“Creative Capital has a solidly 21st-century philosophy based on balance, sustainability, validation, and customization. It’s a school of funding-thinking, like a movement: Creative Capitalism.”
‘Fainting And Nervous Breakdowns’ – Argentina’s National Library Lays Off A Quarter Of Its Staff
“The cuts at the Biblioteca Nacional, once run by Jorge Luis Borges, were announced last Tuesday to ‘tears and cries of outrage’ … Staff had been phoned by authorities throughout the day to be given the news, which caused ‘fainting and nervous breakdowns’.”
The Wrong Way To Teach Painting
“Professors of my ilk see painting as a hands-on art form best learned through looking at great paintings and at painters in action, and by painting while being coached. The new pedagogy see[s] painting as best learned through critical thinking, a method borrowed from literature and the social sciences.” Laurie Fendrich explains why the latter is a dangerous approach.
Do We Care More About Palmyra’s Antiquities Than Its People? (It Sure Looks That Way)
“What might not have been clear if you followed the news stories and photographs is that there is also a modern town of Palmyra (Arabic Tadmur) adjacent to the ancient site, with tens of thousands of inhabitants. And here in microcosm is an unsettling problem/trend of the entire war.”
A Revolution Onstage – How ‘1776’ And ‘Hamilton’ Make History Musical And Make Musical History
“When in the course of human events – and musical-theater history, too – an idea gets repeated, it can still be revolutionary.”
Tenor Gegam Grigorian Dead At 65
“[He] was an Armenian tenor with a powerful and expressive voice whose career was disrupted by a failed attempt to defect to Italy at the height of the Cold War. … When he did eventually appear regularly in the West – under the patronage of the conductor Valery Gergiev – he thrilled audiences.”
It’s True: Art By Narcissists Really Does Fetch More At Auction
“A new study confirms your suspicions that in the art world, delusional self-regard pays off: researchers found that work by narcissistic artists is likely to sell for more money at auction than work by their humbler counterparts.”
Jeff Melanson Was Canada’s Arts Turnaround King. Now He Has Been Turned Around, What Next?
The arts administrator once hailed as Canada’s cultural turnaround king has seen his reputation punctured after his estranged wife, Eleanor McCain, filed court papers portraying him as a remorselessly manipulative leader who fired and hired employees unjustly, boozed excessively and married only to escape workplace harassment allegations. None of the claims have been proven in court and Melanson has deemed them “inaccurate and undignified.”
Romance Fiction Is Hot. So Are The Book Cover Models
“Despite the perception that blockbusters like “Fifty Shades of Grey” drive sales, self-publishing has proved a boon for this particular genre. E-books make up nearly 40 percent of all purchases, according to the writers group. And there are categories for every reader’s taste, among them, adventure, Christian, multicultural, L.G.B.T. and paranormal.”
Are Musicians Psychotherapy Junkies? (A Study Suggests)
“According to a recently published study from Norway, musicians in that nation are three times more likely to utilize psychotherapy than members of the general workforce. They’re also 50 percent more likely to use psychotropic medications such as antidepressants.”
Curatorial Abdication Or Enlightened Inclusion: Museum Asks Its Patrons What They Want To See
“Previously, curators and designers would do most of their work before involving others. Now, interpretive specialists, evaluators and project managers are brought in from the beginning and develop the exhibition together.”
How Paul Bowles Helped Preserve The Traditional Music Of Morocco
We remember Bowles as a novelist, but he was trained as a composer, and he made a landmark collection of field recordings of music that was disappearing as mass media spread through the kingdom. (includes sound clips)
Chicago’s Harris Theater Names Its First Choreographer-In-Residence
“The unlikely new position means that the 41-year-old choreographer from New York has been tapped to create new works for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (the Harris’ company in residence), Miami City Ballet and [his own company]. Additional companies will be announced at a later date.”
