Laura Miller: “Much of a writer’s rep emerges informally, in the conversations that writers, readers, and critics have amongst themselves. Whether another writer is spoken of respectfully, whether you get the impression that ‘everyone’ is reading his or her new book enthusiastically, or how well people think he or she comes across in interviews – these and a dozen other imponderable factors constitute a reputation during a writer’s lifetime, particularly in the early part of a career. This stuff – let’s call it litchat – may be ephemeral, but it absolutely shapes the formal reception of a writer’s work.”
The Nine Lives Of Cat Videos
Prompted by a visit to the Walker Art Center’s CatVidFest, Jillian Steinhauer offers a nine-part meditation on the Internet’s favorite time waster motion-picture medium and its status as art, or entertainment, or spectacle.
Fringe Festivals Are Cool. But What Should They Really Be?
“Ideas of what fringe theatre should be are as diverse as the acts in the largest festivals. The phrase comes from “fringe of another festival,” and the website worldfringe.com points out they “come in all different shapes and sizes; some are open access, first come first served, created by lottery, juried, part programmed or a mix of them all.” But can the ideals of a fringe—daring, a bit anti-establishment, fresh new voices—be realized if a fringe festival is curated?”
All Scientists Should Be ‘Militant Atheists’
Lawrence M. Krauss: “Astronomers have no problem ridiculing the claims of astrologists, even though a significant fraction of the public believes these claims. Doctors have no problem condemning the actions of anti-vaccine activists who endanger children. And yet, for reasons of decorum, many scientists worry that ridiculing certain religious claims alienates the public from science. When they do so, they are being condescending at best and hypocritical at worst.”
Hollywood’s Elephant Theatre Co. Closes Up Shop, At Least For Now
“The award-winning company, which has built a reputation for championing new American plays, is the latest casualty on Hollywood’s Theatre Row, which has seen an exodus of companies in recent years due to rising rents and other real-estate woes.”
How One Of The 20th Century’s Great Public Intellectuals Saw The World
“Willis, who died of lung cancer in 2006 at sixty-four, was one of the great public intellectuals of her generation. Read the latest anthology of her work, The Essential Ellen Willis (2014)—the posthumous anthology that won the National Book Critics Circle Award for criticism this year—and you will see that she was virtually incapable of writing a poor sentence or conceiving an unsurprising insight. Her rigor was unmatched, her fearlessness an inspiration. In every piece, wit lilted like an aria over a basso continuo of moral seriousness.”
Aretha Franklin Blocks Showing Of Documentary At Toronto And Telluride Festivals
“Amazing Grace offers an unfiltered look a 1972 gospel concert Franklin gave at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church. Footage was initially shot by the late Sydney Pollack for Warner Bros. … At issue is whether Franklin has veto power over use of the footage. … [She] is seeking a deal before the film is shown, including a $1-million up-front free as well as a revenue-share arrangement.”
Twyla Tharp’s Rehearsal Journal: When Guests Come To See A New Program In Progress
“In these showings, which I’m in the middle of now, I acquire new sets of eyes. I know what I think of the works, but having an audience gives me other points of view, some of which are radically different from my own. I have been doing this long enough to know that everyone comes with specific agendas and will probably leave with those same biases intact, and that not everyone loves me, though I wish they would.”
In A Country Where Culture Is Repressed, How Do Artists Express Themselves?
“In 1965, Jeddah was home to Saudi Arabia’s first art show in modern times. Back then, the scene was more vibrant, with cinema, music and live theater. But in the late 1970s, a conservative religious establishment took control of the country’s social life and education and that vibrant scene was shut down. Today, every piece of art that’s shown publicly must first pass the government’s muster.”
A Beloved Bookstore Passes To A New Generation
“Tattered Cover customers have been fiercely loyal through past transitions. Years ago, when the store moved across the street, hundreds of customers helped lug boxes of books. Their only reward: a t-shirt, a sandwich and a strong sense of community.”
