“For better or worse, the West has escaped the tyranny that the dead once held over the living, and still do in many lands and cultures. We no longer make room for the dead in our worlds: the household flame lit for the ancestors, death masks, Sunday picnics in the cemetery, Funeral Savings Banks, even coffins themselves – all of these seem increasingly distant from our death-wary present.”
Nabokov’s ‘Pale Fire’ Is ‘The Great Gay Comic Novel’, Argues Edmund White
“[The character] Kinbote’s mad ‘notes’, far from commenting on Shade’’ poem, trace out a mini-biog¬raphy of Kinbote. And that biography, real or delusional, is the picture of an unrepentant homosexual, sensual, guilt-free, tirelessly on the make. In the 1950s, gay men were portrayed in fiction and films as lonely phantoms – sad and colourless – or sometimes as instant villains (see Norman Mailer’s essay, ‘The Gay Villain’, 1954). Nabokov, by contrast, depicts Kinbote as lustful, entitled, screamingly absurd.”
Chutzpah: 90-Year-Old Woman Sees Art Depicting Crossword Puzzle, Fills In Answers, Claims Copyright On Vandalized Work
“The 1977 creation by the 20th-century artist Arthur Köpcke was lent to Nuremberg’s Neues Museum by a private collector, and is said to be worth around £68,000. The retired German dentist … said that she started filling in the artwork’s crossword puzzle because it bore the phrases ‘Insert words’ and ‘so it suits.’ … [Her attorney] says that far from harming the work in question, his client has increased its value.”
The Jewish Naval Officer Who Saved Monticello – And Whose Descendants Caught Hell For It
The trouble really started around 1880, when the wife of a congressman wrote, “By what right must the people of the world ask Mr. Levy for permission to visit the grave and home of Thomas Jefferson? Surely he does not want a whole nation forever crawling at his feet for permission to worship at this shrine of our independence.”
New York Is About To Get A Shape-Shifting Buidling
Movable walls that raise up like garage doors and slide open allow the building to essentially become one big Tetris puzzle in which the users can slot in stadium seating for up to 1,250 people—or leave open for a standing audience of 3,000.
Is Virtual Reality The New Music Video?
“If you can put yourself inside of a music experience, when you’re 100% covered with the artist’s music and another artist’s interpretation of the music, we thought those two worlds colliding is great way to achieve something remarkable. I want to explore that as an art form, and create the next generation moments that is something everyone will talk about.”
The Politics Of Europe’s New, Hot Superstar Writers
“A new generation of young European writers is reinventing political literature—and people are listening. Some of the brightest new voices on the continent are making their names through overtly political books, showing that literature, even books of poetry, can still play a significant role in shaping public discourse.”
Is Multitasking Good Or Bad For You? The Answer Is (Predictably) Complicated
“Multitasking has a purpose—but it’s not as effective as we think and makes us more prone to mistakes. Doing rote sorting or organizing work while having a conversation with a coworker? Fine. But try answering an email while trying to explain an important meeting outcome to your boss, and both tasks will take you longer, have a greater likelihood of errors, and be more taxing than if you focused and did one thing.”
Why Do I Get Carsick? Turns Out It’s Because My Brain Thinks I’m Being Poisoned
It’s all about the way the thalamus (mis-)interprets the signals from the tiny, liquid-filled motion sensors in the inner ear.
Secrets Of Success For Producers At The Edinburgh Fringe
“Edinburgh is often described as the world’s biggest arts trade show. It is, but one of the things that today’s fringe producing landscape reflects is changes in the wider theatre ecology. … Edinburgh isn’t just a chance to make money, it’s also about finding future talent to produce.”
How Werner Herzog Got The North Korean Censors To Just Trust Him
“At one point I filmed something which I was not allowed to do, so I wanted to have it edited or deleted. But … we were unable to delete it, and they wanted to take the entire memory hard drive. And I said, ‘But it contains two days’ worth of shooting, that would be terrible.’ So I said, ‘You know what, I can guarantee to you that I’m not going to use this material.’ And they said, ‘Guarantee, what do you mean by that?'” (podcast)
29 Publishers Shut Down By Turkish Government After Failed Coup
“According to the Turkish Publishers Association, the decree means that all goods, assets, rights, documents and papers belonging to the publishers will be transferred free of charge to the Turkish treasury, with no appeal to be made, and the prospect of further publishers being shut down in the future.”
