The two cases turn out to be quite similar: shutdowns announced seemingly out of the blue and with little consultation; institutions, with challenges but no immediate financial crisis, in fields (opera, single-sex colleges) with lots of doomsayers. Here’s a look at four key factors in how these cases shook out.
Tag: 01.14.16
Facebook Nudity Day (That’ll Show The Censors)
The Jan. 14 protest “call[ed] for Facebook users to post an artwork depicting the naked body to protest the social media website’s ‘continuing censorship of artists, curators and critics who have been censored for posting art and images that depict the nude human body.'” And they did – “from Egon Schiele’s painting of himself masturbating and a phallic photograph by Robert Mapplethorpe to Japanese erotic prints and the accursed Courbet.”
L.A. Opera Names Its First Artist-In-Residence: Matthew Aucoin
“The three-year post, created specially for Aucoin, calls for him to conduct some L.A. Opera performances and write a full-scale opera for its main stage.”
Lois Weisberg, 90, ‘The Most Significant Architect (Or Savior) Of Cultural Chicago The City Ever Has Known’
“Consider the evidence: No Weisberg means, arguably, no Taste of Chicago. No Chicago Blues Festival. No Chicago Gospel Music Festival. No Cows on Parade (those cows were copied everywhere; I saw some in France last summer). No After School Matters, surely the most successful arts-education initiative in the history of the city. No Storefront Theatre. No South Shore Line. Maybe no Millennium Park.”
Minnesota Opera Names Its Next General Director
A former baritone and an alumnus of the company’s young artist training program, Ryan Taylor, 43, is currently chief at the Arizona Opera, which he’s credited with turning around after a financial crisis.
Actor Alan Rickman, 69
While he became world-famous as a velvet-voiced movie villain (Die Hard; the Harry Potter series), he had equal gifts as a romantic lead (Truly, Madly, Deeply; Sense and Sensibility; Love, Actually) and a classical stage actor of impressive range (Les Liaisons dangereuses; Private Lives; Antony and Cleopatra; John Gabriel Borkman).
Top Posts From AJBlogs 01.14.16
Spoiler Alert: Humans Have Bodies
I began my professional life as an arts management educator just over 20 years ago, in Fall 1995. My focus, since then, has been rather specific: effective management of (mostly) professional (mostly) nonprofit organizations that … read more
AJBlog: The Artful Manager Published 2016-01-14
What orchestras could do for David Bowie
Do classical music institutions think that Bowie’s death had anything to do with them? The Seattle Symphony, at least, tweeted something strong. But I can make a case for any big-time classical group to pay great attention, and react publicly. … read more
AJBlog: Sandow Published 2016-01-14
New Year’s “Resolutions,” Sotheby’s Edition: What Artworld Uncertainties Should Be Resolved in 2016?
This is the third post in my series (hereand here) of how thorny artworld issues that vexed us in 2015 could achieve satisfying resolution in the year ahead. … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2016-01-14
Vanishing act
Dance: such a fragile artform. Written in bodies, tucked in memories, if it isn’t seen, it dies. I was reminded of this melancholy fact by two recent reports. First, the Swedish choreographer Mats Ek … read more
AJBlog: Performance Monkey Published 2016-01-14
Bill Evans After LaFaro
To follow up on the post in the previous exhibit about the Bill Evans documentary, let’s revisit the 1962 Evans trio with bassist Chuck Israels and drummer Paul Motian. This clip seems to be … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2016-01-14
Danny Barker’s Birthday
One of the great pleasures of my years in New Orleans was a friendship with Danny Barker (1909-1994). After he moved back to his hometown from New York, Danny became a guiding light to young … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2016-01-14
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Symbiosis: Dance And The Pianist
“Most accompanists fall into working with dancers by chance, as a way to make extra money. And the truth is, there isn’t much recognition of their skills outside of the profession.”
Wikipedia At 15: Here’s What It Looks Like
“Today, the site is available in 280 languages. A new Pew Research Center analysis of the most visited pages in each of Wikipedia’s top 10 languages provides a window on how people in different societies and cultures use the international reference tool.”
Study: Music Is Top Interest Of Millennials
“Repucom, which researches sports and entertainment markets, found that 86 percent of millennials said they were interested in music. By comparison, 83 percent said the same about movies, 79 percent about television and 59 percent about sports.”