Cherry Jones went onstage with a banana peel stuck to her dress. A sick Jefferson Mays threw up onstage and the director asked him to keep it in. John Leguizamo had to improvise after a propmaster forgot a key prop, only to have Ben Brantley scolded him in print for not knowing his lines.
That Alleged Caravaggio They Found In An Attic Is Totally Not Genuine – But It Should Be In A Museum Nevertheless
Same for that notorious fake Vermeer that fooled Hermann Goering, argues Noah Charney, who wrote the book on art forgery. He lays out his case against the painting found under a roof in Toulouse, then lays out a case for it – as art, if not as real Caravaggio.
Why Gerhard Richter Keeps Destroying Hudreds Of Millions Of Dollars Worth Of His Work
“These were not newly finished pieces that failed to meet his vision or standards; in many cases, they were paintings that had appeared in exhibitions and shows—paintings that Der Spiegel estimates would now be worth around $655 million—before Richter eventually deemed them unworthy.”
85-Year-Old Dance Legend Carmen de Lavallade On Making A Place In Your Life For Dance
“What I love now is mentoring young people about performance. Where do you get your ideas? You must read, do your homework. And get rid of those cellphones. Lift your eyes and look at each other. You aren’t going to grow if you don’t watch people. Tell their stories. Tell your story.”
Who Should Get The Proceeds Of Ferdinand And Imelda Marcos’ Art?
“At issue is whether the 50 works — which include an 1881 painting by Claude Monet — should go to thousands of victims of the now-dead dictator, to the current Philippine government or to the personal secretary to Imelda Marcos, who contends she was rightfully given some of the art as gifts.”
How Much Is JK Rowling Really Worth?
Rowling is an entire industry. Books, movies, theme parks… she’s created an international creative franchise and everyone seems to celebrate her success. And she’s been rewarded. “A close look at Ms. Rowling’s sources of income suggests that she’s worth more than $1 billion, even allowing for a large margin of error.”
This Whole Mindfulness Thing – Is It Overrated?
“The idea that we should be constantly policing our thoughts away from the past, the future, the imagination or the abstract and back to whatever is happening right now has gained traction with spiritual leaders and investment bankers, armchair philosophers and government bureaucrats and human resources departments. So does the moment really deserve its many accolades?”
Detroit’s Contemporary Art Scene Is Flourishing. So Detroit Institute Of Arts Plans A Contemporary Makeover
“A DIA more fully engaged with the art of our time could have a catalytic influence on Detroit’s cultural scene and the artists who live and work here — especially at a time when there’s so much action in artists’ studios, in the galleries and on the street.”
Miami’s Still Not Hot At The Whitney Biennial
The larger art world seemed on the verge of picking Miami as a cultural hot spot back in 2008, four Biennials ago, before it all went not exactly south but more like someplace else, to places whose artists address the politics of the world.
The Punk Ethos Doesn’t Die: A Public Fire Consumes Punk Memorabilia
The son of Malcolm McLaren, the manager of the Sex Pistols, burned what he said was 5 million pounds worth of punk memorabilia on the middle of a boat in the Thames. He said: “Punk has become another marketing tool to sell you something you don’t need. …If you want to understand the potent values of punk, confront taboos. Do not tolerate hypocrisy. Investigate the truth for yourself.”
The Wife Of Putin’s Spokesman Does An Ice Skating Routine In The Uniform Of A Holocaust Victim
The routine went over well on Russian reality TV – but not on social media: “Former Olympic figure skating champion Tatiana Navka and actor Andrey Burkovsky wore striped concentration camp uniforms and yellow Stars of David for their performance on state-owned Channel 1’s ‘Ice Age’ show, in which professional skaters are paired with celebrities.”
This Week in Audience: The Trump Era Will Force The Arts To Define Its Audiences; The Stories We All Respond To…
This Week: The Trump victory forces theatres to figure out who its audience is… A classic example of starting small in Kenya and developing a demand for books… How did an 80-year-old self-help book get on this year’s bestseller list?… The six stories to which we all respond… Authenticity and an unlikely concert venue.
Top Posts From AJBlogs For The Weekend 11.27.16
This Week in Audience: The Trump Era Will Force The Arts To Define Its Audiences; The Stories We All Respond To… This Week: The Trump victory forces theatres to figure out who its audience is… A classic example of starting small in Kenya and developing a demand for books… How did an 80-year-old self-help book … read more
AJBlog: AJ Arts AudiencePublished 2016-11-27
Paul Desmond, Born 11/25/24 Normally, I pay little attention to my smart phone, but today it alerted me to several social media messages pointing out that I had not posted about Paul Desmond on his 92nd birthday. Believe me, … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2016-11-25
Two thoughts about music
Mrs. T and I just got back from seeing Maria Schneider’s first set at the Jazz Standard. Two thoughts come to mind, the first original and the second not: • In the presence of music, … read more
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2016-11-25
Premium Snow: Are the Luxe New West Coast Nutcrackers Worth the Bucks ?
Nutcracker season has arrived. Photo: Doug Gifford/Segerstrom Center for the Arts Two highly anticipated, top-draw Nutcracker productions that premiered on the West Coast last season — Peter Boal’s new setting of “George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker” … read more
AJBlog: Fresh Pencil Published 2016-11-25
Reasons to Be Thankful: Rock n roll
Here are my 25 favorite rock records. Trying to focus on proper studio albums, so live concerts and anthologies strongly discouraged. No jazz, classical music, pure country, electronica, acoustic blues, or hip hop. (I’ll … read more
AJBlog: CultureCrashPublished 2016-11-25
This Week’s Top AJ Stories: Does Pittsburgh Symphony Strike Settlement Solve Anything? Should Arts Funding Be Dependent On Encouraging Bad Behavior?
This Week: Did settling the Pittsburgh Symphony strike just kick the can down the road?… The idea of progress is a fragile (and recent) notion… Why should this arts funding depend on encouraging bad behavior?… The art establishment is caught in an increasingly high-stakes investment battle… We celebrate reading – but has the dissemination of ideas and knowledge moved on?
How Instagram Became The Perfect Breeding Ground For Conspiracy Theories
Yikes. The app’s technical details make it ripe for exploitation by those into “post-truth” memes: “Disinformation that would quickly be debunked on other networks thrives on Instagram, especially since it hasn’t been worth mainstream media organizations’ effort to devote significant time or money to the platform.”
The Great Passion Project Of Martin Scorsese’s Career Is About — A 17th-Century Jesuit In Japan? Why?
“He is known for his gangster pictures; he is a grandmaster of the profane. From the beginning, he has revealed himself to be an artist of intensely Catholic preoccupations, and the poisoned arrow of religious conflict runs straight through his career.”