“It is more helpful to understand culture in terms of how it is organized, rather than simply stating what it does. The use of ecological metaphors creates a rich way of discussing culture, and different perspectives then emerge. New taxonomies, new visualisations, and fresh ways of thinking about how culture operates will help promote a rich, diverse and fruitful cultural ecology.”
A Compelling Case For Translating Opera Into English
“It’s curious that the Royal Opera’s new venture into smaller spaces has coincided with an unprecedented new approach to translation. No attention has been drawn to this shift in policy, which has slipped through as part of a wider attempt at accessibility, at reinventing opera for the youthful audience of the Camden Roundhouse (with the recent Orfeo, also in English) and the more theatrically-inclined audience at the Globe.”
Russia Fires Director Of Moscow’s Tretyakov Gallery
“Irina Lebedeva, the director of the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, has been dismissed from her position, Russia’s Ministry of Culture announced … Zelfira Tregulova, a former deputy director of the Kremlin Museum, has been confirmed as her successor. … A statement on the ministry’s website was bluntly critical of [Lebedeva’s] managerial skills.
Why So Many People Are Freaking Out About The Release Of Harper Lee’s Unpublished Novel
“There are cultural currents afoot, beyond the book’s iconic power as a social document, that give the absurd situation a rational aspect and keep it going. One is the fear of the helplessness of old age. The spectacle of an author – and a beloved American author at that, one who has abided in our deepest feelings since many of us read her in childhood – being taken advantage of in old age is chilling at a time when so many people are living long lives.”
Since When Did We Expect Hollywood To Be Historically Accurate?
“Until recently, I’d assumed it was understood that Hollywood would emphasize the ‘story’ aspects of history, and that a distortion of real events, on screen, would hardly constitute a lie. At what point, I wonder, did we start expecting films to tell the truth about the past? And won’t we be in trouble if we do?”
Dance Company’s New Artistic Director Quits Even Before He Takes The Job
Gustavo Ramirez Sansano was appointed in November 2014, alongside Paul Kaynes as chief executive, as National Dance Company Wales new artistic director and was due to begin his tenure in June. National Dance Company Wales’s previous artistic director and co-founder Ann Sholem stepped down in 2013 after 30 years in charge of the company.
Data On Income Inequality Translated Into A Piece Of Music
“The income data sourced from the 2011 US Census corresponds to the number of instruments playing, from 3 to 30, and the strength of their sound. For example, the blaring 1:37 mark represents the median income of $205,192 between Park Place and Chambers Street in the Financial District, while the most subdued movement of the song at 3:53 is between East 180th Street and Bronx Park East, an area with a median income of $13,750.”
Human Rights Watch: Terrible Working Conditions Persist In Abu Dhabi’s Mega-Museum Construction
“The overarching narrative of the 82-page document is one of claims and ostensible efforts by involved parties to curb labor abuses — and the corresponding failure due to lack of enforcement.”
The Art Of Cowboys – Alive And Kicking
“Ranchers, open-range cattle, and working cowboys are seen as creatures of a hazy, bygone era straddling the fence between history and fantasy, swallowed up long ago by the maw of industrial agriculture. Consequently, the art associated with them is often reckoned to be naive, little more than kitsch.”
Think Libraries Are Dying In The Age Of The Internet? Au Contraire
“People under 65 years old are actually more likely to have visited a library in the past year than their older counterparts. In fact, those between 16 and 29 are just as likely to use a library as those older than 29. And those younger visitors also feel the library in an integral part of their neighborhood.”
Mapping The Messy, Tangled Ways We Think
“Imagine if trail sharing became routine. Reporters could enrich their stories by showing how they came to their conclusions. You could send funny or jokey pathways, like cognitive emoji. Trails are like Proustian cookies, teleporting us back to mental states from weeks ago.”
Dancers Will Take Over The Entire Tate Modern For Two Days
“Tate Modern is to become a museum of dance for 48 hours as 75 performers take over the gallery spaces for displays and workshops, and the Turbine Hall is transformed into a nightclub.”
Jon Stewart Was Really Our Greatest Media Critic
James Poniewozik: “So Stewart wasn’t an actual news anchor. What his show did with comedy was a kind of journalism nonetheless, using satire and some thorough research of source material to analyze the news and analyze its analysis. Any honest media critic knew that Stewart was doing the job better than the rest of us. … Do the same thing in print and you’re an op-ed columnist. Stewart and company simply managed to do it in a format that people paid attention to.”
How Ousmane Sembene Invented African Cinema
“The Senegalese filmmaker … effectively created an African film industry out of nothing: … French colonial authorities had made it illegal for Africans to make films of their own, so countries like Senegal had no film equipment, no professional actors, and no funding.”
Grant Strate, 87, Elder Statesman Of Canadian Dance
“Strate was a charter member of the National Ballet of Canada in 1951 and later its first resident choreographer. … In 1970, Strate went on to found York University’s department of dance, the first of its kind in Canada. Rejecting preconceived notions, he forged a vision focused on creative research and the concept of the ‘thinking dancer.'”
Ballet’s Tormented Superstar Sergei Polunin Stars In Pop Music Video
The gifted young Ukrainian, who became the youngest principal ever at London’s Royal Ballet and then abruptly bolted from the company in 2012, is burning up the Web with a new video, directed by David LaChapelle, of Hozier’s hit “Take Me to Church.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 02.10.15
Price discrimination, time and money at the theatre
AJBlog: For What It’s Worth Published 2015-02-10
Why Beauty in a Business School?
AJBlog: Jumper Published 2015-02-10
College Art Association’s Guidelines for Appropriation Art
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2015-02-10
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The Playwright Whose Work Is Never Done (In More Than One Sense)
“Terrence McNally plays are like city buses: They sweep by, may not take you where you think you’re going, and, when absent for a while, suddenly arrive in droves and from all directions.”