“Without the distance between self and thought, self and utterance, we are unable to entertain, probe, or debate ideas. We are unable to change our minds or to persuade others. We are not even in a position to form our views in thoughtful, disinterested ways. But there may yet be a way out. Precisely by codifying and accelerating the collapse of the distinction between ideas and identity, Twitter might ironically be alerting us to the absurdity and shallowness of intellectual life practiced on its terms.” – Hedgehog Review
A Computer Code Written In Cree
My desired output for this language is graphical based. I originally envisioned it as a kind of “Processing for Indigenous Languages”. Where the output is generative and graphic. The generative aspect is crucial in the representation of the Indigenous worldview, because when the program ends whatever display was generated is destroyed (comes to end of life). – Esoteric Codes
How The Values Of Theatre Move Forward
“The American theatre is a very slow-moving ship, especially when I think about how quickly culture moves, and particularly now that we are in what’s called the digital age. It’s not just in the way we consume work, but also what the work is. And I think that’s a major, major issue. It’s part of the reason why we have systems and canons that are built on ideals that are hundreds of thousands of years old, whether we’re talking about ballet or opera. We’re ultimately upholding that ideal but haven’t taken the moment to question how relevant that aesthetic is now to the culture that is being created by the world around us.” – Howlround
Canadian Theatres Use Lockdown To Upgrade
Venue operators are using their enforced downtime to scrub, buff and do major reconfigurations. In some cases, the work was commissioned and started before COVID-19. Toronto’s iconic Massey Hall, for example, closed in 2018 for a $135-million renovation that was scheduled to be completed as soon as this year, but now there’s not such a hurry. – The Globe and Mail (Canada)
Museums’ Secret Weapon For COVID Safety: Really Good HVAC
The standards for heating, ventilation and air conditioning at North American and European museums tend to be quite high: minimizing airborne dust and maintaining consistent air temperature, humidity, and circulation are crucial for keeping the items on display in good condition. So the upgrades necessary to keep airborne transmission of the novel coronavirus low have been relatively simple to implement. – Artnet
We’ve Got Robot Artists. Now We May Get Robot Art Critics.
“For human art lovers, learning which style or category a piece of art falls in is a relatively straightforward and objective task. Like the neural networks [in artificial intelligence], we can learn how to do that by looking at a lot of art and finding patterns. But there’s something humans do that computers don’t: we also form opinions about the art and can share in words how looking at it makes us feel. Computers can’t do that yet — or can they?” Here’s how one group of researchers is working on it. – Forbes
Gianluigi Colalucci, Lead Restorer Of Sistine Chapel, Dead At 92
From 1980 to 1994, he led a team of workers who carefully washed away, frequently with plain soap and water, centuries’ worth of dust, smoke and other grime from Michelangelo’s work — revealing what were, to those who had been accustomed to the dim, grim aspect of the unrestored “Last Judgment” fresco, the astonishingly vivid colors the artist used. – Firstpost (AFP)
How COVID Has Decimated Seattle Arts
As of January, 56% of the organizations surveyed still had staff furloughed or laid off due to the pandemic. That’s a decrease from the 74% of organizations that reported staff furloughs or layoffs in April 2020, when pandemic closures first started. Still, the amount these groups say they’re budgeting for personnel expenses in 2020-21 is 25% lower than in 2019-20 and 30% lower than in 2018-19, the pre-pandemic year. – Seattle Times
Notes on Outsiders: Carl Weissner’s German Essays and Reportage
To get the drift of Aufzeichnungen über Aussenseiter, I’ve been typing pieces of text into Google Translate. It’s a helluva time-consuming job, but it’s more than worth the effort. It’s just obvious how classy and swinging the whole thing is! Herewith, an excerpt: “Buk Sings His Ass Off.” – Jan Herman
How (And Why) We Forget Most Things In Life
An efficient memory system involves “a finely orchestrated balancing act between data storage and data disposal.” To retain an encounter, deliberate attention alone will get you most of the way there. – The New Yorker
The Science Of Loneliness
One review of the science of loneliness found that people with stronger social relationships have a 50 per cent increased likelihood of survival over a set period of time compared with those with weaker social connections. Other studies have linked loneliness to cardiovascular disease, inflammation, and depression. – Wired
San Francisco Opera Pilots Virtual Tool For Real-Time Collaboration
Aloha’s ultra-low latency service connects artists remotely, effectively eliminating the lag time that interrupts the creative flow. This allows artists to collaborate and play together live, as if they’re in the same room. For the San Francisco Opera’s classically trained artists whose in-person music collaboration has been put on pause during the pandemic, this means that important musical cues such as hearing breaths, shifts in tempo and expressive variation are now in sync during remote rehearsals. – Broadway World
At The Opera In Barcelona — Indoors, With 1,000 Other People
There were staggered arrival times, temperature takers at the entrance, plenty of hand sanitizer, mandatory masks (a few of them fabu-fied with sequins). Every second seat was kept empty. In the pit, Gustavo Dudamel conducting a 50-piece orchestra; onstage, 75 singers, headed by tenor Gregory Kunde and soprano Krassimira Stoyanova, in Verdi’s Otello. “Spain is an outlier here in Europe. Concert halls in Vienna are shuttered, as are theaters in London. Will the openness in Barcelona backfire? The music world is watching — from a distance.” – Los Angeles Times
A Hollywood Boycott Of Georgia? Studios Aren’t Saying A Word
Several prominent individuals in the industry have spoken out against the restrictive election laws just passed by the Georgia legislature and signed by Gov. Kemp. Yet studios and other companies — who have been willing to threaten boycotts in the past over such issues as Georgia’s abortion laws — are keeping silent so far this time. What are their reasons? – Los Angeles Times
New Initiative Will Give Cash Aid To Independent Bookstores Hurt By Pandemic
“The Survive to Thrive grant program, created by Ingram Content Group chairman John Ingram, hopes to raise a total of $2 million by the end of May to support indie bookstores. The program will be administered by the Book Industry Charitable (Binc) Foundation. Initial donations include a $500,000 contribution from Ingram Charities and Ingram Content Group and significant gifts from Bookshop.org and four of the Big Five publishers.” – Publishers Weekly
A Lavish ‘Game of Thrones’ Prequel Is Coming To Broadway And The West End
George R.R. Martin, who wrote the Song of Ice and Fire novels on which the megahit HBO series was based, is working with playwright Duncan MacMillan and director Dominic Cooke on a big, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child-type play that producers plan to open in New York, London, and Sydney and/or Melbourne. The draw is that the play will depict a major event in Westeros history that took place 16 years before the novels and Game of Thrones start. – The Hollywood Reporter
Is The NFT Market A Classic Bubble?
As prices for the digital artworks soar, with payments made in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, some observers are throwing around words like “tulipmania.” Says the CEO of a company that verifies NFTs, “We’re in a frenzy of speculation. … We’re living in a moment of collective hysteria.” Especially now that the finance guys are moving in on the art collectors. – The New York Times
Spanish Police Seize Forged El Greco, Goya, And Modigliani Paintings
“The counterfeit canvases came from a non-specialist collector based in the province of Toledo who had intended to sell the works as originals. … The asking price? A combined €12.5 million ($14.6 million). … Potential buyers had been lined up.” – Artnet
Antonio Pappano To Leave Royal Opera House For London Symphony
The Italian-British conductor has been music director at Covent Garden since 2002; at the end of the 2023-24 season, he’ll move three miles or so across town to the Barbican, where he’ll succeed Simon Rattle as chief conductor of the LSO. – The Guardian