Dazzle was, of course, the very essence of the Steiner sound. The magisterial tone, the cosmopolitan content, the very assumption that the reader was as intimately familiar with the history of European literature and philosophy as he was: it all went to form the “aura” of his criticism. Names were dropped like confetti, sprinkled from such a height that at times they inevitably missed their target. But he was interested in big pictures, not small incisions. – Times Literary Supplement
This New Museum Is The First Entirely State-Funded Arts Institution In Africa
“[The Palais de Lomé in Togo] is a remarkable achievement for one of the world’s poorest countries, where almost 70 percent of the rural population lives below the global poverty line. … The new museum is also an unexpected signal of cultural openness by the historically repressive Togolese government.” – Frieze
Marcelo Gomes Gets First Full-Time Position Since Resigning From ABT
The Brazilian-born star will become, along with Sofiane Sylve of San Francisco Ballet, principal dancer and ballet master of the Semperoper Ballett in Dresden. In late 2017, Gomes was pressured to resign from ABT over what the board chairman called a “highly concerning” accusation of (unspecified) sexual misconduct in 2009 that was unconnected with the company or anyone in it; Gomes has since worked freelance as dancer and choreographer, most notably with former ABT colleague Julie Kent at The Washington Ballet. – Pointe Magazine
Nelson Leirner, One Of Brazil’s Most Influential Artists, Dead At 88
“Pop culture imagery and canonical works from art history were frequent subjects of Leirner’s painting and collages; think Velázquez’s court ladies swarmed by flies or a football stadium packed with Incredible Hulk cartoons and Power Rangers. Little in the zeitgeist was safe from Leirner’s ironic translation, which was rendered with a keen attention to composition and color.” – ARTnews
Robots Will Change Everything
The day is coming when practically anything that a human can do—at least anything that the labor market is willing to pay a human being a decent wage to do—will soon be doable more efficiently and cost effectively by some AI-driven automated device. If and when that day does arrive, those who own the means of production will feel ever increasing pressure to discard human workers in favor of an artificially intelligent work force. They are likely to do so as unhesitatingly as they have always set aside outmoded technology in the past. – Boston Review
Clarinetist Bill Smith, 93
Known as Bill Smith to the jazz world and William O. Smith in classical circles, Mr. Smith served on the University of Washington faculty from 1966-1997. He was a founding member of the Dave Brubeck Octet, which in 1947 pioneered a blend of classical music and jazz later known as Third Stream and had a profound influence on the development of West Coast, or “cool,” jazz. – Seattle Times
Why The Novel Is Being Superceded
The novel represented a maturation of storytelling—the adulthood of fiction, taking the reader into the interior of the human person. Now, the form is on its deathbed. Lingering readers are seeking in it something other—diversion, entertainment—than what the readers of Jane Austen or the Brontes, Dickens or Kafka, were seeking back in the day. – First Things
‘The Infectious Pestilence Did Reign’: Shakespeare And The Plague
“‘Plague was the single most powerful force shaping his life and those of his contemporaries,’ wrote Jonathan Bate, one of his many biographers. … But the plague was also Shakespeare’s secret weapon. He didn’t ignore it. He took advantage of it.” – Slate
Broadway Producers Cuts Ticket Prices For Hit Shows To $50
Starting at noon Thursday, remaining seats for five of the hottest tickets on Broadway will be going for a fraction of their normal price, selling for just $50 apiece at all performances through March 29. Producer Scott Rudin today announced the extraordinary measure of establishing the deep-discount flat rate for all five of his shows, all of which have been playing to sold-out houses or close to it. – The Hollywood Reporter
Trey McIntyre Comes Back To The Company Where He Learned To Choreograph
“During his time at Houston Ballet as choreographic apprentice in 1989, and later as choreographic associate from 1995 to 2008, he created seven ballets … Although the company has returned to his popular full-length Peter Pan several times over the years, and In Dreams in the 2017/18 season, [Pretty Things] is McIntyre’s first new work for the company in nearly two decades.” – Dance Magazine
US Movie Theatres Want To Stay Open During Virus Measures
Almost all cinemas in China — the world’s second-largest moviegoing market behind North America — went dark more than a month ago because of the virus, while all of Italy is now quarantined. Historically, firms in the U.S. have vowed to stay open during various outbreaks, even if business slows to a standstill. – The Hollywood Reporter
When The Collective Good Impinges On Personal Freedom
The First Amendment doesn’t protect your right to eat steak; nothing in the Bill of Rights prohibits a quarantine. Whatever discomfort or vexation arises from these restrictions should hardly be classed as a violation of liberty. Yet that’s not quite right. Very few of us care so much about our rights of speech or conscience to test their constitutional boundaries. There’s a reason people got so angry when Mayor Michel Bloomberg tried to ban the sale of large-size soft drinks; they were defending a right they actually cared about. – The New York Times
A Library-On-Wheels For The Refugee Camps Of Greece
“The Echo library was founded in 2016, at the height of the refugee crisis, and relies on a 15-strong volunteer team alongside donations to stock its shelves and pay for the van’s fuel – costs that come to roughly £13,000 a year.” – The Guardian
Radical Artists Are Running Performance Space New York. Here’s How They Showed A Journalist What They’re Doing.
