“‘Classical’ and ‘contemporary’ are old-school binary. They are market-driven categorisations that have become less and less applicable since musique concrète, since the AACM, since the cassette tape, since the internet, since globalisation. Now is the age of cross-pollination. Maybe now is the age of no terms at all.”
Someone’s Always Announcing The Death Of The Short Story. Don’t Believe Them
“While bitter experience has shown poetry exactly where it stands in the marketplace, and the novel has shrugged off multiple reports of its death and maintained pre-eminence, the short story is continually characterised as the neglected form that will be great again. The funny thing is, when you explore its history you find the perception of a distant golden age, an undistinguished present and a return to glory has always been around: the short story has a problem with reality.”
Even After ‘Moonlight’ Won Best Picture, It’s Still Hard To Get Queer-Themed Movies Made
“Moonlight grossed $65 million worldwide on a $1.5 million production budget, but the consensus still seems to be that financiers don’t see an audience for these films beyond the LGBTQ community. When they don’t see an audience, they don’t see a profit.” Vanity Fair talks to half a dozen LGBTQ filmmakers about the struggles they continue to face.
Scientific Publishing Is A HUGE Business (But Does It Harm Science?)
The core of Elsevier’s operation is in scientific journals, the weekly or monthly publications in which scientists share their results. Despite the narrow audience, scientific publishing is a remarkably big business. With total global revenues of more than £19bn, it weighs in somewhere between the recording and the film industries in size, but it is far more profitable.
The Sci-Fi Worlds That Filled The Muslim World Long Ago
“Western readers often overlook the Muslim world’s speculative fiction. I use the term quite broadly, to capture any story that imagines the implications of real or imagined cultural or scientific advances. Some of the first forays into the genre were the utopias dreamt up during the cultural flowering of the Golden Age.”
Millennials Are The Greatest Generation, At Least In Library-Going Terms
Yep. They’re more likely than Gen-X and Boomers – and way more likely than the Silent Generation – to visit the library. Maybe this is why? “Due in large part to libraries’ egalitarian nature, their events, teach-ins, and classes are free and open, making them natural hubs for underemployed millennials seeking skills to break out of their parents’ homes.” Also, of course, the books are free.
Should Theater Reviews Be Held Accountable From A Social Justice Viewpoint?
Howard Sherman on the (latest) Hedy Weiss controversy: “Many theatres are trying to address systemic racism in their practices, just as progressive activists are working vigorously to address that deep racial and ethnic inequality in society at large. So for artists committed to those goals who find their creative work viewed through a frequently dismissive perspective when it comes to social justice, who see a lack of empathy when it comes to racial topics, which I believe Weiss has displayed, it is unquestionably not just troubling, but painful.”
As Pride Month Ends, A Question: What Makes A Dance Queer?
Some answers arose in New York, where Explode! Queer Dance hosted a four-day academic and artistic festival. The goals were ambitious: “Explode! set out to tackle inextricable challenges of strengthening ties among queer dance artists and dismantling racism, sexism, classism, transphobia and white supremacy. A tall order, but why aim for less?”
Ai Weiwei Says Artists – And Everyone – Should Be (Part Of) The Change They Wish To See
Ai: “It’s not a strategy, it’s life itself. It’s like if you go in a room, you look for the light, for the window. You turn on light, you open the window.”
After A Long Legal Battle, An Austrian Court Has Ruled In Favor Of Franz West’s Children
In the hospital, West signed a document creating a foundation a few days before he died. “Those on the family’s side say that individuals with a financial stake in the estate, including Gagosian dealer Ealan Wingate, who was at the hospital during West’s final days, ‘wanted to make sure with the foundation that the heirs would not be in conflict’ with the gallery’s interests, Kerres says. As a result, ‘the lawyer did a rushed job, just writing something by hand and forgetting major parts of an agreement.'”
The OED Has A New Last Word (And, Scrabble Players, It’s Worth 23 Points!)
Some other dictionaries have had the word before, but the Oxford English Dictionary has just admitted it. The definition? “a genus of tropical weevils (family Curculionidae) native to South America and typically found on or near palm trees.”
Why Jon Hamm Hasn’t Become A Movie Star (Yet)
Angelica Jade Bastién analyzes Hamm’s post-Mad Men work and finds a possible reason why his particular gifts haven’t transferred so successfully onto the big screen – and looks at the new movie that may change this.
Public Will Finally Get To See Cornelius Gurlitt’s Hoard Of Nazi-Looted Art
“Nearly four years after news of the discovery of the trove stunned the art world and stirred outrage over the fact that German authorities had kept its existence under wraps for months, the public will finally be allowed to view about 250 works” – among them pieces by Monet, Rodin, and Maillol – “selected from more than 1,200 as part of a show to open on Nov. 3 at the Bundeskunsthalle [in Bonn].”
The Jimmys Are Like Tony Awards For Teens On Broadway
The Tony-winning star of ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ admitted this year that he has been addicted to watching the Jimmys since he was younger than some of the contestants. “The Jimmys take over Broadway’s Minskoff Theater for one sparkly Monday night each June, transforming the set of ‘The Lion King’ into a showcase for 74 of the nation’s most talented theatrical hopefuls.”
