“[Paul] Crewes, formerly the head of the innovative, Tony-nominated U.K.-based company Kneehigh Theatre, is something of a ‘get’ for the Wallis [Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills] … When it opened in 2013 after more than a decade of fundraising and planning, the more than $70-million startup got off to a bumpy start . While its campus was tricked out with two theaters, costume, wig and prop shops, an educational wing, a spacious promenade terrace and sculpture garden, it didn’t have an artistic director until now.”
Zaha Hadid’s Successor Talks About Where The Firm Is Headed Now
“Born in Bonn in 1961, [Patrik] Schumacher worked with Zaha Hadid in her London office from 1988 until her death earlier this year, and rose to become her right-hand man. … Now Schumacher is in charge of the 400-strong practice, with the daunting task of continuing without the impetus that came with her fame and charisma. They have on their books projects such as the Beijing airport new terminal building, due for completion in 2018, a colossal splayed, curvaceous sea creature of a structure that will eventually handle 72 million passengers a year.”
The Lost Art Of 9/11
“The task force estimated that a staggering $100 million in art from private collections, and an additional $10 million worth of public art was lost in the tragedy. Some works of art did survive, though.”
Why The New National African American Museum Won’t Have Any Martin Luther King Artifacts
“I could not be more cynical, more jaded on this subject,” said historian David J. Garrow, who won the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for his book “Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.” “Given the family’s behavior this last 20 years, they’re unlikely to have any interest in sharing without a large upfront payment.”
We’re Asking Artificial Intelligence To Do Some Serious Stuff. Are We Ready?
“The core issue here isn’t that AI is worse than the existing human-led processes that serve to make predictions and assign rankings. Indeed, there’s much hope that AI can be used to provide more objective assessments than humans, reducing bias and leading to better outcomes. The key concern is that AI systems are being integrated into key social institutions, even though their accuracy, and their social and economic effects, have not been rigorously studied or validated.”
The Detroit Symphony’s New “Cube”
“Arts institutions are fragile. There are always lots of competing needs. But the Cube needs to be a regular place for provocative, out-of-the-box and grassroots entertainment that reflects the personality of the city.”
Getting A Solo Show At The Whitney At Age 101
“‘Frankly, she didn’t bloom late, she was noticed late,’ said Dana Miller, the exhibition’s curator and until recently director of collections at the Whitney. ‘She bloomed a long time ago.'”
The Case For ‘Feelgood Seriousness’
“It’s a joyful, noncynical story of women and their progression in this world.”
Losing Our Religion, But Together, In A Semi-Religious Structure Kind Of Way
“Even as growing numbers of U.S. adults are disaffiliating from faith-based institutions, some have found that secular life lacks the community structures and sense of belonging often offered by religious organizations.”
What Happens When Matilda Grows Up?
“I got to have the most amazing birthday party ever courtesy of Danny DeVito and his family. I got to travel. And, on a pragmatic level, it helped me pay for college.”
From This Weekend’s AJBlogs 09.11.16
This Week In Understanding Audience Stories: America’s Creative Divide Isn’t Where You Think
This Week: There’s a creative divide in America but it’s not where you think… Rethinking the modern concert hall in favor of the audience… Is glamour an ineffective sell for pop music?… A link …read more
AJBlog: AJ Arts AudiencePublished 2016-09-11
Weekend Extra: Alex Riel Meets Bill Evans
Listeners rarely have the opportunity to witness world-class musicians prepare for a performance. In the autumn of1966, pianist Bill Evans toured Europe with his regular bassist, Eddie Gomez. Danish drummer Alex Riel joined them for …read more
AJBlog: RiffTidesPublished 2016-09-10
Listeners rarely have the opportunity to witness world-class musicians prepare for a performance. In the autumn of1966, pianist Bill Evans toured Europe with his regular bassist, Eddie Gomez. Danish drummer Alex Riel joined them for …read more
AJBlog: RiffTidesPublished 2016-09-10
In Case Facebook Is Watching
AP Photographer Nick Ut’s famous Pulitzer Prize-winning Vietnam War photo illustrating the terror of war wascensored for nudity by Mark Zukerberg’s minions. Facebook deigned to restore the image to … read more
AJBlog: Straight|UpPublished 2016-09-10
AP Photographer Nick Ut’s famous Pulitzer Prize-winning Vietnam War photo illustrating the terror of war wascensored for nudity by Mark Zukerberg’s minions. Facebook deigned to restore the image to … read more
