Today’s Stories
Survey: Consumers Are Against Any Bailout For Movie Theatres, Concert Venues, Etc.
According to the survey of over 1,000 people in the U.S. conducted between Aug. 3–10, 70% of consumers believe COVID-19 has had a severe negative impact on movie theaters, and 69% see a severe impact for live music concerts. In comparison, 65% see a severe impact for fairs and festivals and live theater, 61% for airlines, 57% for sit-down restaurants, 50% for hotels and museums, and 44% for independent and non-profit arts organizations. But when asked whether they would support federal relief money being earmarked for those industries, the results are practically reversed. – Variety
Published: 08.17.20
Networked Neurology: A Radical Reimagining Of How The Brain Communicates
Some researchers have demonstrated that disorders from schizophrenia to stroke appear to be dependent not on individual brain regions, but on the circuitry among those regions. Outside the realm of disease, other scientists have used brain networks to gain a better understanding of how our personalities and other traits differ. As the field continues to progress, scientists armed with network neuroscience may be able to predict who will develop a particular disease, understand the brain processes underlying its symptoms, and design better treatments for it. – Wired
Published: 08.17.20
A Florence Music Festival Reconceives Itself In A Much Bigger Way
The festival has been renamed Re-Generation, and a temporary theatre constructed that, were it at normal capacity, would seat around 1,500, but for the late August event will house only 500. “It’s absolutely enormous. Similar dimensions to the Bolshoi in Moscow,” says Granville. Enormous, too, was the paperwork required. “The permissions stage was about 7,000 pages worth … I’m not exaggerating. Italians love a bit of paperwork. Every single thing has to be submitted and approved.” – The Guardian
Published: 08.17.20
Why “Bad” Movies About Dance Are A Guilty Pleasure
Sure, the acting is off, critics universally pan them and the dancing can be just so-so, but the category endures because there is still something so great about the completely nonsensical yet formulaic comfort of a good bad dance movie. And yes, while some of the films below are eye-roll-inducing and others are genuinely entertaining, let’s face it: None of them ever stood a chance on an Oscars shortlist. – Washington Post
Published: 08.16.20
Global Warming In Historical Perspective
The past six hundred million years have been mostly a span of relentless heat, during which plants and then animals first climbed up and colonized Earth’s great, empty landmasses. Extreme heat was the backdrop for the rise and fall of the dinosaurs, and equally the setting for the subsequent ascendance of mammals. The heat reached its greatest extremes some fifty million years ago, with carbon-dioxide levels nearing 2,000 ppm (versus ~414 ppm today) around the time when our tiny, early primate ancestors were just starting to spread and diversify through the world’s forest canopies. Those early primates arose in the heat, adapted for the heat; but Earth continued to change, and the climatic conditions that gave rise to Homo sapiens would be very different. – 3 Quarks Daily
Published: 08.17.20
What Animals Have To Say
Humans have spent decades trying to teach other animals our languages—sometimes for convenience or amusement, sometimes out of scientific curiosity—but we’ve made little effort to learn theirs. Today, as a virus from another species upends human society, the usefulness of communicating with animals on their own terms is suddenly more imaginable. – New York Review of Books
Published: 08.20.20
The Radical Favors Of Dave Brubeck
Before Miles Davis went electric and Ornette Coleman bloomed, Brubeck was the surest name to start an argument. A cynical section of the jazz audience perceived his experimental nature as a search for a catchy idiom that might eventually bring him the triumph of a hit. And of course, this line of argument claimed a win when “Take Five” propelled the world onto the dance floor in 5/4 time. – Times Literary Supplement
Published: 08.14.20
How You Translate The Madcap Edinburgh Fringe Online
The festival’s cancellation has been a big blow to long-term fans — and to the 30,000 performers who travel to the Scottish city each August to show their work. To fill the gap, some artists have gone online to try to capture the anarchic, diverse and somewhat overwhelming experience of being at the Fringe. – The New York Times
Published: 08.14.20
Survival: Hibernate Or Adapt?
