“Independent filmmaking is wilder and freer than ever, owing in part to the readier availability of equipment and in part to the mere march of time and proliferation of ideas. But, at the same time, Hollywood filmmaking is even more brazenly commercial. The gap between the independents and the profit centers is increasing along with the quality of independent films.”
Tag: 01.29.15
Rod McKuen, 81, Poet And Songwriter
“[He was] the husky-voiced ‘King of Kitsch’ whose avalanche of music, verse and spoken-word recordings in the 1960s and ’70s overwhelmed critical mockery and made him an Oscar-nominated songwriter and one of the best-selling poets in history.”
The Most Powerful Artwork I Have Ever Seen (By Jerry Saltz)
“I don’t want to sound like an insane art-critic version of Werner Herzog rhapsodizing about ‘albino alligators.’ All I know is that something seismic hit me …, some capacious cognizance, cryptic, wakeful.”
Fighting Back Against “Wolf Hall”‘s Slander Of Thomas More (With Help From Holbein)
Jonathan Jones: “Why does Wolf Hall demonise one of the most brilliant and forward-looking of all Renaissance people? Its caricature of Thomas More as a charmless prig, a humourless alienating nasty piece of work, is incredibly unfair. You only have to consider one of Hans Holbein’s greatest works to see this.”
Mental Health Issues Affect 20% Of Theatre Professionals, Survey Finds
“The survey, which was open to everyone in the sector and completed by more than 5,000 people, found that 46% of those who answered a question about the state of their mental health described it as either poor or average, and that 20% had actively sought help about their mental well-being.”
Humans’ Age-Old Fantasy Of Animals That Can Talk
We’ve had the fantasy for thousands of years – from Aesop and Plato, through the Roman de Fauvel and Montaigne and Lewis Carroll and Orwell and Disney, right through to Mr. Ed and Dogbert and LOLcats and Doge. “We polish an animal mirror to look for ourselves. But perhaps that mirror is more suited for a funhouse.”
It’s Okay To Be An Overbearing Pet Parent (Thank God)
“Neurotic people probably make pretty great pet owners, concludes the author of a new study … In an online survey of about 1,000 pet owners, people who scored higher in neuroticism and conscientiousness also reported higher levels of affection for their dog or cat, which most likely means a better life for the animals.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 01.29.15
Goshen Commotion: Kimmelman’s Belated, Muddled Plea to Save Architect Paul Rudolph’s Masterpiece
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2015-01-29
The Death of a Great Video Store
AJBlog: CultureCrash Published 2015-01-29
Dick Vartanian’s Little Book
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2015-01-29
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How To Think About Dance And Movement? Start With An Idea
“I am convinced that choreography is not only the best [art] form to buy a ticket for, it is also an orchestration of encounters, the setting up of encounters between different minds,” she said. “I hope we give audiences the possibility to enter the choreography themselves, but also to intellectually stimulate the publics we encounter, more than just satisfy them and try to do it very gently, not aggressively.”
France Considers Taxing Netflix, Amazon To Support Culture
“France has a vibrant film and television sector thanks to a system that requires television networks to hand over a proportion of their turnover to back domestic production, on top of a series of public grants and funds. The result is a diverse field of many small- to mid-size production companies, unlike in the United States, where studios and listed entertainment conglomerates dominate.”