Tag: 03.01.19

Azerbaijan And The ‘Worst Cultural Genocide Of The 21st Century’

For 30 years, the country of Azerbaijan has “been engaging in a systematic erasure of the country’s historic Armenian heritage,” including a necropolis dating back to the 6th century. A new report (for Hyperallergic) says the erasure of the necropolis “marked the final stage of a broader campaign to denude Nakhichevan of its indigenous Armenian Christian past.” – The Guardian (UK)

Using Fiction To Reshape Our Understandings Of Los Angeles

Nikki Darling, author of Fade Into You, about her book and LA: “When communities of color are shown, it’s usually associated with violence and turmoil. In my lived experience, all sections of the city contain a swirled variance of different lived realities, histories, and ancestries. People have lived here long before Mulholland Drive and Raymond Chandler. Los Angeles is as old as the fault lines that run beneath it. I wanted to shake the city loose from its static image.” – LitHub

Two Centuries Of Incorrect Labeling Made Us Think Gilbert Stuart Painted A Portrait Of George Washington’s Enslaved Chef

So the painting isn’t a Stuart, and it’s definitely not a portrait of a chef (and certainly not Hercules), say experts. What the heck? Errors of interpretation. “‘No American cook in the colonies dressed like that,’ said Evans, noting that the now-familiar chef’s toque did not appear until the 1820s. ‘It’s a fantasized image of what people want, because people want to have an image of Hercules. And people see the things they want to see.'” – Philadelphia Inquirer

After Wave Of Criticism, Those Canceled ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ Productions Can Go Forward Now

So it turns out that forcing theatres across the country to cancel or take down their productions of To Kill a Mockingbird just because a new one is on Broadway isn’t the most popular move ever. Scott Rudin, producer of the new version, recanted and offered theatres the new script at no cost – but it was far too late for some of them. – The New York Times

Is This Southern California’s Most Innovative Arts Space?

As Santa Ana’s Grand Central Arts Center turns 20, it’s got a lot of history to celebrate, and that’s because of the way the directors treats the artists they invite to residencies. It’s become “less a traditional gallery space than a creative lab where artists can research and test new ideas, even those that don’t quite fit in a white box.” – Los Angeles Times

America Ferrera Says Everyone Deserves To See Themselves Reflected Onscreen

Ferrera, star of the How to Train Your Dragon series (movie and TV) and – relevant to this conversation – of Superstore, says, “The issues that we talk about on the show are timeless and completely relevant to what it means to be working-class in America. One of my favorite episodes has been the maternity-leave episode where Amy has to come back to work 48 hours after giving birth, which sounds like a ridiculous sitcom setup. And yet when the episode aired, I heard from so many women about how that was a reality for them.” – The New York Times

Hey City Ballet, Wait A Second: Why Isn’t Wendy Whalen Co-Artistic Director With Jonathan Stafford?

Great that Whalen and Stafford are leading New York City Ballet. Super. Getting closer to equality, clearing up some of the past months’ terrible news, and so forth. But … problem: “Elevating the job title of a man over a woman seems like a regressive, shortsighted and even cowardly act. It’s also a confusing one given that in an interview in The New York Times the two said that ‘they intended to work as partners.'” – The New York Times