Most adults have what’s called childhood amnesia (i.e., having few or no memories from the first 3 to 3½ years of life). “But it’s only in the past decade that [scientists] have begun to figure out when childhood memories start to fade, which early memories are most likely to survive, and how we create a complete autobiography without direct memories of our earliest years.” (includes audio)
Detroit Creditors Solicit Billion-Dollar Bids For DIA’s Art Collection
“A group of major Detroit creditors said four investors have made tentative billion-dollar bids for the Detroit Institute of Arts – or key portions of its collection – in a move aimed at undercutting the city’s competing proposal to give the museum to a nonprofit in exchange for $816 million in outside funding that would help reduce pension cuts.”
Under Pressure From Legislators, College In South Carolina Cancels Lesbian Comedy Show
The University of South Carolina Upstate in Greenville called off a performance of Butchy McDyke’s solo piece How to Be a Lesbian in 10 Days or Less following demands by a group of Republican state lawmakers led by Sen. Mike Fair, who argues – seriously – that the show constitutes “recruitment”.
Can Books Keep Young Baghdadis From Leaving The City?
“Bathed in the rainbow-colored light of an old Baghdadi window, Ali al-Makhzomy explained his plan to get technology-obsessed young Iraqis to read books – old-fashioned books, with pages.” He says, “We really want Baghdad in the 1930s or ’40s or ’50s to return. It was more civilized. How do we know? We read about it.”
The Electrifying Muriel Spark
“She loved lightning. It wasn’t her favorite weapon – fire was, or knives. But lightning has a brutal, beautiful efficiency, and she used it to good effect, once frying alive a pair of lovers. Lightning seemed to seek her out, too. It struck her houses repeatedly, and on one occasion caused a nearby bell tower to come crashing down into her bathroom.”
Michael Palin: ‘A Lot of Monty Python Was Crap, It Really Was’
“We put stuff in there that was not really that good, but fortunately there were a couple of gleaming things that everyone remembers while they’ve forgotten the dross. … People forgive you the things that don’t work”
‘A Purer Form Of Interpretation’: Akram Khan On Working With Britain’s National Youth Dance Company
“What I love about working with these dancers is that they have openness without judgment – it’s all new for them. Sometimes knowledge gets in the way so the fact that they have a space to absorb new information, and not too much to refer to from their past, means that it all comes in a purer form of interpretation.” (includes video)
Esa-Pekka Salonen Talks About A Life In The Arts
“Every one of us who works in this field becomes part of this fabric we call history. You want to know how you connect with the past but also how you connect with the future. Therefore it becomes more and more important to work with young people.”
Can You Learn To Judge Creativity?
“A new research paper suggests that amateurs can, indeed, be trained to be better judges of creativity—at least when it comes to children’s paintings.”
Breakup Of The Corcoran Will Take Longer Than Expected
“The Corcoran, The National Gallery of Art and George Washington University were hoping to make the details of the takeover public this week, but it turns out breaking up an institution as old and diverse as the Corcoran is taking more time than they expected.”
Revealed: CIA Used Dr. Zhivago As Weapon During The Cold War
“This book has great propaganda value, not only for its intrinsic message and thought-provoking nature, but also for the circumstances of its publication: we have the opportunity to make Soviet citizens wonder what is wrong with their government, when a fine literary work by the man acknowledged to be the greatest living Russian writer is not even available in his own country in his own language for his own people to read.”
Darcey Bussell’s New Mission: Getting Everyone To Dance
“People have forgotten that dance is meant to be part of their lives. Socially, it gets you out and about; physically it’s exercise without too much strain; and it makes you feel great about your body.”
The Wildly Successful Coachella Festival Is Paying Celebrities To Attend. Why?
“The idea of a celebrity getting paid for attending something that normal people are paying to attend — the general admission cost this year was $375 — is infuriating, especially when it’s something like a music festival, that’s meant to be down-to-earth.”
What To Make Of George Bush, Painter?
Jerry Saltz: “I was stunned by this work at the time. I still am. Try to conceive of Abraham Lincoln taking up painting after his presidency. Then imagine him choosing to render himself naked in a bathtub, and you’ll see how creepy-interesting Bush’s bathtub paintings are.”
Is Using Facebook Bad For Your Sense Of Wellbeing?
“Although Facebook is an excellent tool for staying in touch with acquaintances, there are serious disadvantages of using it, such as envy, lowered life satisfaction of basic psychological needs, and dampened mood.”
Union Asks For Court To Freeze San Diego Opera’s Assets
“The labor union that represents singers and chorus members at the San Diego Opera is asking a federal agency to get an injunction freezing the company’s assets so that union members with contracts can be paid.”
The Mickey Rooney Role Nobody Wants to Talk Much About
“In its coverage of Mickey Rooney, there’s one thing the media have generally danced past, and it happens to be the role that has cast the longest shadow out of a career of thousands: His performance as Mr. I.Y. Yunioshi in the classic 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”
ARTnews Sold to Private Equity Investor
“Milton Esterow and Judith Esterow, the owners of the magazine since 1972, said in a statement that they sold the 112-year-old publication to Skate Capital, a private asset management firm owned by a Russian, Sergey Skaterschikov.”
Bass-Baritone John Shirley-Quirk Dead at 82
The beloved and widely-recorded singer was admired for his Bach and Handel and English art song, but he was best known for his work with Benjamin Britten, who wrote a number of roles for him.
Why I Wrote A Play About Margaret Thatcher
Moira Buffini, playwright of Handbagged: “When she died last year, my children couldn’t believe that people were partying in the street. This poor old lady had been incapacitated with dementia (like their beloved granny). … I tried to explain what it had been like; why people were still so angry. But my words fell over themselves.”
What Makes ‘Happy’ So – Happy?
Two professors, a DJ, and a radio executive explore why Pharrell Williams’s hit has such an effect on so many people.
Singers Diana Damrau and Stuart Skelton Take Honors at International Opera Awards
“The event, now in its second year, launched in 2013 and was designed to be the first truly international set of prizes in the operatic world.” The Zurich Opera was named company of the year; the Aldeburgh Festival’s site-specific beach staging of Peter Grimes won a prize for best production of the Britten anniversary year.
Top Posts From AJBlogs 04.08.14
Beyond repair? On the loss of structural integrity …
AJBlog: Jumper | Published 2014-04-08
Nonprofit costs are driven by revenues
AJBlog: For What it’s Worth | Published 2014-04-08
Political Art, Billboards, New York and Los Angeles
AJBlog: CultureCrash | Published 2014-04-08
The Talking Cure, Part IV (powerful questioning and attentive listening)
AJBlog: We The Audience | Published 2014-04-08
From Julia Villagra: Wooing my peers (2)
AJBlog: Sandow | Published 2014-04-08
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Damien Hirst Hires Keith Richards’ Ghost Writer To Write His Autobiography
Fox has promised it will reveal the “barely-known first act” of Hirst’s life, with the artist’s “witty style and northern edge”.
America’s Most Popular Music: Country Displaces Pop
“As the music industry continues to struggle financially and once-dominant types of music like hip-hop recede on the charts, country’s audience has grown stronger, wider and younger — a fact that has not escaped the notice of media companies that have invested heavily in the genre.”