Amid this backdrop, what are the options available to arts venues, upon which so much of the industry relies, when they find traditional spaces not fit for purpose within social distancing guidelines? Will hibernation or adaptation be the best long-term survival strategy? – Toks Dada
Published: 08.11.20
Giant Outdoor Mass Art Productions Aren’t That Risky And Shouldn’t Be Banned
Or so says the director of an arts production company in the UK. “It’s a brave new world out there, and we’re all going to have to adapt. There are no limits to what our artists, technicians, actors, creators, musicians, dancers and designers can imagine to bring back live outdoor experiences for audiences stupefied by the isolation of the omnipresent screen.” – The Guardian (UK)
Published: 08.17.20
Now Is The Textbook’s Time To Shine
Remote learning isn’t all about what articles and resources teachers can cobble together from the internet – especially when a lot of students can only get online occasionally, or in the parking lot or on the steps at the public library. “A good textbook is clear, appealing, and organized in a predictable way. It’s not just paragraphs of text, but it also includes extratextual features such as reference materials, answer keys, sidebars, and key terms to aid students in their comprehension.” Now to update the racist ones … – Slate
Published: 08.17.20
University Of Oregon Library Says It Will Cover ‘Oppressive’ Murals
The murals were, as one versed in the history of white supremacist rhetoric in the U.S. might guess, created in the 1930s. In one, “Development of the Sciences by artist Albert C. Runquist, white researchers are on the top level, while Indigenous people are on the bottom, using basic stone tools.” Another refers to white people “preserving our racial heritage.” – KLCC (Oregon)
Published: 08.16.20
Alan Alda’s Hawkeye Is A Flawed Hero With Something To Teach Us Now
In 2020, some things to remember about M.A.S.H., and especially Hawkeye: “Hawkeye taught us that when your world is disintegrating, it is not only possible but utterly necessary to crack a joke — to create a counterpoint to what would otherwise be overwhelming. In his oscillations between laughter and gut-wrenching anguish, I recognized a shadow version of myself.” – Los Angeles Times
Published: 08.16.20
A Classical Music Host Says Music Is Keeping Her Alive After Emergency Brain Surgery
Clemency Burton-Hill works as the creative director at WQXR, New York’s classical station, and has been a BBC presenter, including a lot of Proms coverage. In early 2020, she had a massive brain hemorrhage and emergency surgery. As she regained consciousness, she heard a familiar piece and, she says, made some internal choices. “Music is the opposite of despair. It was going to be worth the fight.” – BBC
Published: 08.15.20
Through Fiction, Humans Can Become Animals
Yes, obviously, humans are animals, and also obviously, we don’t truly know how to get into the mind of a hyena or a fox or a dog, but still: In these books, readers can “expand their taxonomies of personhood: who and what we are willing to grant subjectivity and why.” – LitHub
Published: 08.14.20
Previous stories continued in column to the right
Previously On AJ
Premium Classifieds
A message to the arts and cultural sector from James Abruzzo: We are here to listen and eager to help
The pandemic has eviscerated the arts and cultural sector. Seasons are canceled, staff put on furlough, executives taking significant pay reductions, new productions and construction projects on … [Read More...]
J.S. Bach: The Six Solo Cello Suites Performed by Wendy Sutter
Sunday, August 23 Perspectives Ensemble presents a two-part event: J.S. Bach: The Six Solo Cello Suites Performed by Wendy Sutter Part I: 3pm EDT (Suites 1-3) and Part II: 6pm EDT (Suites 4-6) … [Read More...]
Golden Thread Productions Hiring New Executive Artistic Director
Golden Thread Productions is seeking a new Executive Artistic Director to follow in the footsteps of Founding Artistic Director Torange Yeghiazarian. Established in 1996, Golden Thread Productions is … [Read More...]
Earn your Certification in Creative Placemaking this Fall
NJIT's (New Jersey Institute of Technology) groundbreaking and highly respected Professional Certificate in Creative Placemaking will be conducted in virtual classroom format in Fall, 2020. This … [Read More...]
Classifieds
Mass Cultural Council – Executive Director
Mass Cultural Council is an independent agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with a mission to promote excellence, inclusion, education, and diversity in the arts, humanities, and sciences; … [Read More...]
