We have much to learn from how Bernstein and Stockhausen dealt with their ’50s: not relying on the nostalgic old formulas that lie behind so much new music and supposedly new digital thinking, none of which is nearly as new as “West Side Story” and “Kontakte.”
Why Collective Movement (Dancing?) Brings Us Together
Evidence suggests that synchronising movement with others leads to feelings of togetherness or ‘oneness’ – perhaps because the intentional act of coordinating with another person necessitates sharing mental states. To row a boat down the river, the individual ‘I’ must become the collective ‘we’.
Is Art Made By Computers Even Art?
“Art requires emotional and phrenic investments, with the promised return of a shared slice of the human experience. When we view computer art, the pestering, creepy worry is: who’s on the other end of the line? Is it human? We might, then, worry that it’s not art at all.”
Stewart Pearce, 65, Former Met Opera Director Of Planning And Budgets And Chief Of Metropolitan Opera Guild
“Pearce devoted virtually his entire career to two arts organizations that were intimately connected – the Metropolitan Opera and the Metropolitan Opera Guild – and over a period of almost forty years his service to both institutions was distinguished, marked by intelligence, acumen and a rare degree of discretion.”
UCLA To Build New $31M Graduate Art Studios Complex
“The [existing] studios are located on land owned by UCLA in Culver City – inside a central warehouse, with various additions, that has grown increasingly dilapidated over time. … [The] new, two-story structure with a translucent roof that would create a protected, light-filled, open-air courtyard … would increase usable space by 40%, as well as add an exhibition area and an artist-in-residence studio.” (Take that, USC!)
17 Le Corbusier Buildings Named UNESCO World Heritage Sites
“Citing Le Corbusier’s inventive architectural language, UNESCO praised the collection of projects for ‘[reflecting] the solutions that the Modern Movement sought to apply during the 20th century to the challenges of inventing new architectural techniques to respond to the needs of society.'” (includes photos of all 17 sites)
Why The Classics Are Holding Their Own In Colleges While Other Humanities Are On The Decline
“A recent statistical analysis of professorial job openings by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences shows declines in all humanities disciplines since the Great Recession of 2008, including classics. However, classics suffered least in the downturn. The field has kept its small market share, while the number of job postings fell precipitously in other humanities fields.”
Bill T. Jones And Claudia Rankine On How Art Can Respond To Violence And #BlackLivesMatter
“Choreographer Bill T. Jones and National Book Critics Circle Award-winning poet, essayist and playwright Claudia Rankine join [host Arun Venugopal] to discuss how the creative community has responded to violence and has embraced the Black Lives Matter movement.” (audio)
How Did ‘All Lives Matter’ Come To Oppose ‘Black Lives Matter’?
Linguistic philosopher Ian Olasov: “I think the philosophy of language can help us understand what’s going on, and what I’ve found in some of my research on moral slogans might shed a unique kind of light on the issue.”
Ousted Head Of English National Opera To Get New Position At Bolshoi: Report
“A new artistic post is believed to have been created for [John] Berry, 54, as part of plans by the institution in Moscow to build on its brand as a global arts powerhouse. He is expected to develop collaborations with some of the world’s leading opera houses, directors and performers.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 07.18.16
This Week In Audience: Audience Confusion Editon
This Week: Pokemon Go suggests a different relationship between real and virtual, an art prize in which critics don’t matter, museums challenge visitors to spot fakes, a French city that has reinvented itself around art, and a claim that modern audiences are confused and uncertain. … read more
AJBlog: AJ Arts Audience Published 2016-07-17
Met Layoffs: “Nobody is Ruled Out”
My Friday post about staff shrinkage, from buyouts, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art set off quite a stir: Emergency meetings were held inside the museum to discuss what was going on and the press office ramped up … read more
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts Published 2016-07-17
Language Matters
Once a year, NAS gathers 24 creative changemakers from all over the nation for a week-long residential program called Creative Community House. We spend this week living and learning alongside each other, sharing ideas and experiences and chewing on new information presented by NAS and our partners. And we also debate with each other. A lot. … read more
AJBlog: Field Notes Published 2016-07-17
Communities, Complexities and Commonalities
What does community mean to you? What are the most important aspects of a community? … read more
AJBlog: Field Notes Published 2016-07-18
An invitation
Like people, communities are complex. Communities are not only defined by location, but also by human relationships and needs. … read more
AJBlog: Field Notes Published 2016-07-18
Doing Violence
Alex Ross’s thoughtful essay on vicious uses of music left a few interesting stones oddly turned. At the conclusion, he asks us to “renounce the fiction of music’s innocence,” citing the damage that music can do. “Either music affects the world around it or it doesn’t,” he says. … read more
AJBlog: Infinite Curves Published 2016-07-18
The Met Mess: Parsing the Organizational Upheavals at the Metropolitan Museum
What do the disarray of the Metropolitan Museum’s finances and the shakeup of its senior staff say about Tom Campbell’s performance as director of this country’s preeminent art museum? … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2016-07-18
Monday Recommendation: Peggy Stern
Peggy Stern, Z Octet (Estrella Productions). It has been 16 years since Peggy Stern last applied her piano, composing and arranging talents to a mid-sized ensemble. Z Octet was worth waiting for. … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2016-07-18
Is Brexit Doomed? European Music & (Little) English Country House Festivals Dispel the Gloom
We’re suffering post-Brexit gloom, and disappointment at the cabinet appointments made by the new Prime Minister. Still, there’s a lot to be happy about. Last week we drove, in under an hour (and in opposite directions), to two world-beating country house operatic performances. … read more
AJBlog: Plain English Published 2016-07-18
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What The Social Media Campaign #StarringJohnCho Did For The Actor At Its Heart
“My first reaction was, are they clowning me? I quickly realized it was sincere, and it was kind of amazing. Maybe [it caught on], because the posters made it seem possible. Instead of talking about it or demanding it, it was like, listen, it could be like this. For a minute, people were talking about it in a very serious way.”
Pay To Play Casting Workshops In Los Angeles Now Under City Investigation
“Exchanging money for the prospect of employment is illegal in the state. Yet there have been no prosecutions by the City Attorney’s office since the 2009 legislation, known as the Krekorian Talent Scam Prevention Act, was enacted the following year.”