“What’s worked for the last 400 years is when you see independent, risky art as an investment, not a subsidy. That can’t happen when the aim is to entertain or achieve quick success. By pursuing that aim, private concert presenters undermine and even endanger the essential, serious work of publicly funded institutions.”
Tag: 02.18.16
The Most Politicized Pencil In History
“The Mongol 482 may be just a ‘middle-range, everyday’ pencil. But it’s also one of the most famous pencils in history … Because the Mongol 482 has written its autobiography” – with the “as told to” services of a libertarian economist. Thus, like so many autobiographies, this one had an agenda – and, also like so many autobiographies, it isn’t entirely accurate. (podcast with transcription)
This Man Has Been Building A Cathedral By Hand For 55 Years
“Twelve miles north of Madrid in Mejorada del Campo, a 90-year-old man is working to finish his life’s work: a grand cathedral. It is a cathedral with no trained architect, no government approval and no benediction from the Catholic Church. It is either the work of a madman or that of a prophet.”
Leading Art Fair In Australia Canceled One Day Before Program Is Announced
After three major galleries pulled out just before deadline, the board’s decision to cancel was unanimous.
Could Google Search Results Really Change Minds And Flip Elections?
Research psychologist Robert Epstein finds, and worries about, just how much effect a small change in the order of search results can have.
Marcelo Gomes On Being An Out Gay Ballet Star Whose Roles Are Always Hetero
“He says he doesn’t ever wonder why all the roles for men in ballet are straight – ‘that’s where your acting ability comes in, and when I’m kissing Juliet, I’m not myself” – but it is a little odd that a discipline that outsiders so strongly associate with gay men is built entirely on a canon of straight love stories.”
Branford Marsalis Talks About The Differences Between Classical And Jazz
“Classical music makes me a much better saxophonist than jazz does. Because for saxophone technique, guys end up playing fast stuff. In classical music, you just have to develop a technique to execute melodies and ideas that are beyond the linear ways that we tend to think about music. And that’s the challenge of it for me.”
The Risk Of New Story Ballets
This month, Christopher Wheeldon’s Strapless and Justin Peck’s The Most Incredible Thing got an unusually negative reception. “There’s a similar harshness in the takedowns of these two works (from both critics and audiences) that caught my attention. You don’t typically see such severe reactions to non-narrative works. Why are people so upset by these pieces?” Jennifer Stahl explains.
Lots Of Folks Talk About Diversifying Museum Staffs; This Group Is Doing Something About It
Meet the founders of the organization Museum Hue.
Heck, Why Not Just Add A Third, Robotic Arm To Percussionists’ Shoulders?
“‘It’s a richer and more sophisticated rhythm because you can hit one more thing,’ said Gil Weinberg, director of the Center for Music Technology at Georgia Tech. The robotic arm is capable of hitting a drum up to 20 times per second, a rate that’s impossible for humans. And it never needs a break.”