Can Neuroscience Help Us Understand How We Understand Art? Maybe, But…
“These days neural approaches to art — so-called neuroaesthetics — are all the rage. We find it somehow compelling to think that the brain holds the answers to the questions about, well, everything that matters to us, including art. It’s hard not to be impressed by the excitement scientists feel as they try to hunt down aesthetic experience in the brain using the advanced methods and technologies of cognitive science. But art is an elusive quarry, and it leaves its clumsy predator flailing in the dust.”
How Copyright Is Killing Internet Memes
“Do we end up with this predatory content environment, where people share something, and it becomes prominent, and the rights-holder goes after everyone who shared it? That could devastate the ecosystem: “Meme practice is so important to Internet dialogue, and to how Internet culture functions.”
What’s It Like To Be Inside The LA Philharmonic’s Virtual Reality Machine?
There are a bunch of nice aspects of the program. Depending on “where you are,” the balance of sound changes, like it would in real life, so you hear more viola if you’re near the violas, more flute if you’re by the woodwinds, etc. The L.A. Phil also added abstract visualizations of the music to give viewers something else to look at while they listen. For me these elements were distracting, but I can see how they might add engagement for someone who is new to watching “live” classical music.
LA Philharmonic – The New Virtual Reality Orchestra
“I stood on the moon with Microsoft’s HoloLens. I perched in the forest as Reese Witherspoon wandered by in the movie Wild. And I nearly wept during Lost, director Saschka Unseld’s animated short about a severed robot hand lost in the woods. But no programming has moved me as much as four minutes of classical music put together by the Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra’s crack digital initiatives team.”
Is “Effective Altruism” A Threat To The Arts?
For those dedicated to supporting culture, the scariest part of the effective altruist movement is that it seems to resonate strongly with the new generation of young, data-driven donors.
Has The Indianapolis Museum Become a Country Club?
Not surprisingly, what once was a lively and socially diverse spot, where local families — including some from adjacent low income neighborhoods — mingled with museum visitors, was vacated. The adjacent Lilly Nursery was also empty.
John Perrault, 78, Art Critic, Artist, Poet (And ArtsJournal Blogger)
“Perreault is best-known for being an early proponent of avant-garde movements like Minimalism, Land art, and Pattern and Decoration during the late 1960s and the ’70s. … He also had an eye for artists who would ultimately become canonical. As a result, he achieved a following from artists, critics, curators, and readers of all kinds.”
White Guy Can’t Get His Poem Published; Submits It Under Chinese Pen Name; It Gets Selected For ‘Best American Poetry 2015’; Kerfuffle Commences
The strange tale of “The Bees, the Flowers, Jesus, Ancient Tigers, Poseidon, Adam and Eve” by Michael Derrick Hudson, alias Yi-Fen Chou – and how, when Hudson came clean to this year’s editor, Sherman Alexie, Alexie included it anyway.
What Exactly IS ‘Political Correctness,’ Anyway?
“Specifically, most of us are not entirely sure what that term actually … means. Stop for a moment, and think for yourself: How would you define the term?
The Uniquely American Myth Of Satanic Cults
“This is what happens when hypervigilance and moral panic take precedence over accepted scientific methodologies and hard evidence.” (And no, tis article explains, the Satanic Temple is not, in fact, a cult; It’s not even very Satanic.)
Royal Winnipeg Ballet Studios And Archives Severely Damaged By Flooding Toilet
“It pumped water out at full strength for nearly 30 hours before it was detected. Hallways, offices, and important studio space were all under water. … The flood also attacked something far more difficult to fix – the ballet company’s history.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 09.08.15
Master Teacher
AJBlog: Infinite Curves Published 2015-09-07
Monday Recommendation: Fred Hersch
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2015-09-07
Other Matters: Our Poor Language
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2015-09-08
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What A Small Startup Online News Service Can Teach The Arts About Finding An Audience
“They encouraged and facilitated the community’s thoughtful, respectful commitment to their community in its relation to the news and the site, and this engagement of their audience helped to lure advertisers who might have gotten a cheaper and better CPM at some other news venue.”
David Snead Appointed New Head Of Boston’s Handel & Haydn Society
“Currently vice president of marketing, brand, and customer experience at the New York Philharmonic, he will take up his post with the venerable chorus and period-instrument orchestra next month , and will work in partnership with artistic director Harry Christophers.