The Happiness Industry – Narcissism For The Masses?
“You can’t really be happy if you are a victim of injustice or exploitation, which is what the technologists of joy tend to overlook. This is why, when Aristotle speaks of a science of well-being, he gives it the name of politics. The point is of little interest to the neuroscientists, advertising gurus or mindfulness mongers, which is why so much of their work is spectacularly beside the point.”
New Harry Potter Book Is UK’s Fastest Seller This Decade
“It has sold more than 680,000 copies in its first three days alone, beating Fifty Shades of Grey which sold 664,478 in a single week in 2012. At its current rate, it is on track to become the second biggest single-week sales for a book since records began.”
The Olympics Promised London A Legacy. Sure, What What Did It Turn Out To Be?
“That London has a lasting physical inheritance from its two-week £12bn jamboree is indisputable, but what kind of place is the promised Legacy-land turning out to be?”
Crystal Pite Has An Interesting Theory About Why Ballet Choreography Is So Male-Dominated
“A young boy making the choice to study ballet as a kid is strong enough to push against the ridicule of his peers so he’s probably already a bit of a maverick … It’s natural for girls to be in the ballet world so they don’t have to resist anything – and they are prized for their ability to be obedient, to conform. So all the qualities that got the boy into ballet class in the first place are the same qualities you need to be a creator.”
Public Art At Rio Olympics Cut Because There’s No Money
“The arts programme ahead of the 2016 Rio Olympics has suffered another loss due to budget cuts … A public work by the Italian artist Giancarlo Neri is among the installations recently cancelled by the country’s new culture minister Marcelo Calero.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 08.03.16
Are We Building Artistic Leadership?
Are the arts about selling tickets to shows or about art? Of course performances and exhibitions don’t happen if they don’t have money to be produced, but – as evidenced at an arts marketing conference where I recently spoke … read more
AJBlog: diacritical/Douglas McLennan Published 2016-08-03
A Big Splash for A Little Museum
Winona, MN, is home to just 27,500 people, but it has an art museum worthy of a much bigger city. The Minnesota Marine Art Museum – which is far more interesting than you may now be imagining … read more
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts Published 2016-08-03
The Met Breuer, Like Its Signature Show, Is “Unfinished” (with video)
I decided to revisit the Met Breuer today, to view belatedly its well attended, justly praised exhibition of photographer Diane Arbus‘ early works, in which her unsettling genius for detecting the bizarre in the commonplace … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2016-08-03
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James Houghton, 57, Founder Of Signature Theatre And Director Of Juilliard Drama Program
“I don’t think there was anyone in the theater community more beloved than Jim,” the playwright Tony Kushner, whose work was featured in Signature’s 2010-11 season, wrote in an email. “He had a great soul and a grand capacity for friendship and love. He was smart and passionate. He built his singular legacy, founded on his devotion to playwrights’ work and to playwrights themselves, with a uniquely sweet, generous spirit; with unflagging optimism; and with grace.”
Wholesale Makeover Of Pennsylvania Ballet Continues With Hire Of 17 New Dancers
“All told, since Angel Corella’s arrival, 22 dancers have left the company, with some retiring, some joining other companies and others simply not being re-engaged. With Wednesday’s appointments — of dancers from around the United States, as well as from Russia, Cuba, Japan and South Korea — Mr. Corella has now brought on 29 of the 43 dancers on the company’s roster.”
Study: Concert-Goers Are More Satisfied With Their Lives
“Total wellbeing scores were significantly higher for people who reported that they danced or attended musical events,” the researchers report. Compared to people who did not participate in these activities, members of both groups gave themselves significantly higher ratings on several important scales, including life achievements, relationships, and community.