Do Neurons Dance?
Choreographer Jody Oberfelder believes they do – and that thinking, that thoughts, come from the body. In a new work, she tried to connect the science and the choreography – to the detriment of dance, at first. “So I thought, why not get the audience to try to feel their brains, without telling them how? To set up situations where they’re interacting not only with their minds intellectually but passing that down through the body, being in a physical space with other bodies, making connections with others and with sensation?”
Midori Joins The Faculty At The Curtis Institute
She’s moving from the University of Southern California to the East Coast, and “she cited Curtis’ approach as one appeal of the job – the ‘commitment Curtis has to nurturing younger musicians to prepare them not just to play the instrument, but to also become responsible citizens.'”
Never-Before-Published Hannah Arendt On Poverty, Misery, And The Great Revolutions Of History
“This manuscript, never before published, is marked ‘A Lecture’ and dated ‘1966-67.’ Where and when it was delivered, or if it was delivered, is not known. The manuscript seems too long for a single lecture. … The where and when of the lecture have not been confirmed, though extant records have been thoroughly searched.”
The 45-Year-Old Bay Area Theatre That Developed ‘Angels In America’ Is Folding
Wow, no thanks, California tech companies, not to mention voters: “Eureka’s dissolution after many decades is a result of several factors, including rising overhead and the high costs of maintaining its aging facility. Additionally, following the defeat of Ballot Measure S in November 2016, San Francisco Grants for the Arts (funded by the city’s hotel taxes) declared that it could no longer offer grants to performing arts facility providers.”
Can You Make An Opera Out Of The MOVE Bombing? Bill T. Jones And Friends Are Giving It A Try
In 1985, Philadelphia police attempting to evict and arrest members of the militant activist group MOVE dropped a bomb on the group’s headquarters, causing a fire that burned down an entire city block. Jones, composer Daniel Bernard Roumain, and librettist Marc Bamuthi Joseph are creating a new work about the disaster and its aftermath for Opera Philadelphia’s inaugural O festival this September. David Patrick Stearns talks to Jones and Joseph about how the piece is coming together.
Jazz Pianist And Composer Geri Allen Dead At 60
“[Allen] defied classification while steadfastly affirming her roots in the hard-bop tradition of her native Detroit … In addition to her varied and commanding work as a leader [of her own ensemble], Allen made her mark as a venturesome improviser on notable albums with the saxophonist-composers Ornette Coleman, Oliver Lake, Steve Coleman and Charles Lloyd; drummer Ralph Peterson, Jr.; bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Paul Motian; and many others.”
Ousted Director Of Shakespeare’s Globe To Start Her Own New Theatre Company
“Emma Rice is to form a new theatre company when she steps down as artistic director of Shakespeare’s Globe next year. The company, called Wise Children, will be based in the South West of England and will work with venues through a series of residencies to create ‘innovative ensemble theatre’ that will then be toured nationally and abroad.”
Another Artists’ Space Shut Down By Fire, This Time In Philadelphia
“A stairwell fire early Tuesday has closed Vox Populi, the artists’ space at 319 N. 11th St., displacing the artists and businesses in the entire building for an undetermined time, forcing tenants to find new locations.” Among the events affected: the Philadelphia Bad Theater Fest, scheduled for this weekend.
MoMA Expansion Gets $50 Million Gift From Billionaire Collector/Hedge Funder
“The collector and hedge fund titan Steven A. Cohen and his wife, Alexandra Cohen, are the latest big-money contributors to the Museum of Modern Art’s capital campaign for new exhibition space. The institution announced today that the couple’s foundation has given $50 million in unrestricted funds.”
England Cuts Funding For Four Large Organisations, Adds Smaller Groups Both In And Beyond London
“The National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal Opera House and the Southbank Centre will all lose 3% of their [Arts Council England] national portfolio organisation grant throughout the next funding period, which runs from 2018 to 2022. … [The cuts] will allow funding for other London-based companies to remain the same and for smaller companies to be brought into the portfolio. … An additional £170 million will be spent outside London across the next four years, and more than 60% of all investment will be beyond London” – this after years of complaints that too much of the national body’s money was spent in the capital.
Top Posts From AJBlogs 06.27.17
Communities as Data Points?
Sometimes a blog post derives from seeing something that only tangentially relates to its point. Such is the case with this one. A while ago I saw an article on the Wallace Foundation’s support of … read more
AJBlog: Engaging Matters Published 2017-06-27
Geri Allen Gone At 60
Geri Allen died today of cancer. She was 60. Ms. Allen was a pianist of uncommon technical achievement and fluency and inspired a generation of younger pianists. Recently a resident of Pittsburgh, … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2017-06-27
Home to roost
Mrs. T and I love the art of Milton Avery and are the proud owners of handsome impressions of two of his most striking prints, a 1948 drypoint and a 1963 lithograph. For some time … read more
AJBlog: About Last Night Published 2017-06-27