ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

Stories

The Collapse Of NeoLiberalism

The challenge for the neoliberals was—how do you design institutions that safeguard the rights of property over borders, in an era when everyone is talking about national sovereignty, self-determination, and democracy in ways that might invalidate or cross out universal property rights? - Strelka

Greg Tate, Cultural Critic And Pioneering Writer On Hop-Hop, Dead At 64

He made his mark as a staff writer for The Village Voice, covering everything from rap to Black hardcore, African-American identity to Michael Jackson. (He got death threats for a piece about Jackson titled "I'm White!") His essay collection Flyboy in the Buttermilk is considered a landmark. - NPR

Have We Forgotten The Art Of Listening?

Being able to engage in the practice of mindful, aesthetic and critical listening is as important to democracy as literacy. Yet, in comparison to the time and money put into early childhood reading development or STEM, these three modalities of democratic listening receive scant attention. 3 Quarks Daily

Sondheim’s “Assassins” And American Gun Culture

"In Assassins, the gun serves not as a tool of self-defense … but as an instrument of self-expression and self-realization. The assassins, who saw themselves as the 'good guys with guns,' are, in a perverse way, the epitome of American individualism." - The Conversation

The Sondheim Musical The Tributes Haven’t Been Mentioning

Assassins — "It wasn't exactly a flop, but it's not exactly celebrated, either. … The songs are just as catchy, melodic, and surprising as most Sondheim, … but is there ever a good time to mount a musical in America about assassins?" - Salon

Can Anna Wintour, The Very Avatar Of Old-Style Condé Nast, Remake Its Titles For The 21st Century?

This year she's been focused on turning seven of Condé Nast's biggest publications into global brands, each under one leader. She is also ensuring that there are unlikely to be any more Anna Wintours — imperial editors-in-chief each with their own fiefs. - The New York Times

Justin Peck May Have Been The Perfect Person To Choreograph The Remake Of “West Side Story”

He grew up watching Jerome Robbins's original choreography in the film, and he's danced it himself in the West Side Story Suite Robbins created for New York City Ballet. So both Peck himself and the Robbins estate knew he could retain the original's spirit. - The Seattle Times

Playing A Real Person In A Biopic Is Harder Than Ever

There are four major actresses in contention for an Oscar this year for biopics. While the Academy likes to reward such work, the denizens of social media often don't — especially when the character lived during the TV era and comparison clips can be posted. - The Hollywood Reporter

Finally, African Medical Students Are Getting Textbook Drawings That Depict The Black Bodies They’ll Be Treating

"On November 24, Ibe posted a drawing of a Black fetus in utero on social media, calling for more diversity in medical illustration. The drawing struck a chord with viewers, many of whom had never realized they had never seen a Black figure in medical diagrams." - Artnet

Marjorie Tallchief, Last Of The “Five Moon” Native American Ballerinas, Dead At 95

The younger sister of Maria Tallchief, Marjorie studied under Ernest Belcher and Bronislava Nijinska and was the first American to become an étoile at the Paris Opera Ballet. - The Oklahoman

Perplexed Publishers: Social Media Followings Don’t Translate To Book Sales

Followings can affect who gets a book deal and how big an advance that author is paid, especially when it comes to nonfiction. But despite their importance, they are increasingly seen as unpredictable gauges of how well a book is actually going to sell. - The New York Times

UK Broadcasters Pledge To Go BAME-less

The catch-all description for black, Asian and minority ethnic people will be ditched in favour of the use of more specific terms to describe ethnicity. - BBC

An Irish Plan To Break The Record For Most Nationalities In A Choir

At time of writing, 77 countries have registered. A total of 109 are needed to break the record. But “where better”, asks Brophy, “to break it but Expo?” - Irish Times

New TV Network Seeks To Narrow Definition Of America

Americana. American traditions. Safe storytelling. It’s the coded language the network uses about its content, as much as the content itself, that reveals its underlying message, one echoed across conservative media and politics: The “real” America is suburban or rural, predominantly white, heterosexual and Christian. - Los Angeles Times

Science: Why Doing Nothing Is Essential To Creativity

The default mode network is also known as the imagination network. This is the brain’s resting-state circuitry—the regions that come online when you’re not paying attention to anything in particular. This is what activates during downtime. - Fast Company

Our Free Newsletter

Join our 30,000 subscribers

Latest

Don't Miss

function my_excerpt_length($length){ return 200; } add_filter('excerpt_length', 'my_excerpt_length');