NBC Expands From Live Musicals To Its First Live Stage Play
“[The network] said on Wednesday that in early 2017 it will broadcast a live version of A Few Good Men, Aaron Sorkin’s 1989 Broadway play that was later adapted into a popular 1992 film starring Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise.”
You Can Now Create Art With A Sharpie-Wielding Drone
“Imagine if Michelangelo had been able to use drones – perhaps the Sistine Chapel wouldn’t have taken so long.”
Apollo Theater And Opera Philadelphia Extend Collaboration
Charlie Parker’s Yardbird may be the Apollo’s first opera, bur it won’t be its last. Next up, in fall 2017: We Shall Not Be Moved by composer Daniel Bernard Roumain and librettist Marc Bamuthi Joseph, with choreographer Bill T. Jones directing.
Top Posts From AJBlogs 03.30.16
The platform problem
Apple, Inc. has done a(nother) clever thing. In the midst of helping its customers succeed in individual goals through its iPhone and iOS systems, the company has also built resources to help groups and individuals … read more
AJBlog: The Artful Manager Published 2016-03-30
Since We’re Voting, There’s This Artistic Conundrum
Lest you think I have no sense of fun from my last post, which chastised the Indianapolis Museum of Art for outsourcing its exhibition planning to the public, I thought I would mention an instance … read more
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts Published 2016-03-30
Orwell’s Typewriter, Meet Wold’s Bar Stool
Yesterday’s blogpost, The Strange Case of Orwell’s Typewriter, elicited some interesting remarks, only some of which were posted to it. One sent to me privately came from the California artist Kurt Wold. After posting … read more
AJBlog: Straight|Up Published 2016-03-30
Vacation Report And A Limerick
We spent our brief vacation in Santa Barbara, California, visiting our son. We slept, walked, hung out with friends and ate well. One of the walks was to the end of Stearns Wharf, a pier … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2016-03-30
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The Los Angeles Times Reimagines How It Will Cover Books
“With these 10 writers, we will investigate our culture through the conversations that books anchor, in deep dives and in real time. We will explore the mysteries of reading and writing; consider the achievements, acknowledged and under-acknowledged, of the writers who have come before; question the roles of race, heritage, class and gender in what we read; take on the vagaries of the publishing industry, and more.”
Libraries Are In Decline. That’s Just Fine
“The BBC have just done a survey of library services in which they have found that 8000 library jobs have gone in the last five years and 340 libraries have been closed. On the face of it, that’s bad news. More signs of the pressure “austerity” is putting on council services? Actually no, not in this case. It’s a reflection of our habits.”
Embroiled In Messy Divorce, Toronto Symphony CEO Jeff Melanson Resigns
After revelations contained in a messy divorce filing earlier this month, Melanson was on the defensive. The TSO announced the move in a statement released Wednesday morning, thanking Mr. Melanson for his “many positive contributions” to the organization.
All-Women Shows Are Popular Again
“While some artists are ambivalent about being viewed through the lens of gender, the all-women’s group show, which fell out of favor in the ’80s and ’90s, is flourishing again. At least a dozen galleries and museums are featuring women-themed surveys, a surge curators and gallerists say is shining a light on neglected artists, resuscitating some careers and raising the commercial potential of others.”
How The Metropolitan Opera Puts Together A New Production
“It is grand opera done grandly in an era of budget pressures and challenges in attracting new audiences. To capture the work that goes into a staging that will be performed just eight times this season – an expensive, labor-intensive undertaking that helps explain why the Met’s budget will be almost $300 million this year – James Estrin, a photographer for The New York Times, observed weeks of rehearsals.” (photo journal)
Crystal Bridges Museum To Turn Kraft Cheese Plant Into Contemporary Art Center
“The 63,000-square-foot space is intended to function somewhat in the way that MoMA PS1 in Long Island City, Queens, serves as an edgier, more experimental affiliate of the Museum of Modern Art. It is expected to open in 2018, … and the location, in downtown Bentonville, [Arkansas,] would not only provide a place to show more contemporary art but would also continue a transformation of the small city.”