“In a world where you can instantly look up and listen to any song you like, what’s the point? Meanwhile, the proliferation of new bands, and new genres, has made the musical landscape ever more difficult to navigate. Radio’s more natural role in this world might be in introducing listeners to new music, stuff they don’t already know they like. It might look a little more like the radio stations of old, before deregulation. That is to say, it might look a little more like East Village Radio.”
Tag: 04.01.15
Watching Them Turn Off The Rothkos At Harvard
“Rothko’s work is pretty much all about the color, so the murals, in their faded condition, seemed to be dead … [and] it was impossible to restore them by conventional means. So a solution was borrowed from a technique known as ‘compensating illumination’ … Five digital projectors have been programmed to light the canvases so that the original colors reappear. At four o’clock every day, the projectors are turned off one by one, and the colors revert to (mostly) muddy blacks and grays. … As one observer put it, when the lights go off, comedy turns into tragedy.”
Forward To The Past: Soviet-Style Censorship Returns To Russia
The day after the director of Novosibirsk’s opera house was fired over a controversial production of Tannhäuser, a top Kremlin official “proposed that theatrical productions be subject to ‘inspections’ before they are presented to the public. Though [he] did not use the word ‘censorship’ (which is explicitly prohibited by the Russian constitution), this would represent a return to the Soviet system of preliminary censorship, in which no work of literature, theatre, or film could appear without the approval of government censors.”
Do We Still Need Theatre Critics?
“The American Theatre Critics Association, ATCA, the only national organization of American theatre critics, has been struggling with their criteria for membership. Right now they admit people who, as they put it, write professionally, regularly, and with substance about the theatre. But what does professional mean at a time when only a handful of critics derive all their income from their reviews?”
Two Star Ailey Dancers Leave Company For St. Louis
“The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is losing two of its most treasured members this summer. Antonio Douthit-Boyd and Kirven Douthit-Boyd — who were married in 2013 — have been named the co-artistic directors of the Center of Creative Arts, the St. Louis organization where Antonio Douthit-Boyd trained.”
Playwright Wins Copyright Infringement Suit Over “Three’s Company” Parody
“The play is a highly transformative parody of the television series that, although it appropriates a substantial amount of ‘Three’s Company,’ is a drastic departure from the original that poses little risk to the market for the original,” the judge wrote, noting that copyright law “is designed to foster creativity.”
Ukraine Opera Company Struggles On Through The Fighting
“A bomb destroyed some of our sets that were stored in a warehouse near the airport, we’ve lost 20 percent of our staff — or 150 people — and we are short of cash,” said the weary head of the theatre, Yevgeny Denisenko. “Tomorrow I will pay the salaries (that were due in) December.”
The Most-Attended Museum Shows In The World, 2014
The National Palace Museum in Taipei organised the top three best-attended exhibitions in 2014.
The Art Cartel: Figures Show That One Third Of Solo US Museum Shows Go To Artists Of Just Five Galleries
“The figure raises questions about the growing influence of a small number of galleries in a rapidly consolidating art market—especially when they often offer logistical and financial support for exhibitions. At the same time, some wonder whether museums are doing enough to expose the public to art they would not otherwise see.”
It’s Inevitable: Streaming Music Will Dominate
“Even though it’s not clear how long it will take the majority of people to subscribe to an on-demand streaming music service, it’s almost certain to catch on. It’s coming—record labels want people renting their music, and consumers want access to it all.”