AJBlog: Straight|UpPublished 2016-09-10
Gard Foundation Symposium–Our Communities: Day 3
Today was the final day of The Robert E. Gard Foundation’s Our Communities: A Symposium on the Arts at The Johnson Foundation at Wingspread’s conference center. New Ideas for a World in Transition: A Next … read more
AJBlog: Engaging MattersPublished 2016-09-09
Today was the final day of The Robert E. Gard Foundation’s Our Communities: A Symposium on the Arts at The Johnson Foundation at Wingspread’s conference center. New Ideas for a World in Transition: A Next … read more
AJBlog: Engaging MattersPublished 2016-09-09
We’ll have a real good time
I rarely meet a revival I don’t like. Classic plays are good for thinking: they re-reveal themselves in each new production, and choices in text and staging function as a conversation between a past … read more
AJBlog: Performance MonkeyPublished 2016-09-09 Fifteen years ago
A few weeks after 9/11, I wrote an essay for Crisis about where I was and what I did that day. This is part of it. * * * “Get up, son,” my mother said, … read more
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2016-09-09
I rarely meet a revival I don’t like. Classic plays are good for thinking: they re-reveal themselves in each new production, and choices in text and staging function as a conversation between a past … read more
AJBlog: Performance MonkeyPublished 2016-09-09 Fifteen years ago
A few weeks after 9/11, I wrote an essay for Crisis about where I was and what I did that day. This is part of it. * * * “Get up, son,” my mother said, … read more
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2016-09-09
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This Weekend’s Top AJBlog Posts 09.11.16
This Week In Understanding Audience Stories: America’s Creative Divide Isn’t Where You Think This Week: There’s a creative divide in America but it’s not where you think… Rethinking the modern concert hall in favor of the audience… Is glamour an ineffective sell for pop music?… A link … read more
AJBlog: AJ Arts AudiencePublished 2016-09-11
Weekend Extra: Alex Riel Meets Bill Evans Listeners rarely have the opportunity to witness world-class musicians prepare for a performance. In the autumn of1966, pianist Bill Evans toured Europe with his regular bassist, Eddie Gomez. Danish drummer Alex Riel joined them for … read more
AJBlog: RiffTidesPublished 2016-09-10
In Case Facebook Is Watching Nick Ut / Associated Press [1972]AP Photographer Nick Ut’s famous Pulitzer Prize-winning Vietnam War photo illustrating the terror of war wascensored for nudity by Mark Zukerberg’s minions. Facebook deigned to restore the image to … read more
AJBlog: Straight|UpPublished 2016-09-10
Gard Foundation Symposium–Our Communities: Day 3 Today was the final day of The Robert E. Gard Foundation’s Our Communities: A Symposium on the Arts at The Johnson Foundation at Wingspread’s conference center. New Ideas for a World in Transition: A Next … read more
AJBlog: Engaging MattersPublished 2016-09-09
We’ll have a real good time I rarely meet a revival I don’t like.Classic plays are good for thinking: they re-reveal themselves in each new production, and choices in text and staging function as a conversation between a past … read more
AJBlog: Performance MonkeyPublished 2016-09-09
This Week In Understanding Audience Stories: America’s Creative Divide Isn’t Where You Think
This Week: There’s a creative divide in America but it’s not where you think… Rethinking the modern concert hall in favor of the audience… Is glamour an ineffective sell for pop music?… A link between audience attendance and donations (not what you think)… Why has reading of literature declined?
This Week’s AJ Arts Highlights: Has Entertainment Made Art Irrelevant?
This Week: Major shakeup in London’s museum world… Nobel laureate says entertainment has killed art… Latest study of Hollywood reaffirms cultural inequality… Why did Wells Fargo disparage artists?… Did the Glenn Gould Foundation get ahead of itself in announcing arts Nobel prizes?
The Man Who Claimed The Brass Ring Of Directing The Royal Concertgebouw
“He assumes leadership of the orchestra — widely considered to be among the top five in the world — at a moment when it is at its musical apex but facing real fund-raising challenges.”
Comfy Chairs, Legroom, Lockers, And Glamour: A Wish List For The Revamp Of The New York Philharmonic’s Hall
Michael Cooper: “Of course they need to fix the acoustics. … But what about the little things that can make all the difference when it comes to creating a concert hall that people will fall in love with? The things that might not rise to the top of the to-do list when planning a mega-project that is expected to begin in 2019 and cost on the order of a half-billion dollars? As a frequent concertgoer, I have a few modest proposals.”