“If we were living in a culture dominated by grown-ups, Martin Scorsese would be considered the purveyor of middle-brow forgettable fare rather than the gold standard of sophistication, and at least the childless among us would not even have to be aware of Spider-Man’s existence.” – Substack
Dean Of South Korean Contemporary Art, Suh Se Ok, Dead At 91
“A student of calligraphy, Suh and his [avant-garde] compatriots were intent on forging an experimental, distinctly Korean form of ink painting, eschewing the Japanese techniques that had held sway during its colonial rule of the peninsula, which ended in 1945. They were in dialogue with American and European postwar abstract painting movements such as Art Informel, while spurning their tools, unlike many of their Korean contemporaries.” – ARTnews
The Agonizing, Years-Long Journey That Took David Hallberg To The Australian Ballet
“I was broken,” the new director of the company says. In 2013, he injured a foot, and the treatment he got for it (including one badly misguided surgery, followed by another to correct the first) over the next two years was disastrous, much worse than he revealed publicly at the time. At age 33, not only could he no longer dance, he couldn’t really walk properly. Desperate, he got a one-way plane ticket to Melbourne and turned to the Australian Ballet’s unique physiotherapy team. Here’s the story of how they saved him. – The Age (Melbourne)
Can The Great British Bake Off Survive Global Warming?
Nope. “The heat has become an increasingly familiar character. The camera pans over shot after shot of the searing sun. The judges explain an upcoming challenge, once again emphasizing that the heat will make it even more difficult. (Butter, the star ingredient of many baked goods, turns into liquid at 94 F [34 C], and starts to soften long before that.) To cool down during challenges, the bakers have started wearing wet rags around their necks that leave damp patches on their aprons.” – Wired
We All Know The Crown Is Fiction, So Why Is The British Government So Concerned?
As the author points out tartly, “The presence of actors is a strong clue” that the Netflix series isn’t a documentary. And yet there is a source for this discomfort: “The real source of unease with The Crown comes from the dissonance between the high naturalism of the program’s costumes, staging, and set design and the liberties taken with its plotlines. The current discussion would not be happening if the show were not so rigorously faithful to the historical record in every department except for its script.” – The Atlantic
You Know You Want Jonas Kauffman Singing Silent Night
And other “classical” Christmas and holiday and winter music, all that a holiday festivity fan’s heart could desire. Just know: “If you’re more a Winterreise than a Winter Wonderland type, this one’s not for you.” – The Guardian (UK)
How Much Art, Hidden Beneath Wallpaper Or Paint, Is Lost To Renovation?
Or, as the paper calls it, a renovation “craze” in Britain. “Radical home makeovers are increasingly common, reflected by all the TV shows on the theme. This often results in damage and loss of wall paintings, particularly as wattle and daub panelling may be in poor condition. It is usually stripped out and replaced rather than preserved.” – The Observer (UK)
Hollywood Offers Up Movie Theatres As A Sacrifice To The Pandemic
Will it work? Can the industry save itself with streaming deals? Hm. “Theater chains are right to fear for their survival. And WarnerMedia’s move, which seems more motivated by panic than a desire for long-term success, is a risky bet for studios, too.” – The Atlantic
Waiting For Your Virus-Canceled Opera To Premiere, And Then Waiting More, Is So Very 2020
Composer Elaine Agnew was supposed to see her opera Paper Boats premiere in Galway. “The original plan for three performances in mid-June was lost due to the first lockdown and the December performance would have been a slimmed-down livestream. Now, like most of Music for Galway’s 2020 plans … it’s hovering, Cheshire-cat-like, in the imponderable, post-festive, pre-vaccine future most of us are contemplating for the early months of 2021.” – Irish Times
Eight Miles Of Prehistoric Art Found In The Amazon
The archaeology team, composed of Colombian and British researchers, “found realistic drawings of deer, tapirs, alligators, bats, monkeys, turtles, serpents, and porcupines. There are also depictions of creatures resembling a giant sloth, camelids, horses, and three-toe ungulates with trunks” – and human interactions with the animals as well. – Hyperallergic
Can Fiction, Even If It’s Thinly Disguised Reality, Be Considered An Invasion Of Privacy?
Emmanual Carrère is a lauded French author. His latest book, Yoga, “was initially tipped as a contender for the country’s top literary prize, the Goncourt. Then came questions about gaps in the mostly autobiographical narrative, and the revelation by Carrère’s ex-wife, the freelance journalist Hélène Devynck, that Carrère is legally barred from writing about her without her consent — an agreement she alleges he broke in Yoga.” – The New York Times
Look, 2020 Broke Christmas Music
“There really aren’t enough chestnuts in the world to make this holiday season feel like reason to sing. And I’m here to say that it’s okay to not be okay.” Here’s a classical music critic’s ideas for what to listen to instead. – Washington Post