Museums and galleries – especially those representing a canonical European art tradition – burst with images of women disrobed and displayed for the delectation of men. Of course, there is nothing new about recognising the extent to which the spectacularisation of the female body has been part of a structure of oppression of women by men. – The Guardian
Tag: 02.27.19
Translating The Hebrew Bible As The Poetry It Is
Few English-speakers are aware that much of ancient Jewish scripture is written in sophisticated verse, full of wordplay and soundplay. Translators have concentrated on the meaning of the words, sacrificing what Robert Alter calls the “music” of the original text. He has done a new translation that concentrates on that “music,” and here he explains how he did it — and why it matters. – Aeon
Kathleen Turner (Yes, That Kathleen Taylor) And What She Learned Making Her Opera Debut
Once she understood the training that goes into distinguishing such voices, she began to fully appreciate the difference in acting styles from what the audience might expect in a non-musical. Opera’s bend towards high drama can only be conveyed through vocal ability, which deprioritizes Turner’s acting preference of a more natural technique. – The Observer
Ira Gitlin, One Of America’s Greatest Jazz Writers, Dead At 90
“[His] criticism appeared regularly in publications like DownBeat and JazzTimes. He wrote two books about bebop, the challenging form of modern jazz that emerged in the 1940s. And, along with Leonard Feather and Nat Hentoff, he was among the most prodigious writers of liner notes, annotating more than 700 albums. In 2017 he was named a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts.” – The New York Times
Why Rebels And Non-Conformists Tend To Look The Same – A Study
This is the hipster effect—the counterintuitive phenomenon in which people who oppose mainstream culture all end up looking the same. Similar effects occur among investors and in other areas of the social sciences. How does this kind of synchronization occur? Is it inevitable in modern society, and are there ways for people to be genuinely different from the masses? – MIT Technology Review
There’s A Massive Bidding War For TV Showrunners. Blame Netflix
Shonda Rhimes, Ryan Murphy, J.J. Abrams and their fellows are now getting nine-figure production deals, with next-rung creators like Mindy Kaling and Seth MacFarlane landing eight figures. Why? First Netflix, and then deep-pocketed Amazon and Apple, are competing with traditional studios to lock down the intellectual property those individuals create and supervise, and there are very few people who can do what they do. – Fast Company
Rothko Chapel To Get Renovation, Including New Skylight
“[The $30 million project] will erect three new buildings to support the chapel’s ongoing social justice programming and is replacing the building’s ceiling apparatus with a new skylight and digital lighting system. This will cast gentle natural light by day and uniform illumination by night for the first time on Mark Rothko’s 14 monumental black canvases.” – The New York Times
This Company Didn’t Fire Sergei Polunin For His Homophobic Post, But They Asked Him About It. And What Did He Tell Them?
In January, the ever-troubled ballet star caused another stir with some offensive (and incoherent) remarks on Facebook, and he was promptly let go from a guest spot with the Paris Opera Ballet. The Bavarian State Ballet kept him on (despite pushback) to star in Spartacus but asked for an explanation. He said “that he wanted to provoke people to raise awareness about the dangers of obesity.” – Deutsche Welle
UK’s National Theatre Will Hold Special Casting Day For Trans Actors
“The event, the first of its kind held by the NT, will take place on April 15 in London, and is aimed at ‘professional actors who identify as transgender, trans*, genderqueer, non-binary, gender fluid and intersex’. … The Old Vic’s casting team will be attending alongside the casting department from the NT, and other industry creatives.” – The Stage
Why Isn’t The Wexford Opera Festival Getting, Or Even Being Told About, Its State Funding?
The Arts Council of Ireland released details of its 2019 grants two weeks ago, and Wexford was missing from the list with no explanation or target date for a decision. “When this kind of issue is out there and nobody wants to say anything meaningful about it you can reasonably suspect that there’s something to hide. And when the Arts Council delays decisions it usually spells trouble.” Michael Dervan looks into what’s going on. – The Irish Times