“Many people, myself included, have criticised classical concert programming for an over-reliance of a limited pool of familiar music. But would we want a concert series like the ‘antilibrary’, a constant stream of new discoveries and world premieres? You could argue that a narrow repertoire is a sensible response to an overwhelming avalanche of potential scores – that at least it allows audiences to develop a deep relationship with a certain set of pieces.”
How A Great Berlin Theatre Is Stepping Away From Great Theatre
“The stage of spoken-word theatre is indebted to a sense of the world that is centred on the human. On the stage of the 21st century, however, we find a new distribution of power, a new dynamic of creatures, ghosts, machines, objects. The things we once invented to define identities or let them manifest themselves on stage have lost all traction. The [human] subject – is that even a topic anymore these days?”
Canadian Music Festivals Are Having A Tough Go Right Now
“Running outdoor live music events is a tough gig across Canada, especially with the dollar hovering at 74 cents against the US dollar over the past two years, making bargaining for headline bands difficult in a world where the festival circuit is booming both in and outside Canada.”
Colm Tóibín Explains How, And Why, He Rewrote The Oresteia
“For any student of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, no event was isolated. Each murder or set of murders seemed to have been inspired by a previous one, each atrocity appeared to be in retaliation for something that had occurred the week before.”
When ‘Twin Peaks’ Became A Series Of Japanese Coffee Commercials
“For reasons that evaded Japanese film critics at the time, the 1990s TV show about a murder in a small American town was a huge hit in Japan, even after it was cancelled in 1991. … To build on that success – and make some extra cash – co-creator Lynch and some of the core cast reprised their roles in four commercials for Coca-Cola’s Japanese canned coffee brand Georgia Coffee in 1993. … The ads were set in Twin Peaks and told the story of a Japanese man who was searching for his missing wife, with the help of Agent Cooper.” (includes video of all four ads)
Do We Now Have A Successor To The Great Alan Sokal/Social Text Hoax? (Not Entirely)
Late last week, two (male) academics revealed that they had written a bogus gender-studies paper titled “The Conceptual Penis as a Social Construct” and gotten it published in a social sciences journal. An Alan Sokal caper for the 21st century? Not necessarily. Digg explains what’s going on here.
Ringling Bros. Circus Wasn’t Just A Show, It Was A Major Logistical Feat
As one crew member says, “It’s the largest theater performance in human history on the longest passenger train in human history.” Camila Domonoske reports.
Canada’s Broadcast Regulator Sends Mixed Messages About Encouraging Canadian Programming
In a news release announcing these licence renewals, the CRTC trumpeted its support for “the creation of diverse, compelling and original Canadian content,” but the move to cut spending on programs of national interest seems calculated to do the reverse – and sends an oddly mixed message.
Take An Immersive Look At Buildings By This Year’s Pritzker Prize Winners
To understand the architects’ approach to design we explored six of their most significant works: a private home, a winery, a running track, their own office, a restaurant and a public space.
African Art Is Being Gentrified
“This is very good news for the African modernists who will benefit from the increased visibility. They were, some say, the postcolonial avant-garde, who set out to create new art for independent Africa during the mid-20th century. African contemporary artists have also moved beyond nationalism and are more likely to sound off about globalization and complex identities. But the continent’s masses will be the biggest losers. They will be denied access to artworks that define the age of independence and symbolize the slow process of postcolonial recovery.”
The Latest Winner Of The Moog Innovation Award Fought Her Machine – And Confusion In The Music Industry
The noises Suzanne Ciani created “for perhaps her most infamous sound effect, she says, were invented in a matter of minutes. ‘My brain was working at lightning speed in those days,’ she laughs, of how she came up with Coca Cola’s signature pop, bubble and fizz. … ‘It was brazen. But I was desperate, I was starving. I was in New York living on Canal Street for $75 a month, and I was propelled by hunger, really.'”
Theatre Professionals Of Color Get Asked If It’s ‘Easier’ For Them To Find Work Because They’re Not White
Carol Ann Tan: “When people ask this question, what they’re really saying is that they feel entitled to what I have — that they want my opportunities and successes for themselves. Except they don’t want the part where everyone questions my ability to speak English fluently. They don’t want the part where people avoid socializing with someone who is so culturally divorced from the familiar. They don’t want any of the heartbreak or loneliness that also accompany my identity. In short, they don’t want the experiences that have informed my perspective.”
The Peabody Award Winners Say The Truth Will Out
And you thought the Oscars were political (and had a lot of speeches): “Many honorees who took the stage garnered loud cheers from the audience when counting themselves among ‘so many other distinguished enemies of the people.’ But above all, truth was the most prevalent message among the 33 acceptance speeches.”
What Made Belgium Such A Powerhouse Source Of Film?
Well, a tax shelter, of course – and an overhaul of that shelter in 2014. “Mandating greater financial transparency, capping the amount outside investors could recoup, and opening the door to further international cooperation beyond the European Union, the reforms broke up what many saw as a creative monopoly, leveling the playing field for all.”
Is Contemporary African Art Being Gentrified?
A big sale at Sotheby’s shows off the new potential and new collector interest in modernist African art. But while Western collectors drive up the money for those artists, “whole countries in Africa cannot boast of a single art museum of any renown. On other continents, you might expect to see at least one public art museum in any city big enough to have a sports team. But good luck trying to find a museum in Lagos, one of the world’s largest cities, that displays the work of a big-name Nigerian artist.”
Amazon’s Checkout-Free Grocery Stores May Be Heading For Europe
The evidence says Amazon Go may be coming to both the UK and Europe: “The company filed applications to trademark four slogans: ‘No Lines, No Checkout. (No, Seriously),’ ‘No Queue, No Checkout. (No, Seriously),’ ‘Every Queue is a Defect,’ and ‘Every Line is a Defect.'”