“The health care and retirement systems by which performing artists sustain themselves have fallen apart in the pandemic with potentially catastrophic results on both personal and systemic levels. There has to be a better way to do this.” Chris Jones explains how the crisis has come about, why a turf war between unions is making it worse, and why the public should care. – Chicago Tribune
Author: Matthew Westphal
The Battle of Baltimore: Former Museum Trustees Strike Back in the Deaccession Wars
Any museum official tempted to exploit the (so-called) permanent collection as a fungible commodity for bankrolling pet projects (however worthy) and bolstering the payroll should read and take heed of this six-page letter deploring the Baltimore Museum of Art’s planned disposals. – Lee Rosenbaum
Bernard Herrmann’s “Whitman” — A Subversive Yet Inspirational Entertainment for Today
In 1944, Bernard Herrmann collaborated with the producer Norman Corwin on Whitman, a half-hour dramatic presentation invoking America’s iconic poet to rally the home front during World War II. It was heard by millions of listeners. It’s a classic exemplar of a forgotten creative genre: the radio drama. – Joseph Horowitz
Please Take These Artifacts Back, They’re Under A Curse! Says Canadian Who Stole Them From Pompeii
“The 36-year-old woman, who gave only her first name of Nicole, sent a hand-written confession and apology along with the stolen objects — which include parts of an amphora vase, mosaic tiles, and shards of ceramics — to a travel agent in southern Italy, who then passed them along to officials. … She goes on to explain that she associates her youthful indiscretion with a long run of bad luck, including two bouts of breast cancer, a double mastectomy, and ongoing financial issues.” – Artnet
The Lobotomizing Of Eva Perón (This Is Not A Metaphor)
Argentina’s most famous First Lady died of cervical cancer in July 1952, slightly less than a year after she was diagnosed. A researcher has found that, several weeks before her death, she was given a lobotomy, almost certainly without her consent. The ostensible reason was to alleviate her severe pain; just as likely, it was to stop the increasingly dangerous political activity she conducted from her sickbed. – Mental Floss
The Foreign Language That Shaped India For Centuries Before English Arrived
Historian Richard M. Eaton argues that there are two languages whose epic literature, poetry, and corpus of law, ethics, and philosophy molded the civilization of the subcontinent and its peoples. The first, obviously, was Sanskrit. The second was, when it arrived, every bit as foreign as English and came to be used as widely and in similar ways. In fact, by the 19th century India had produced a major body of literature in this language, as well as far more dictionaries than its native country had. – Literary Hub
Kurdish-Language Play In Istanbul Banned Just Hours Before Curtain
“Beru, a Kurdish adaptation of Dario Fo’s 1981 satire Trumpets and Raspberries, was due to open at the city’s municipal theatre, marking the first time a Kurdish-language play had been staged in the institution’s 106-year history.” Turkey’s interior ministry tweeted that “a theatre play spreading the PKK terror organisation’s propaganda will [not] be allowed [in any language]”; one of the actors responded “The play by Dario Fo was performed in many languages all over the world. Why is it dangerous when it is in Kurdish?” – Middle East Eye
‘Sex And Consequences’, Isabella Rossellini’s New Streaming Theatre Piece For Farm Animals
Laura Collins-Hughes visits Rossellini’s Long Island farmstead to watch her and her co-stars — two dogs, six sheep, and however many chickens will cooperate — rehearse her new show, a sort of sequel to her famous Green Porno series, directed (over Zoom from California) by a Flying Karamazov Brother. – The New York Times
Envisioning A ‘Zoom-Plus’ Made For Virtual Performances
Ron Evans: “We’re still working around the fact that Zoom was not designed for a performing arts experience. What would things look like if the performing arts had a software platform of their own? … It’s clear that [it] would need new functionalities never seen before. But what exactly? I’ve put together a few thoughts.” – Arts Professional
Is Playing In A Woodwind Quintet COVID-Safe? If You Do It Right, Yes, Says The Atlantic’s Resident Doctor
A reader writes to James Hamblin, a physician and the magazine’s medical writer, asking if it’s safe for her daughter’s quintet to practice in the backyard. Reviewing the evidence gathered so far, Hamblin responds, “Although there are no clearly documented cases of coronavirus transmission via woodwind, there is a lot of evidence of the benefit of kids studying musical instruments.” – The Atlantic