“Last year, wondering what it means to be a Syrian artist when Syria in many ways no longer exists, I began to map the journeys of a hundred [visual, performing, and literary] artists from the country.” Eliza Griswold shows us some of the maps and profiles seven of the artists.
Tag: 01.28.18
As Local News Outlets Disappear, Libraries Step Into The Breach
“In some cities, libraries are partnering with established news sources, teaming up in Dallas to train high schoolers in news gathering or hosting a satellite studio in Boston for the public radio station WGBH. In San Antonio, the main library offers space to an independent video news site … In smaller communities starved for local coverage, some libraries are playing a hands-on role, even if it is an expansion of traditional duties.”
Reading Linda Nochlin And Pretty Much Wanting To Boot Jeff Koons From The Museum
This is what happens when you go to the Art Institute of Chicago, or pretty much anywhere, after being trained by Nochlin to truly see. “How ought we read these works? Now that we know the assumed universality they project is specious, what do we do? Nochlin’s answer, in part, is to see the works in their own time, to lay bare their assumptions and examine them for ourselves. Meaning needs context. By looking at how artworks were situated in their own historical moment, how they resonated then and now, Nochlin takes charge of the interpretation.”
Step Into The Artwork And Listen To The Tracking Signal Of 19 Satellites Orbiting The Earth
The mysterious, metallic nautilus shell is only one of the artworks that NASA’s Jet Propulsion Labs team of artists has produced. The artist team has “made travel posters for planets in distant galaxies, and they’ve simulated Jupiter’s churning atmosphere in a small room. They once drilled a hole in a grain of sand, then displayed it alongside six rooms filled with sand to give a sense of how tiny we are in the vast universe.”
The YouTube Poet Who’s Calling Out Those Who Think Their Poetry Isn’t Political
Danez Smith’s poetry is part of a movement, or so it feels. “This is a significant moment for poetry. We are meeting days after Ocean Vuong (gay, Vietnamese and a friend of Smith’s) won the TS Eliot prize, and it is tempting to think poetry is at a turning point, belatedly diversifying, relaxing its borders. The reality is that there is still a long way to go, but this is a flicker of intent, the poetic ghettoising becoming less flagrant. It’s a mainstream momentum.”
A Canadian Soprano Leads The Classical Grammy Pack
Barbara Hannigan’s “star has been rising with performances such as her role in the L.A. Phil New Music Group’s world premiere at Walt Disney Concert Hall of Gerald Barry’s opera Alice’s Adventures Under Ground. She will serve as music director of the Ojai Music Festival in 2019.” The full list of classical winners is at this link, and the full list of Grammy winners is here.
Morris Louis Painting Back In The Museum – Right-Side Up, This Time
Not only did curators decide to look at red arrows chalked on the back of the painting this time, but they found that it might be more figurative than they had expected – and that the painting’s title had been different, and referring to the potential figure, in a 1953 exhibition.
How Wood Came Back Into Architectural Vogue
Wood is environmentally friendly (at least while it’s still a tree), lighter than steel and certainly faster – and quieter – to build with, and basically, a material whose time has come (again). “Mild-mannered, unassuming timber has gone into a phone box and come out as a super-substance.”
How The Masses Find Common Ground With Shakespeare, Through Alcohol
Well, that’s one way to be more Elizabethan: “Drunk Shakespeare is akin to watching a live version of Comedy Central’s Drunk History, only the audience is drinking along with the cast in real time — and sometimes even changing the direction of the performance.”
Top AJBlogs For The Weekend Of 01.28.18
Weekend Extra: Meet Laila Biali
Among the many Canadian musicians attracting the attention of listeners outside Canada is the pianist and singer Laila Biali. She was born in Vancouver, B.C., in 1980 and trained in classical piano … read more
AJBlog: RiffTidesPublished 2018-01-27