The American artists who came of age in the 60s and 70s are the country’s greatest generation of artists. “They are men mostly, with big egos and big ideas. They were the first Americans to influence Europeans. The work these artists made changed, or at least questioned, the nature of art: what it looked like, its size, its materials, its attitude toward the places where it was shown, its relation to architecture, light and space and to the land. The artists even questioned whether art needed to be a tangible object. Minimalism, Post-Minimalism, Earth art, video art, Conceptualism – suddenly art could be nothing more than an idea, a thought on a piece of paper that played in your head. It could be ephemeral or atmospheric, like the experience of a room illuminated by colored fluorescent tubes.”
Tag: 04.06.03
The Underwater Symphony
The German Symphony Orchestra is performing in a health club, playing a piece of music for which the audience will have to be submerged in a pool. “The cellists will be on the poolside, playing electric instruments and the sound will be put through a mixing desk and modified. There will be no sound to hear unless you are under the water.”
British Museum Buys Rare Woolf Manuscripts
The British Museum has bought a collection of rare handwritten manuscripts by Virginia Woolf. “The manuscripts form part of two mock newspapers composed by Woolf’s nephews, Julian and Quentin Bell, as children. Some 188 editions of the partly hand-written, partly-typed newspapers – The Charleston Bulletin and The New Bulletin – were found in an old tin trunk.”
Almeida Theatre To “Surprise”
Michael Attenborough, the new director of London’s Almeida theatre, says that when the theatre reopens in May it should be constantly “causing surprise” and that “musicals, classical and new theatre will be part of his ‘eclectic’ long-term vision for the revamped venue.”
Next-Generation Stowell
“When Christopher Stowell first showed an interest in becoming a dancer, his parents ? Pacific Northwest Ballet co-artistic directors Kent Stowell and Francia Russell ? were ‘concerned’.” But he persisted and went on to a career with San Francisco Ballet. “Now, two years after retiring from the stage, Stowell, 36, is poised to assume leadership of Portland’s Oregon Ballet Theatre in July.”
Study: Stage Fog Harms Actors
A new study says that fog used in theatres and in movies is harmful to actors’ health. “Compared to the control group, the entertainment industry employees had lower average lung function test results and they reported more chronic respiratory symptoms: nasal symptoms, cough, phlegm, wheezing, chest tightness, shortness of breath on exertion, and current asthma symptoms, even after taking other factors into account such as age, smoking, and other lung diseases and allergic conditions. The entertainment industry employees also had increased rates of work-related phlegm, wheezing, chest tightness, and nasal symptoms.”
Gioia: Two More “Hard” Years For State Arts
Dana Gioia wants to use his position as chair of the National Endowment for the Arts as an advocate for arts funding. “The arts in America are enormously vital, and I think the public support remains strong. What we are facing right now is a very severe – but temporary – budget crisis for the arts brought on by the recession. On a state level, it looks like we have two hard years to manage through. Luckily from a federal level, the NEA budget [$115 million] has actually grown, and our position in helping state and regional councils will be firm.I see my role in Washington to be a national spokesman for arts funding. … I refuse to believe that arts funding is a controversial issue in the United States.”
Stupidity As Science
Did you know that: crosswalks increase pedestrian accidents, many tanning lotions contain carcinogens, computers vastly increase the consumption of paper, and that better hygiene creates susceptibility to bacteria? A new book catalogs stupidity and the detriments of ideas that were supposed to help.
Embedded Critics – Coming Soon To Your Local Theatre
If you can have embedded war correspondents, why not embedded critics? Dominic Papatola investigates a “new” CNN program: “The writer, G. Ima Toady, will receive unprecedented access to the theater’s production process, including rehearsals, literary department briefings, budget meetings and the twice-weekly castigations of former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura by artistic director Joe Dowling. The arrangement ‘will allow CNN viewers to view, up-close, the difficult and sometimes bloody process involved in creating theater,’ said Sid Bedingfield, executive editor of the CNN News Group. ‘No journalistic institution has ever been this close to the action’.”
DanceCleveland Makes Unexpected Cuts
DanceCleveland, Cleveland’s leading modern dance company, has cancelled the final show of its season, laid off its staff, and cut next season’s plans to the bone, in a move which shocked even close observers of the city’s arts scene. The company is looking into the possibility of partnering with other local arts groups in an effort to stay afloat, but at this point, everything seems to be up in the air.