He built a cult following in the 1960s underground with inventively odd satires, then hit the mainstream in 1969 with Putney Swope, in which a Black Power activist takes over a New York ad agency, followed by Greaser's Palace, the life of Christ as a spaghetti Western. - Variety
"What he accomplished was remarkable — not just in terms of his personal achievement, but also what he accomplished for his instrument's profile. … He transformed the duduk from a purely folk instrument … into a force on the concert stage," recordings and film scores. - NPR
"In a career that spanned five decades, Kumar is widely regarded as the finest actor India has ever produced. Starring in some of the all-time classic films of Indian cinema, Kumar's versatility and command of his craft allowed him to excel across genres." - The Hollywood Reporter
In 1884 Vincent van Gogh helped set up a band in the village of Nuenen, where he was living with his family and developing his skills as an artist. - The Art Newspaper
He combined Philip Glass-style minimalism with influences ranging from jazz to Baroque music to Stravinsky to hard rock, not to mention leftist politics. He also taught two generations of notable composers, including Missy Mazzoli, Julia Wolfe, Michael Gordon, and David Lang. - NPR
She started out writing radio serials in 1940s Cuba, switched to TV, fled the Castro regime in 1966 and started over in Miami — going on to write scripts for 40 of the popular Spanish-language prime-time soap operas and becoming the genre's first superstar author. - MSN (Washington Post)
Why did the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturn the 83-year-old star's 2018 sexual assault conviction? Because of the Fifth Amendment and a bait-and-switch. Here's a legal explainer. - The New York Times
In 2011, Cuno was appointed to lead the Getty Trust, which manages four Los Angeles–based organizations: the Getty Museum, the Getty Conservation Institute, the Getty Research Institute, and the Getty Foundation, the organization’s main philanthropic arm. - ARTnews
"Over nearly half a century, more than 100 books for young readers. She delighted younger ones with the adventures, misadventures and high jinks of the Kids of the Polk Street School, one of several popular series she penned. Writing for older readers, Mrs. Giff animated historical events in volumes such as Lily's Crossing." - MSN (Washington Post)
“The subject of pain is the business I am in,” Louise Bourgeois once remarked. Like Emily Dickinson whose business was “circumference,” Bourgeois circled her subject all her life. - The Yale Review
"He departed from the 'confessional' style of self-lacerating poetry and considered himself instead a 'meditative' or observational poet. Writing in a plain, unfussy style that often sounded like prose with the reins loosened, he addressed the ways ordinary experience can be fraught with emotional complexity, sadness and humor." - MSN (Washington Post)
Hassell blended modern technology with ancient instruments and traditions to create what he called "Fourth World" music. "Hassell’s music floated outside the genre boundaries of classical music, electronica, ambient music or jazz. He described Fourth World as 'a unified primitive/futuristic sound combining features of world ethnic styles with advanced electronic techniques' and, elsewhere, as 'coffee-colored classical music of the future.'"...
Da Rocha was one of Brazil's most well-known architects, despite being blacklisted by a brutal military regime for 20 years. "'Concrete acrobatics' is how many architecture writers described his work. He called concrete, his material of choice, 'liquid stone.'" - The New York Times
The world of brick-and-mortar stores would look very different without Altuna, who "designed the prototypes for a certain kind of store, one that infused shoppers with a sense of — there's no other way to put this — bourgeoise well-being." - NPR