The Studio Behind This Year’s Oscar-Winning Animated Short Are Trying To School Hollywood
Lion Forge is a Black-owned animation studio, the only Black-owned animation studio. For founders and staff, that makes its mission different. “It’s representation on the screen. It’s representation on the producing side of things. But then also, and I think what’s always missed, is, there needs to be representation in the executive teams that have the power to be able to push the content through.” – FastCompany
Published: 08.15.20
Reshooting A Zombie Movie During A Pandemic Isn’t Actually That Easy
Comedian Tig Notaro is replacing disgraced actor Chris D’Elia in Army of the Dead, but how exactly does that play out during quarantine? It doesn’t. “The film will mix full reshoots of Notaro acting opposite a partner and solo shoots of her using a green screen and CGI to incorporate her into the existing film. Production will commence as soon as it’s safe to do so.” – Los Angeles Times
Published: 08.16.20
Minecraft Hosts A Massive Music Festival For Everyone Stuck In Quarantine
Well, why not let a video game provide a virtual mosh pit, virtual vendors, and a musical experience that lasts for days? “The super fans eat it up because they’re excited in a time when there’s not a whole lot else to consume.” – CBC
Published: 08.15.20
A Lockdown Q&A With Yo-Yo Ma
How he feels playing to an online audience: “You can’t touch, you can’t hug, you can’t shake hands. But what music does, its sound moves air molecules. So when air floats across your skin and touches the hairs of your skin, that’s touch. That’s the closest thing to someone actually touching you. It’s as if you were miniaturized and you’re in the middle of a lake. But that lake is a bowl, and that vessel is holding you. That’s what music can do.” – Washington Post
Published: 08.14.20
Career Moves In 2020: Storming TikTok, Freaking Out The President, Hosting Late-Night, Getting A Netflix Special
Sarah Cooper is a UX engineer who, during lockdown, decided to take advantage of TikTok and the United States president’s, er, unique response to the pandemic, earning her a huge response and putting her career as a comedian into a unique space. “The world now has more avenues for #content than ever before. Traditional television shows and films have been massively sidelined by Covid-19 lockdowns—and while we all miss shows like Euphoria and the usual summer blockbusters, a lot of other forms of entertainment, like Cooper’s videos on social media, have emerged to fill the void.” – Wired
Published: 08.14.20
The School Of American Ballet Finally Hires A Permanent Faculty Member Who Is Black
When Aesha Ash got hired as a City Ballet dancer, she felt the weight of her people on her back. “I wasn’t just dancing for myself, and I wasn’t just dancing to rise through the ranks and be seen by a director to promote me,. … It was so much bigger than that. I was trying to battle stereotypes and biases on that stage every single night. And I succeeded in some and I failed in others.” Now she’s teaching, but she’s still trying to clear a path for other Black dancers. – The New York Times
Published: 08.13.20
The Robert E. Lee Statue At The U.S. Capitol May Move To A Virginia Museum
Sure, one might wonder why one of the United States’s greatest traitors has a statue in the United States Capitol Building, but that’s a long (racist) story. In any case, it’s time for the statue to leave. “The recommendation to move the Confederate general’s monument to the [Virginia Museum of History and Culture] was made unanimously by the Commission for Historical Statues in the United States Capitol during a meeting on August 7.” – Hyperallergic
Published: 08.14.20
What In The Heck Is AMC Thinking With The 15 Cent Movies?
Basically, AMC is creating a breeding ground for viral spreading (and not the good kind of viral): “Look, no one wants to get back in a movie theater more than I do — well, OK, my 13-year-old may want it a bit more — but I don’t think a marketing stunt that appears to be an attempt to lure people into theaters with financial incentives is the best decision ever made.” – Los Angeles Times
Published: 08.14.20
Luchita Hurtado, Influential Figurative Painter Of Women And Nature, 99
Hurtado spent eight decades “resolutely committed to documenting the interconnectedness of human beings, nature, and terrestrial life,” according to her gallery. In the past two years, she’s finally gotten some recognition for the work she did at night, after her husband and kids went to sleep. – ARTnews
Published: 08.14.20
What Power Lies In A Name
In northern Australia, indigenous people are reclaiming land and landmark names. “These changes are about time, mate, but we always kept the names when we worked on country anyway – they never went away. But this does give us recognition and that makes us proud.” – The Guardian (UK)
Published: 08.16.20