove’s ascent, from Off Broadway to a Tony Award, David Bowie to All About Eve.” — The New York Times
Published on 01.09.19
Study: Older People Share More Fake News
Older users skewed the findings: 11 percent of users older than 65 shared a hoax, while just 3 percent of users 18 to 29 did. Facebook users ages 65 and older shared more than twice as many fake news articles than the next-oldest age group of 45 to 65, and nearly seven times as many fake news articles as the youngest age group (18 to 29). – The Verge
Published on 01.09.19