“As an art form, criticism should be placed on the endangered species list. Dozens upon dozens of critics have been laid off or taken buyouts at newspapers and magazines in the last several years. And the ones who have survived have less influence than ever before. “
Tag: 03.08.10
Trimming Budget, Variety Cuts Chief Film, Theatre Critics
“[T]he trade let go chief film critic Todd McCarthy and chief theater critic David Rooney. Longtime film critic Derek Elley also was cut, as was features editor/indie film reporter Sharon Swart, along with several copy and design desk employees.” All three critics were asked to work as freelancers. The paper’s editor said the “changes won’t be noticed by readers.”
Ole Scheeren, Who Designed CCTV Tower, Splits From Koolhaas Firm
“Ole Scheeren – who is considered one of the top Asia-based architects for his work on high-profile buildings such as the CCTV tower in Beijing – is stepping down from his role as partner in Rem Koolhaas’ Office for Metropolitan Architecture to open his own office.”
Univ. Of Texas Acquires David Foster Wallace Archive
“Adding to its collection of archives by literary heavy-hitters such as Norman Mailer and Don DeLillo, the University of Texas’ Ransom Center has acquired the papers of the late David Foster Wallace, author of the massive 1996 novel Infinite Jest, several collections of short stories and powerful literary journalism.”
Tenor Philip Langridge, 70,
“[He] was renowned for roles by Benjamin Britten and was an eloquent interpreter of Handel, Mozart, Schubert, Janacek and Stravinsky” as well as Harrison Birtwistle, who wrote three roles for him. Langridge’s final performance was just after New Year’s, as the Witch in Hansel and Gretel at the Metropolitan Opera.
Staging Merce Without Merce
In the Cunningham studio, “dancers were rehearsing Roaratorio, a work last performed by the modern dance company in 1997. A lean, young man shuffled and picked up his feet in a series of pas de chats in front of Robert Swinston, assistant to the choreographer, and Patricia Lent, a former dancer who had performed the original version of the dance. They both shook their heads. ‘I interpreted that as this step,’ Ms. Lent, 50, said as she demonstrated the move. ‘But I don’t know. Maybe. Maybe.'”
Why We Need Our Enemies
“New research supports the notion that we fixate on enemies, and inflate their power, as a defense mechanism against generalized anxiety.”
Patti LuPone To Make NYCity Ballet Debut
“She’s done Broadway, now it’s on to the ballet. On Monday, New York City Ballet announced that Patti LuPone will make her New York City Ballet debut in a new production of The Seven Deadly Sins as part of the company’s 2011 spring season.”
Domingo Undergoes Surgery For Colon Cancer
Plácido Domingo was discharged Sunday from Mount Sinai Hospital of New York City after successfully undergoing laparoscopic surgery to remove a localized malignant polyp in his colon … The 69-year-old tenor is expected to make a full recovery.
Is Modern Book Publishing Really Being Debased?
Robert McCrum: “Just at the moment there’s a constant background murmur of complaint from what one might call the New Elitists that the pure well of our literature is being polluted by for example – celebrity novels and ghosted memoirs. …Â But how new or different is this, actually?”