“In the hallowed halls of art criticism long dominated by self-serious arbiters of taste, Saltz will sometimes say he prefers to play the role of the hapless naïf. Saltz can look the part when he wants: he’s a petite man, with a receding hairline, bookish plastic frames, and a face that resembles a hybrid of J.K. Simmons and Larry David’s. But his boundary-pushing antics are serious business, a persona built over 25 years of hard work and self-questioning, and they’ve put him in a uniquely influential position in the New York art scene.”
Tag: 03.17.15
Is There Yet Another Harper Lee Manuscript Stashed Somewhere?
Beginning in 1978, Lee visited Alexander City, Alabama to research the case(s) of Reverend Willie Maxwell, suspected in the death of five different family members but never convicted – and ultimately shot by another relative. Lee told Maxwell’s lawyer that she was working on a big In Cold Blood-style book and collected huge files of material; now the lawyer’s family wants to know what’s left of it, and where.
€50,000 Karajan Music Prize To Period-Performance Star Thomas Hengelbrock
“Hengelbrock is founder and director of the Balthasar-Neumann-Chor and the Balthasar-Neumann-Ensemble, each dedicated to historically informed performance. … The annual award, presented by the Festpielhaus Baden-Baden in Germany, … [rquires] that the cash sum be used by the recipient to help further the careers of young musicians.”
Why “Dancing With the Stars” Endures
“DWTS is easy to dismiss – all those sequins! … [But] the show really does do something unique – not just for reality TV, but for TV in general: It celebrates the merits of good, old-fashioned hard work. The people on the show aren’t just working it; they’re also just plain working.”
From A Zulu Township To The World’s Great Opera Stages: Pretty Yende
She didn’t even know opera existed until she was 16 and heard the Lakmé Flower Duet on that British Airways commerical. “It didn’t sound human at all,” she says.
An Atheist’s Search For A Useful Morning Prayer
Heather Havrilesky: “Unfortunately, I don’t like saying bold and glorious words out loud. So I need a prayer that’s not too prayer-like. I need a belief system that doesn’t require me to suspend my disbelief. My prayer shouldn’t conjure pews and crosses and a vengeful God, but also it shouldn’t conjure wind chimes and scented candles and middle-aged men in linen pants. I need to honour my soul, of course. Who doesn’t? But I want to do it in a way that doesn’t make me feel like I’m living in a douche commercial.”
Laws And Social Norms (One Can’t Work Without The Other)
Adam Gopnik: “A law is something that exacts an announced cost for being broken. A norm is something that is so much a part of the social landscape that you wouldn’t think, really, that anyone could break it.” Until, of course, people do.
Top Posts From AJBlogs 03.17.15
Does culture’s share of GDP matter?
AJBlog: For What It’s Worth Published 2015-03-17
Weiss’ Wishes: Dan’s Plans for the Metropolitan Museum – Part II
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2015-03-17
Steve Lehman and Cory Smythe as jazz-beyond-jazz artists
AJBlog: Jazz Beyond Jazz Published 2015-03-17
Music Schools in Transition, Part VI
AJBlog: State of the Art Published 2015-03-17
A handful of music
AJBlog: About Last Night Published 2015-03-17
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Are These Cervantes’ Bones?
“Cervantes, often lauded as having written the first modern novel, died in 1616 after requesting burial in a convent in Madrid where, for almost a year, investigators have been searching the subsoil for bones that they now believe to include some of the author’s.”
Louise Erdrich Wins Library of Congress Prize For American Fiction
“The prize, which will be awarded during the National Book Festival on Sept. 5, is given to writers with ‘unique, enduring voices’ whose work addresses the American experience. Past winners include John Grisham, Toni Morrison and E.L. Doctorow.”