“Flanked by 20 strings on each side, her fingers coated in rosin, [Ellen] Fullman, 62, walks a central aisle while rubbing the strings lengthwise, conjuring thrumming minimalist drones and quickly shifting overtones. … A typical performance requires four or five days of laborious installation and tuning to adjust to spaces that have included a Romanesque cathedral in Cologne and a museum in Tasmania.” – The New York Times
Tag: 05.01.20
The Intellectual Contradictions In Thinking Post-Pandemic
What makes it hard to maintain our intellectual integrity in such times is that crises can expose some political truths, though we have to struggle to see straight and recognize the limits of what they expose. – The New Yorker
Remembering Cellist Lynn Harrell
Mark Swed: “I’ve never heard a cellist make the instrument sing quite the way Harrell did. Despite his impressive physical presence — he had been an athlete in his youth and traded football for music — his sound was not particularly loud and never penetrating. He was anything but pushy when it came to the limelight. Rather, his way was to rely on the sheer persuasion of song and personality.” – Los Angeles Times
Advice For Dancers Who Fear Their Companies Will Shut Down, From Colleagues Who’ve Been Through It
“Of course, people are doing everything possible to avoid that fate. But fears of folding are, understandably, creating major anxiety right now. To gain some perspective, [we] spoke to a few people who’ve been through company closures in the past, and proven just how resilient dance artists can be.” – Dance Magazine
Will Audiences Really Pay For Online Content?
The rationale is clear enough. With families trapped inside by COVID-19, and children out of school and starting to climb the walls, a hyperactive new movie ought to be just the ticket. Also, twenty bucks is less than you’d pay at the cinema for yourself, your kids, and your silo-size Cokes. Yet the sum feels extortionate when you’re shelling out at home, perhaps because it carries a sweaty whiff of boxing bouts on pay-per-view. – The New Yorker
Can This Live-Streaming Platform In Europe Help Save Night Life?
Called United We Stream, the combined live-streaming and fundraising platform hosts live music, DJ sets, performances and other live experiences from a growing roster of venues across Europe. Patrons are invited to drop into daily events staged for the platform, and invited via on-screen buttons to donate money if they can, either by buying merchandise or by splashing out on a “virtual drink.” These donations are plowed back into keeping music and nightlife scenes alive. – CityLab
An Atlanta Movie Theatre Reinvents, Adapts To Its Community
Atlanta’s Plaza movie theatre is famous after its vociferous opposition to Governor Brian Kemp’s decision to reopen theaters. But the theatre has been adapting its operations, offering online movies, a pop-up drive-in, and other movie promotions. – ArtsATL
Philadelphia Mayor Proposes Killing Arts Funding (Because Of Course Now’s The Perfect Time…)
In his new budget to cope with the revenue loss driven by the coronavirus pandemic, Mayor Jim Kenney on Friday proposed the elimination of the city’s Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy — a $4 million cut that would end grants to hundreds of cultural groups in the city. – Philadelphia Inquirer
Video Gaming Is Surging (No Surprise) But Where’s The Innovation?
According to Nielsen, play time was up by 45 percent during the last week of March, while worldwide sales were up at least 44 percent. – FiveThirtyEight
The Plan To Sell Dot-Org Domains To A Private Equity Firm Is No Longer A Go
The move was widely criticized across the world – and feared by nonprofits. One of them said that “the proposed buyout was an attempt by domain name industry insiders to profit off of thousands of nonprofits and NGOs around the world.” – Vice