“When creators ramp up the spectacle, can human gray matter keep up? That’s a question for a neuroscientist, preferably one who’s interested in performance,” So the WSJ found one and asked.
Tag: 03.14.11
Why Watteau’s Art Was Revolutionary
Jonathan Jones: “He was a contemporary of the sceptical thinker Voltaire, and his art is just as radical. It defiantly rejects Christian tradition and embraces a new world of pleasure and freedom. Watteau declared more beautifully than any other artist that life is for living.”
Ailing Seiji Ozawa Cancels All 2011 Appearances
“Health problems have forced the celebrated Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa, who is suffering from cancer of the oesophagus, to cancel appearances until January next year … He [had] made a brief return to the concert hall in September last year and again in December.”
Analysis: Fewer People Interested In Lots Of Culture?
“Omnivores — defined by sociologists as people who regularly participate in a broad range of cultural activities — represent a small minority of the population, but a large portion of the arts audience. In a new analysis recently released by the National Endowment for the Arts, author Mark J. Stern concludes that this engaged, energetic group is both shrinking in size and becoming less active.”
Egypt’s Former Antiquities Chief Denies Charges of Trafficking
“Zahi Hawass, the former Minister of State for Antiquities Affairs has declared that allegations that he is an intermediary for stolen artefacts are totally unfounded and he considers these accusations a serious insult, without proof or documentation.”
Three Firsts for 2011 ‘Arabic Booker’ Prize
“This year’s International prize for Arabic fiction has been awarded jointly for the first time, with Saudi Arabian Raja Alem and Moroccan Mohammed Achaari sharing the $50,000 (£30,900) prize.” They are, respectively, the first woman and the first Moroccan to win the award.
Classical Brit Awards Quit Bothering With The ‘Classical’ Part
“As part of a bid to attract a broader audience, the 12 May event will now be called the Classic Brits. … Organisers said the name change ‘reflects the show’s ambition to embrace a more diverse range of music genres including musical theatre’.”
Godzilla vs. Tsunami: How Japanese Pop Culture Treats Disasters
“Like Britain, another resolute island nation half a world away, Japan has always responded with stoic rebuilding. But unlike the British, or really anyone else in the world, the Japanese have refracted their historic misfortune through a unique cultural lens, producing monster movies, Zen poetry, modernist post-apocalyptic literature, and even pornographic manga …”
David Lynch to Direct Interactive Video Stream of Duran Duran Concert
“In addition to the ability to switch camera angles, viewers (or are they users now?) can also ask questions to the band on Twitter, upload pictures of body parts for the show’s background, and use something called the ‘Now Pulse Visualizer’.”
A Strad, Then No Strad, Then…
“At 17, soon after winning a silver medal at the 1978 Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow, Dylana Jenson was lent a 1743 Guarneri del Gesu from a Los Angeles philanthropist. The withdrawal of the del Gesu sent Jenson into an artistic and emotional tailspin from which she wouldn’t begin to emerge for more than a decade.”