While the term “think tank” is modern, it can be traced to the humanist academies and scholarly networks of the 16th and 17th centuries. The Oxford English Dictionary defines think tank as a “body of experts, as a research organization, providing advice and ideas on specific national or commercial problems.”
‘The Father Of Science Fiction’? Who *Was* Hugo Of The Hugo Awards?
“The annual awards for best science fiction are called ‘Hugos.’ A futuristic story by William Gibson in 1981 was called ‘The Gernsback Continuum.’ But except for a few markers like these, Hugo Gernsback (1884-1967) has mostly vanished from our cultural memory, which is a pity, because he was an extraordinary man, and his influence on our modern age – electrical, science-permeated, and full of wonders – was outsized.”
Composer Michael Hersch Wins $250,000 Award From Johns Hopkins
The head of the composition department at the Peabody Institute, Johns Hopkins University’s conservatory, Hersch was named the winner of the 2017 President’s Frontier Award, which goes to a JHU faculty member “poised to break new ground and be a leader in [his/her] field.”
Inside The Stained Glass Workshop At Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque
A longread with photos about the conservators and craftsmen preserving traditional gypsum glass work at the Muslim holy site
Why Philosophy Has Fallen Out Of The Public Sphere
“Academic life has become more professionalised. They write for each other, not for the general reader. Academic political philosophy today, for example, has zero influence on the practice of politics.” In the 1980s it was said that Margaret Thatcher was interested in Popper, Friedrich Hayek and Michael Oakeshott. “I doubt now,” says Gray, “whether any politician could name a leading academic philosopher. No one would know who they were.”
The Singer Who Topped Charts By Embracing His Stutter
“Before his massive international hit ‘Scatman (Ski Ba Bop Ba Dop Bop),’ before selling millions of records globally in a style of music that hadn’t been popular in generations, and before he entered the National Stuttering Association’s hall of fame, Scatman John was just a kid in suburbia, … developing a stutter early in life that made communicating with others very difficult – and got him bullied.”
Gay-Themed Novel Wins Sebastian Barry His Second Costa Award
The Irish author is the first novelist to win the £30,000 prize for best book of the year in Britain twice. The winning book, Days Without End, is the story of two soldiers who fall in love during the American Civil War.
Clamp Down On Copyright? This Is Dangerous Complicated Stuff
“First, in the era of popular services like Netflix and Spotify, it ignores that music industry revenues in 2015 saw “the biggest increases in the past two decades,” while the film industry has reported record-breaking earnings—all while piracy is at an all-time low. Second, it ignores the significant promotional benefits creators receive from hosting their work on free, ad-based platforms, and the ample evidence that more restrictive copyright law does not mean less piracy. And third, claiming stronger rules will “reward creativity” is highly dubious in a world where copyright is used to silence critics, prevent sports fans from filming a match, take downa video of a child dancing to Prince, or otherwise censor speech online.”
The Myth Of A “Liberal Hollywood Elite”
“There are risks in speaking out. I don’t believe there’s such a thing as a unified liberal elite – if there were, people like Casey Affleck and Mel Gibson wouldn’t receive award nominations. (Or it means that the liberal elite is open-minded and forgiving, but that’s for another column.) But this year’s speeches have been overwhelmingly liberal. That may turn off some viewers, or make people with other opinions feel silenced. It may affect Hollywood’s bottom line: Based on box-office figures from the week before and the week of the Oscar nominations, none of the contenders I checked – Hidden Figures, La La Land, Moonlight, Fences, Lion and Jackie – showed an Oscar bump, an immediate post-nomination surge.”
In These Days The Arts Need Advocacy. This Is A Problem In Most US States
A large number of states (roughly a third) either have “no real functioning arts advocacy organization, or the existing organization was barely operational. That finding is particularly distressing as the sector now gears up for actions that may come – both on the Federal and on the State levels – that will impact the sector.”
A Seattle Orchestra Tackles Art About Homelessness
Local arts groups dealing with homelessness as a subject or a source of activism meet the dilemmas that always attend the task of simultaneously doing social good and putting butts in seats. But they also face a paradox particular to Seattle. Our progressive zeal leads us to demand of any major institution: “What are the arts doing to address homelessness?” Our contrarian skepticism then leads to the follow-up question: “What can the arts do about homelessness?” Bore people to death with a Berlioz concerto? Photograph their prostration? Exploit them for grant money in a woke af marketing campaign? People who don’t have housing need housing, not music appreciation classes. But complex problems require creative action.
Improving Cities Through Culture – The Evidence
“It’s about democratising the arts, taking culture away from the idea that it’s about elitism, and showing that there’s something for everyone. It’s also about encouraging, for places like Liverpool and Hull, a local sense of pride. For the first time in many years in 2008 Liverpool started to get positive media coverage, and that has a huge effect on people living here. There’s a renewed confidence in the city that we still feel today.”