To mark its 40th anniversary, the East Village venue (formerly P.S. 122) turned itself over to 11 loosely connected artists of various stripes for the whole of 2020. Not even PSNY’s director knows everything they have planned. When Siobhan Burke went to talk to them (at PSNY’s invitation), they met her in matching black garments that obscured their faces, declined to identify themselves, and stuck strictly to a prepared script that included such phrases as “There is no consensus,” “Welcome is a warning,” and “Artist exceptionalism upholds empire.” – The New York Times
National Gallery In D.C. Postpones Show Because It Can’t Get The Art
“The National Gallery of Art has postponed its much-anticipated exhibition A Superb Baroque: Art in Genoa, 1600–1750 because of the global coronavirus crisis.” The nationwide lockdown in Italy means that the more than 100 works in the show can’t be shipped from museums in Genoa and Rome. – The Washington Post
L.A. Opera’s Investigation Finds Against Domingo But Clears L.A. Opera
“[The company] said its investigator interviewed 44 people, yielding 10 [credible] allegations of inappropriate conduct between 1986 … [and] 2019.” The law firm hired by the company also found “no evidence that L.A. Opera ever ignored, failed to address, or covered up sexual harassment complaints.” – Los Angeles Times
U.S. Theatres Are Staying Open (For Now)
“As COVID-19 … spreads inexorably across the U.S., theatres are finding themselves trying to stay both practical and realistic, even as public concerns grow. While many public gatherings are being cancelled, largely as a preemptive measure, theatres have not yet dropped the curtain.” – American Theatre
Iconic Sydney Opera House Closes For Two Years
As the building approaches its 50th birthday, in 2023, the interventions are necessary. While its architect, Jorn Utzon, is now widely recognized as a visionary and his creation is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the hall’s construction was troubled, and certain problems have never been solved. Years of testing have produced a new plan for the concert hall’s acoustics — as well as for more basic matters. – The New York Times
France’s Culture Minister Falls To Coronavirus
The culture minister was supposed to meet Tuesday with representatives from the cinema and performing arts industries to assess the impact of new measures taken to counter the Covid-19 epidemic, following Sunday’s decision to ban any public gathering of more than 1,000 people. In France, more than 300 concert halls and theaters, including the Opera House, the new Philharmonie de Paris or Le Zénith indoor arena, have 1,000-plus seats. The Salon du Livre, France’s annual showcase event for publishers, which was expecting 160,000 visitors from 20 to 23 March, had already been cancelled along with a rock and roll festival planned a week before on the French-Swiss border. – The Art Newspaper
Tate Museums Pledge To Cut Resource Use, Cut Carbon
Tate—a network of four museums including Tate Modern, which ranked as Britain’s top tourist attraction, with 5.9 million visitors in 2018—announced it would cut its carbon footprint by at least 10 percent by 2023. “Large public buildings, attracting millions of visitors from the U.K. and overseas, require energy,” reads a declaration issued in July, which saw the highest-ever temperature recorded in the U.K. and record-setting heat across Europe. “We see caring for and sharing a national art collection as a public good, but it also consumes resources. . . . That’s why we pledge to make our long-term commitment ambitious in scope. We will interrogate our systems, our values, and our programs, and look for ways to become more adaptive and responsible.” – ARTnews
Coachella And Stagecoach Festivals Trying To Reschedule To October
Postponing the massive festival series until October is a huge endeavor involving hundreds of artists and their representatives, as well as hundreds of contractors and vendors and tens of thousands of employees. Artists are frequenting touring during the fall months and while organizers aren’t likely to get all the performers to agree to move, sources say that if enough of the big headline acts then the festival can be moved. – Billboard