“Thus the death of Borges’s father and Naipaul’s father left space clear for the sons to work. They would only have powerful ghosts rather than real presences looking over their shoulders, ghosts whom they could dismiss at will. Like Picasso, whose father was a failed painter, or William James, whose father was a failed essayist, they could compensate for their fathers’ failure, while killing off the fathers’ indolent influence.”
Tag: 02.17.12
Where Will The Getty Now Stand On Antiquities Repatriation?
“Getty director James Cuno has denounced repatriation claims of looted antiquities as “nationalistic” and argued against placing limits on museum purchases of objects with an uncertain origin. Getty Museum director Timothy Potts, whose appointment Cuno announced this week, has echoed some of those views.”
Ruin Porn Isn’t Anything New – And It’s All Too Human
“This sense of having lived on too late, of having survived the demolition of past dreams of the future, is what gives the ruin its specific frisson, and it still animates art and writing. But it’s historically bound up with more pressing worries about the fate of one’s own civilisation.”
What’s It Like Playing A Horse’s Ass? ‘War Horse’ Actors Tell All [VIDEO]
Playing a war horse is no walk in the park, say the actors in the Toronto version of the hit play.
Hand-Made Art With Content? Yep. A Q&A With British Artist Grayson Perry
Perry: “The number of wishy-washy semi-abstract paintings I saw was incredible. It was as though they wanted to make art, but didn’t want to say anything. I hate the aimless, apparently transcendent thing in sub-Rothkos: ‘Oh, this is all about spirituality.’ Fuck off.”
Don’t Like Your Country’s History? Just Leave It Out Of Textbooks
“Winners write the history books – which is why the Afghan government’s recent decision to eliminate any post-1973 events from its school texts is so worrisome. Since none of the major groups can agree on a basic set of facts, the country’s new school books simply leave out the last four decades of events: no Soviet involvement, no brutal years of civil war, no rise of the Taliban, and no U.S. involvement.”
What Makes An Opera American? (And Does An Opera In French Qualify?)
“America’s rich tradition of musical theatre means that audiences expect operas to be accessible. A good example is Jake Heggie’s Moby-Dick, which was commissioned by the Dallas Opera and opened in Dallas in 2010. The opera turned a classic American novel into a spectacular stage show, featuring ladders, masts and winches and stormy screen projections.”
Berlinale: Far From Lackluster, And Catering To, Well, Everyone
“Last fall the German Film Critics Association held a symposium on the future of the Berlinale titled ‘What Now After All the Bad Reviews?’ The Berlinale’s director, Dieter Kosslick, who has headed the festival since 2001 and whose contract was recently renewed through 2016, has a ready answer for detractors: Look at the numbers.”
Windsor Symphony Orchestra Searches For A New Conductor, Via YouTube
How to thin the ranks of prospective composers? Digital video, of course. “‘Maybe we are doing a little pioneering,’ says symphony executive director Jeth Mill. … ‘It is an entirely different world than 11 years ago when the symphony went looking for (leaving conductor) John Morris Russell.'”
No-Secrets Art: The Transparency Grenade
Want to leak information from private, closed meetings? Ask artist Julian Oliver for help. He’s got an explosive design for you.