Bay Area Theatre Legend Announces Retirement
Tony Taccone, 65, served as the Berkeley Rep’s associate artistic director for 11 years before taking the reins in 1997. Along the way he has catapulted the East Bay institution to the top ranks of regional theaters. Over the years, the troupe has sent 25 shows onward to London and New York. He has also directed dozens of plays, including Sarah Jones’ solo show “Bridge & Tunnel,” which won a Tony Award in 2006.
Leonard Slatkin Alienates Audience Member Over Mozart “Alternative Facts”
“I love going to the symphony to escape from the everyday craziness and spend the evening enjoying my life-long love of music in the company or others who have the same passion. Last night, conductor Slatkin, whom I have always had the utmost respect for, ruined the evening for me and may have dissuaded me from attending any further concerts. If you were unaware, he began the concert with a monologue (“joke?”) insulting our president by referring to his “alternate facts.” I am sure he thought he was a hit based on the applause and the laughter. However, he could not hear the half of the theater that was not laughing or applauding. He single-handedly insulted and offended half of the audience which paid good money to enjoy the concert.”
San Francisco Asian Art Museum Facebook Link Taken Down For Being Too Racy
Their effort to use that link in a Facebook ad — which would make it possible for people who don’t follow the museum to see it — was thwarted by Facebook robots that determined that the story, headlined “Bronze Dildos and Jade Butt Plugs Show Life and Death in Ancient China,” was unfit for the platform. Facebook ads, read a notice the museum received, “can’t promote sexual or adult products or services.”
Puppets Are Now Infiltrating Themselves Into All The Performing Arts
Hand puppets, rod puppets, shadow puppets – with visits to a festival in Chicago, an Off-Broadway play, and a gallery show, Laura Collins-Hughes gives us an update on the state of the art.
PBS NewsHour Pays Visit To Dallas Opera’s Institute For Women Conductors
“According to industry data, of the nine largest American opera companies by budget, none has a female music director and principal conductor. And Marin Alsop in Baltimore, who served on the faculty at the Dallas workshop, remains the sole woman music director at the nation’s 24 largest orchestras. In Dallas, [general director Keith] Cerny hired Nicole Paiement as principal guest conductor, and she played a large role at the institute, encouraging.” (video)
I Threw $100M Worth Of Stolen Paintings In The Trash, Says Co-Defendant In Trial
A thief nicknamed “Spider-Man” because of his ability to scale walls is on trial for taking a Picasso, a Matisse, a Modigliani, a Braque and a Léger from the Musée d’Art moderne de la Ville de Paris in 2010. The paintings have never been recovered, and one of the fellow defendants – the fence – tearfully told the court that, afraid of being caught, he broke all the stretchers and threw the canvases in the garbage. (Nobody believes him.)
‘Written On Skin’ Composer George Benjamin Is Writing A New Opera
Since its world premiere in 2012, Written on Skin has become one of the best-received new operas of the (still-young) century. The same team – Benjamin, librettist Martin Crimp, director Katie Mitchell, soprano Barbara Hannigan – will premiere Lessons in Love and Violence in London in 2018, with performances in six more cities to follow.
After 20 Years, Arundhati Roy Has Finally Written A Second Novel
Her first novel, The God of Small Things, won the Booker Prize; since then she’s become known as an activist and published reams of nonfiction. A few years ago she said, “I’ve always been slightly short with people who say, ‘You haven’t written anything again,’ as if all the nonfiction I’ve written is not writing.” For those people, and the rest of us, the wait will be over this summer.
Jamie Barton Wins Met Opera’s Beverly Sills Award
“Ms. Barton jump-started her career by winning a series of prestigious prizes: the Met’s National Council Auditions in 2007, both the main and song contests at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition in 2013 and the Richard Tucker Award in 2015.” Among previous winners of the $50,000 prize are Nathan Gunn, Joyce DiDonato, Angela Meade, Brian Hymel, and Michael Fabiano. (includes video)
Top Posts From AJBlogs 01.31.17
Privilege/Encumbrance: Part III
This post is the last of a three-part series that is not strictly about community engagement. However, to engage with communities with which one is not familiar it is essential to understand the dynamics of privilege. … read more
AJBlog: Engaging Matters Published 2017-01-31
What is classical music?
We need a new audience. But how are we going to get one if we can’t tell people why classical music is valuable? And how can we do that if we don’t know what classical music is? (Dictionaries don’t help.) … read more
AJBlog: Sandow Published 2017-01-31
Dancers on the Rampage
New York City Ballet premieres new works by Justin Peck and Pontus Lidberg. … read more
AJBlog: Dancebeat Published 2017-01-31
Rienzi in America?
Connecting opera to current, particularly American political events usually doesn’t work, and even more unlikely when the connection can be made, to an opera by Richard Wagner. Donald Trump has changed all that … read more
AJBlog: OperaSleuth Published 2017-01-31