Yearly Archives: 2021
Why Did The Old Vic Cancel “Into The Woods” So Suddenly Last Week? A...
The high-profile revival of the Sondheim musical was to be directed by Terry Gilliam (yes, from Monty Python), who has made some, er, controversial...
Why Hong Kong’s M+ Museum Is Important, Despite All The Censorship Controversy
"With 700,000 square feet of space, it is expected to be a major entry into the region's art scene. … Below, a look at...
Before Time Began And We Were Free
The whole symbolic apparatus of cultural evolution aimed to make freedom—which they define as the freedom to move, the freedom to disobey orders, and...
The Essential Philosophical Question: Have Philosophers Lost Their Way?
Today, few philosophers believe philosophy is a way of life, let alone the fullest and most complete way of life. Or if they do...
What Architects Want Out Of The Climate Change Conference
Leading architecture and design figures attending the summit expressed concerns that the built environment is not being talked about enough, as well as calling...
A Hard Truth? Democracies Aren’t Up To Big Challenges Like Climate Change
The common theme in all these accounts is that the public are not to be trusted – they do not understand, or care; they...
What To Make Of The Montreal Symphony’s New Music Director?
As a successor to Dutoit and Nagano, Payare seems a bit slight. He’s a largely unknown quantity in the music world. The orchestras he’s...
Study: More Diversity on Screen Boosts Viewership
The study found that ratings and social media engagement for most groups, including white audiences, peaked for shows that featured casts that were at...
The Artistic Influences That Made Paul McCartney
The context in which McCartney was exposed to both King Lear and Edward Lear is vital to an understanding of his achievement. - The Guardian
A Book That Promises To Challenge Everything We Think We Know About Human History
“There’s a whole new picture of the human past and human possibility that seems to be coming into view. And it really doesn’t resemble...
Art (And Artists) Are Fleeing The Taliban
There has been a concerted campaign to remove artworks from all aspects of life, in an attempt to make society more Islamic, the Taliban have...
Why The Aspen Ideas Festival Is A Bad One (Idea, That Is)
If we’re to have ideas, let’s have fewer ideas, better ideas, and ideas more likely to annoy the sort of people who bankroll Ideas...
Who Said Tech Had To Look So Bland?
"I’m tired of tech that caters to the heterosexual, cisgender, male, white, wealthy masses. I’m tired of AirSpace, of minimalism, of bland beige tones. ......
The Artist Who Brought Day Of The Dead Into Focus For The United States
No, today isn't "Mexican Halloween." Just ask artist Ofelia Esparza. "At its core, the tradition is a pitched battle. Forgetting, Esparza said, is what...
The Secrets In Van Gogh’s Olive Trees
It helps to see his paintings near each other, but it's not just viewing that's useful; the knowledge comes from a "years-long, collaborative conservation...
Dance Is Under Serious Threat In British Schools
The pandemic hurt a lot, but "nearly two-thirds of dance educators said teaching had become more difficult in recent years, while half of teachers...
Tracey Emin Says She’s Been Mischaracterized, And Her Art Overlooked
The artist, who shot to fame with the work Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963-1995, says she's been characterized as a narcissist, and...
The Word Of The Year 2021 Is Vax
So says Oxford Languages, publisher of The Oxford English Dictionary. "'All these other vaccine words increased, but nothing like vax,' said Fiona McPherson, a...
Horror Helps Us Deal With The All Too Real Experience Of Loved Ones’ Deaths
Not to mention our own. "In horror, there is no ultimate triumph at the end. Even if the characters survive or defeat the monster,...
What Happens When Everyone Is Literally Writing The Same Book?
As one might suspect, one author says that "when we learned of one another’s existence, it felt a little awkward." - The New York...
The Power – And Virtue – Of Hateful Characters
Oh, it's a joy to hate the Roys on Succession. How refreshing! "Likeability is an odd requirement, as well as a sterile and stifling...
As Lockdown Ends In Australia, Artists Are In Desperate Straits
A Melbourne gallery director says that along with years of massively shrinking arts funding, "the pandemic lockdowns left the industry on its knees. ......
The People Who Want To Ban Toni Morrison’s Beloved Have One Thing Right
One expert on challenged books: "Beloved is an extremely violent book, it’s absolutely true. But that is the point of the book. This mother ?...
There’s An Explanation For Why Some People Loathe Specific Celebrities
Honestly, you might think, who cares about James Corden or Nicki Minaj? Some people really care, and frankly, it's a little scary. "Fan culture,...
It Wasn’t Just Gertrude Stein And Alice Toklas, And A Prizewinning Book Knows That
No Modernism Without Lesbians is the title of Diana Souhami's most recent book - and the "hugely enjoyable" history of queer women like Stein,...