“Sergei Filin, the ballet director of the Bolshoi Theater, who suffered an acid attack in Moscow in January and who is currently receiving treatment in Germany, is to undergo a complicated surgery involving eye tissue transplantation” as part of the ongoing attempt to restore his vision.
Tag: 03.30.13
Doctor Who Embodies Post-Imperial Britain
“In many ways, the show carried on the themes of Victorian youth literature: the Doctor is a fearless traveler; he encounters strange cultures and lands; he is stoic, sophisticated, and not without a few eccentricities. … By aligning the show with trends in Western international relations, the audience is able to enjoy the continuation of imperial literature without any of the unsavory political undertones. It’s as if Cecil Rhodes joined the Peace Corps and donated his salary to UNESCO.”
Another American Orchestra Goes Out Of Business
“It seemed like donations were cut in half. But when an organization has been going on as long as the Gainesville Symphony (Orchestra) has, it’s hard to just make that quick decision. You want to do everything in your power to keep it going.”
Movie Studios Are Snapping Up Books Even Before They’re Finished
“More and more, studios trolling for the next Hunger Games are acquiring the rights to books before they’re published; a buzzworthy title sometimes gets snapped up before an author has even finished writing. (No, aspiring scribes, it still pays to actually complete your work.)”
Moving, Sexily, Away From The Nutcracker
Tamara Rojo, the new head of the English National Ballet: “Audiences will be surprised. It is not that I want to frighten them; but challenge them, yes,” she said. “These pieces are about grown-up relationships and make no apology for how complicated and raw these relationships can be.”
Minnesota Orchestra Lockout Turns Six Months Old; No End In Sight
“While the orchestra has a 2013-14 season planned, it has, for obvious reasons, delayed making an announcement.”
A Smart, Social Media-Savvy Companion Show – How Does That Work?
“Broadcast directly after the phenomenally successful ‘The Walking Dead,’ ‘The Talking Dead’ has taken on a life of its own, evolving from a half-hour companion show into a full-fledged, hour-long monster mash whose ratings in the coveted 18-49 demographic surpass a host of prime-time shows on the major networks.”
Prepping For The Venice Biennale: It’s Not As Shiny As It Looks
“Boyle calls Venice ‘the ultimate discomfort’ for an artist. Not only are you expected to produce a lot of high-quality work in a relatively short time, the 325,000 or so visitors to the Biennale guarantee an ‘unprecedented level of scrutiny and public judgment.'”
David Simon Of ‘The Wire’ On The U.S. War On Drugs
That ‘war’ is one big fail (but perhaps not for the reasons you’d think).
Thomas McEvilley, 73, Critic And Scholar Who Shattered The Notion Of ‘Primitivism’
McEvilley’s review of a 1984 MoMA show, and the responses in Artforum, “were the opening salvos in an argument about multiculturalism that would define American art for the rest of the 1980s and ’90s. When the dust had settled, it was clear who the winner was, and it was also clear that a new era in thinking about art had begun.”