[contextly_auto_sidebar id="UzOdqTdRr0f4bA3skq8em9vtTLiLXNnZ"] WHAT seems to have been a throwaway line on the impracticality of the "art history major" by President Obama is stirring up art-world folk. I first read about it in this Hyperallergic post, "Obama Loves Art History But Thinks It's (Economically) Useless," which describes him praising skilled manufacturing jobs over, you know, artsy … [Read more...]
Arts Journalism Summit 2013
RECENTLY I went to the Annenberg Beach House -- the same spot on which William Randolph Hearst once built a 110-room love nest for his affairs with Marion Davies -- to try to figure out the future of cultural journalism. This summit on the crisis of the arts press was put together by the Getty and USC folks.On that cloudy day in Santa Monica, the Getty's arts fellows -- a very sharp bunch -- from … [Read more...]
Robinson Jeffers at USC
READERS of this blog know that we've got a special place in our collective hearts for Robinson Jeffers, the great California poet of the '30s and '40s who settles in the rugged, unpopulated coastline north of Big Sur. (He was voted Best California Poet right here on The Misread City.)On Thursday, a festival devoted to Jeffers' life and work will take place at USC, one of his two alma maters (he … [Read more...]
Twyla Tharp and Sinatra
Legendary choreographer Twyla Tharp is back in the news for her upcoming show on the songs of Frank Sinatra. This strikes me as at least one step up from, say, Billy Joel, whose work she adapted in 2002. (We here at The Misread City really dig Capitol-era Sinatra, despite his audacity at not growing up on the West Coast.)A few years back I spent some time with Tharp as she led a group of USC arts … [Read more...]