“We can frame experience in two ways: propositional and narrative. Propositional thought hinges on logic and formality. Narrative thought is the reverse. It’s concrete, imagistic, personally convincing, and emotional. And it’s strong.” Maria Konnikova looks at the case of a prolific and persistent young grifter, and how she used narrative to disarm her targets and ward off suspicion.
What Exactly Does A Book Editor Do? A Lot More Than Before
“These days there is more pressure on editors to acquire best-sellers, and they are much more involved in marketing a book. And that, he says, leaves precious little time for actual editing.” (audio and text)
‘The Beggar’s Opera Of Broadway’ And Its Backwards Birth
That’s what British critic Kenneth Tynan called Guys and Dolls. Matt Trueman write that the musical “taps into that particularly American sensibility of optimism in spite of everything, and furthermore, it’s exquisitely put together. It has no right to be, given its bumpy road to Broadway.”
Slowdown In The Art Markets?
“It is worth noting that the art market is really a set of loosely related mini-markets, all of which behave very differently. But for the first time in years we are seeing a similar trend across each of these distinct markets: a slowdown.”
Oldest Theatre In English-Speaking World Set To Celebrate 250 Years
Says Bristol Old Vic artistic director Tom Morris, “The average lifespan of a theatre across the 18th and 19th centuries was 17 years. It is a complete fluke that it has survived.”
Spotify Hit With $150 Million Class Action Over Unpaid Royalties
“Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker frontman David Lowery … has filed a class action lawsuit seeking at least $150 million in damages against Spotify, alleging it knowingly, willingly, and unlawfully reproduces and distributes copyrighted compositions without obtaining mechanical licenses.”
An Ambitious Curator’s Plans To Make Toronto A Global Showcase For Contemporary Art
“We’re starting from zero. There is room now for a real contemporary art museum, a 21st-century museum. And this is going to be it.”
A New Mission For Canadian Libraries: Lending Musical Instruments
“The Joe Chithalen Memorial Musical Instrument Lending Library in Kingston has about 800 instruments that it lent out more than 5,000 times last year.”
With Scathing Letter, Myung Whun Chung Resigns As Seoul Philharmonic Music Director
“It is sad that [the musicians’] achievements have been overshadowed by one person‘s fabricated statements. Lies and corruption may cause scandals, but human dignity and truth will prevail in the end. … Perhaps it is a reflection of Korean society that this has been allowed to happen.”
Scientists Suggest Why Some Of Us Aren’t Good At Planning The Future
“Lately, scientists have come up with an intriguing hypothesis for why some people keep failing at long-term planning — they view their future selves as strangers. In fact, the more you view your future self as a distinct entity from your current self, the more likely you are to put off tasks (like saving for retirement) that will benefit you in the long term.”
Record US Box Office In 2015
This year’s total will be about $200 million ahead of the previous record of $10,919,694,802 set in 2013. And it’s 7.2% ahead of the 2014 mark of $10,356,099,042, which declined 5.2% from 2013.
I Rediscovered Reading This Year And Read A LOT Of Books. Here’s What I Learned
“Finishing every book you start is not just annoying — it’s counter-productive. There will never ever be enough time to read every worthwhile book. Even spending almost every spare second reading, there were titles I returned to the library, spines woefully uncracked.”
What Science Fiction Movie Or Novel Is Most Prescient Today? A Debate
“This year, NASA confirmed the existence of liquid water on Mars, raising the possibility of Martian life; a genetically engineered animal can now be sold for human consumption, as in a tale by Margaret Atwood; and a Silicon Valley research institute was formed to create a computer with the intellectual ability of a human, and to confront the threat such artificial intelligence poses to humanity. …”
Robert Wilson Dishes: Lady Gaga Is A ‘Genius’, Marina Abramovic Will Be ‘A Footnote’, The Audience Can ‘Get Lost’
He’s not really being that rude about Marina: “She’ll have a place in history for having done something. She disagrees, but I don’t think the work is meant to be reproduced. She’ll have an influence.” On Gaga: “The concentration, the power she has, it’s total. … She should do Medea.” On theatre staging: “You don’t have to understand every second. I think that’s the problem. Let the audience get lost. It’s OK.”
Tonya Pinkins Quits Off-Broadway ‘Mother Courage’ – And Her Lawyer Won’t Let Her Say Why
“In an email, she wrote that she had drafted a statement detailing her reasons for leaving the show, but that her lawyer had discouraged her from sharing it. ‘I’m not even sure I want to tell it,’ she wrote.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 12.29.15
The arts, effective altruism, and data
The Seattle Times reports “With millennial philanthropy money flowing, arts groups miss out” … Read the whole thing, as they say, but I think there is a fair bit of confusion in the piece, and the place of the arts in effective altruism, and the role of data. … read more
AJBlog: For What It’s Worth Published 2015-12-29
Expanding Our Art Horizons
In recent years, some museums have begun a push to build their collections in Latin American art and to show more of it in special exhibitions, too. Much of the emphasis has been on modern … read more
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts Published 2015-12-29
Sad face
Several family shows I’ve seen this month are happy to dance with the dark. … Each may send you out sadder but wiser. Growing up is full of fear. Sometimes people leave you. Nature may not survive our greed. Happy holidays! … read more
AJBlog: Performance Monkey Published 2015-12-29
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Why Our Most-Loved Culture Doesn’t Win Awards (Oscars, Emmys, Etc…)
“This is an odd phenomenon when you think about it: There is one group of movies we honor, and a different one we actually enjoy (assuming box office receipts are indicative of public favor). The same can be said for recorded music, and, to an increasing extent, Broadway shows.”
How Sound Defines The Architecture Around Us
“Often the sound of a place is so pervasive that we stop noticing what we hear. Or we think the sound could not be otherwise — that is, until we, say, turn off the buzzing overhead lights.”
Looking At Carnegie Hall’s Wish List For A New Chairman
“The memo, obtained by The New York Times, offers insight into the institution’s thinking as it works to recover from the turmoil that burst into the public eye this fall when Ronald O. Perelman, the billionaire businessman, abruptly stepped down after eight months as its chairman.”