“The money doesn’t seem to make big, promising things happen, things that wouldn’t happen otherwise. Much of the giving feels like disguised budget offset. The NEA’s goal looks like survival. It has been so beleaguered over the years, so pummeled, that its mission each year is to dodge the fatal bullet. Yet the NEA – or federal funding for the arts – has served many great goals and can do it once more.”
Tag: 01.22.17
Houston’s ‘Nixon In China’ Accused Of Yellowface
The complaints about Houston Grand Opera’s current run of the John Adams opera include the casting of white singers as Chinese characters as well as caricatured stereotypes in Nixon‘s version of The Red Detachment of Women (an actual Communist propaganda ballet that uses caricatured stereotypes).
Selfies As Gallery Art? Really? It Was Inevitable
“In many ways, the selfie represents the epitome of contemporary culture’s transition into a highly-digitalised and technologically-advanced age as mobile-phone technology has caught up with the camera.”
Trump’s Plan To Defund The NEA And NEH Is Part Of A Long, Long Battle
Noah Charney: “Some might say that it’s … part of a long tradition that hails back to the Vandal tribe sweeping into Rome in A.D. 455 to strip it of its culture and leave a smoldering (but ‘radically reformed’) ruin in its wake. … I don’t feel the need (or have the energy) to argue how important the arts are. To some readers, I’d be preaching to the converted. For others, whatever examples I present would be insufficient to change inert minds.” (Is that the best way to say this?)
Netflix Is Adding Subscribers At A Record Pace. And Investing Billions More In Original Shows
“In 2016, Netflix spent $5 billion on original programming. Five of the 10 shows people searched for most often last year are Netflix originals, company officials said, citing Google data during an earnings call. Eager to build on that, Netflix plans to spend $6 billion creating 1000 hours of new content this year, more than doubling its 2016 lineup.”
Police Break Up Big European Art Trafficking Ring
The criminal network handled artworks looted from war-stricken countries, as well as works stolen from museums and other sites, the statement said. In the southern Spanish city of Murcia, the police recovered about 500 archaeological pieces, including 19 stolen from the city’s archaeological museum in 2014.
Is There A Business In Music Written By Artificial Intelligence?
Several start-ups are now trying to commercialize A.I. music for everything from jingles to potential pop hits. Jukedeck, for instance, is looking to sell tracks to anyone who needs background music for videos, games or commercials.
For A Decade The Number Of Live Music Venues In London Has Been Declining – Until This Year
“The London Music Board report shows that 94 venues currently operate in the capital – the same as in 2015, but down from 144 in 2007. Previous reports had claimed there were 88 venues operating in 2015, but this number was increased after a small number of venues were re-categorised as grassroots music venues in a recent mapping process.”
So Your Movie Was A Hit At Sundance? (You’re Still Not Going To Make Any Money)
“Most Sundance films these days are lucky to earn six figures at the box office — in total. For instance, the comedy “Wiener-Dog,” a follow-up to the 1995 indie hit “Welcome to the Dollhouse,” collected $470,575 last summer before arriving on Amazon. Have streaming and video on demand made up the art-house slack? Or even broadened the audience?”
All Of The Training That Goes Into Learning The Lion Dance For Lunar New Year
Seventeen-year-old Sara Pore: “Lion dancing started 2,000 years ago — that’s incredible. … But what makes you a competent lion dancer is that there is a sense of imagination involved. Lion dancing teaches competence in leadership because of this. You’re constantly forced to push yourself past your limit.”