“In the English-speaking world, over the past half-century, the proportion of students studying humanities at university has hardly changed. … And, very importantly, the rapid expansion of higher education in the world over the past couple of generations means that, in absolute numbers, more people are studying the humanities than ever before. The question is why humanists have not been able or willing to recognise their own sustained success.”
Winner Of Poetry-In-Translation Award Returns Prize Money And Withdraws
In November, Allen Prowle won the Stephen Spender Prize for Johnson Brothers Ltd, his translation of a volume by Dutch poet Rutger Kopland. “But Dutch poetry site Nederlandse Poëzie Encyclopedie claimed last week that Prowle’s submissions this year ‘aren’t superb translations at all, but blatant plagiarism’.”
The Twenty Most Misused Words In The English Language
But don’t perseverate. “It’s easy to get too caught up in being perfectly “correct” and become a tedious language snob. Remember you probably want to come across as intelligent and thoughtful, not uptight and pedantic.”
Mansplaining ‘Lolita’: What Happened When Rebecca Solnit Had At Esquire’s Books-Every-Man-Should-Read List
“I was arguing not that everyone should read books by ladies … but that maybe the whole point of reading is to be able to explore … and experience being others. Saying this upset some men. Many among that curious gender are easy to upset, and when they are upset they don’t know it (see: privelobliviousness). They just think you’re wrong and sometimes also evil.”
How Hipsters And Foodies Were Fooled Into Buying Terrible Chocolate At $10 A Bar
“As artisanal food surges in popularity, whether it’s chocolate, liquor or jam, the Mast Brothers’ story highlights how a company can have great success selling a product of dubious quality as something ‘artisanal’ or ‘handcrafted’ with beautiful packaging and handsome, bearded founders.”
How Did This Depressing Joni Mitchell Piece Become ‘A Traditional Christmas Song’?
“Perhaps it’s ascended to holiday-hit status precisely because it’s an antidote to all those ‘songs of joy and peace.'”
The Trumpets Of Handel’s ‘Messiah’
“In a brass player’s equivalent of scaling Everest without oxygen, some trumpeters take pride in playing — and meticulously tuning — Handel’s solo on so-called natural trumpets without holes.”
What Does Mahler Mean?
“Even Mahler’s bucolic idylls were conditioned by his busy life. The resorts where he went were fashionable and increasingly crowded. Good rail connections linked them to the major centers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, making them ‘microcosms of the very cities from which the composer so often claimed to take refuge.’ The experience was more like Davos than Caspar David Friedrich. Mahler’s love of nature was predicated on his separation from it.”
The Music Equivalent Of Tate Modern – London’s Plans For A New World Class Concert Hall
The new centre, which could open in September 2023, aims to have “the same transformative effect on public engagement with music that Tate Modern brought about for contemporary art”. It will deliver “world-class acoustics” and have “education and accessibility at its core”.
Why We’re Having Difficulty Simulating The Human Brain
“Ultimately, we need to reproduce the things that make the brain work; but to spot those, we need to understand how it works or at least have a theory the simulation can test. Alas, we don’t.”
Secret Sale Of 250 Works Confiscated From Dealer In Knoedler Gallery Scandal
“More than 250 works were offered in three online auctions in March and April, and made a total of $4.9m.”
Hartford’s Wadsworth Atheneum Picks A New Director
Henry “Hank” Martin, the new president of the Atheneum board of trustees, said Thomas Loughman was chosen from a field of 80 candidates, and was the only one of the three finalists who had never been director of a museum.
Theatre Production Shut Down Over Scenery Copyright Claims
“TheatreWorks board members, who are responsible for artistic decisions, were not aware of the copyright infringement until they received the email to cease and desist. The board accepted responsibility for the error.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 12.17.15
Broad Expectations: Exceeded
The other day the Broad Museum announced attendance since its opening on Sept. 20: it admitted 177,264 visitors in its first 12 weeks; by the end of this month, it expects more than … read more
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts Published 2015-12-17
$3.75m Cash Severance: Patrick McClymont, Sotheby’s CFO, Steps Down Suddenly
In the latest Sotheby’s shocker, the auction house has just announced that its chief financial officer, Patrick McClymont, is precipitously stepping down. He will resign, effective Dec. 31, to pursue the proverbial “other opportunities.” … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2015-12-17
Herman And Hefti, “Let It Snow”
“The birdbath looks like a coconut cake,” my wife said. In addition to beauty, the sight offered two benefits. 1. It was a reliable indicator of how much snow we had last night on the … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2015-12-17
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For Pregnant Performers, The Procreate Project
“The Procreate Project has been developed by Dyana Gravina, who … aims to bring pregnant artists and mothers within the arts together to collaborate. Procreate will also give them advice and support in mounting new productions. The first production through the project, called Foetus, ran earlier this year at Rich Mix in London.”
Making Ice Dance Artistic, And Even Cool
So the Winter Olympics have convinced you of skating’s potential, but Disney on Ice just isn’t for you? For his company Imperial Ice Stars, producer Tony Mercer takes skilled Russian champions, trains them in character acting and mime, and staged skated adaptations of classic ballets; Canada’s Le Patin Libre takes the contemporary dance approach, exploring shape, flow and composition in non-narrative works.
The Prado And Spain’s Royal Collections Make Peace In Their Battle Over Bosches
“National Heritage officials [have] backed off a bid to transfer [four] paintings – Hieronymus Bosch’s triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights and Table of the Mortal Sins; Tintoretto’s The Foot Washing; and Rogier van der Weyden’s Descent from the Cross – to a €160m museum due to open in Madrid by 2017 to house the Royal Collections.”
Too Much TV? An Explosion Of New Shows In Past Few Years
“FX Networks said Wednesday that it counted 409 scripted shows in 2015, nearly double the number from six years ago. That means a lot of competition for viewers, on traditional TV and online.”
Pas De Deux For Two Naked Dancers And Drones (Produced By A Japanese Online Clothing Boutique)
“Almost as artistically as the two dancers themselves, the drones hover up and down, left and right, to cover up the private parts of the human performers with thin sheets of white paper. A complex performance between man and machine unfolds, and one cannot help but admire the perfect timing and placement of the little artificial dancers.” (video)
Broadway Is Getting Another Theater, Its 41st
“A British theater magnate has acquired a long-term lease to a onetime playhouse in Times Square and has begun refurbishing it as Broadway’s next stage. The Hudson, owned by Millennium Hotels and Resorts and used in recent years for meetings and events, will become the 41st Broadway theater.”