“Working at what he describes as “the interaction between culture and life”, he has sold 6m books. He was in Amsterdam to give a talk for the opening of his Art is Therapy show at the Rijksmuseum. Concurrent shows are under way at Toronto’s Art Gallery of Ontario and the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne.”
Tag: 05.17.14
Blinded Bolshoi Ballet Director Sergei Filin: ‘The Dancing, I See Perfectly’
“In a rehearsal, he micromanages every last nuance of expression – the curve of the fingers, the gestures, musical timing – as he coaches dancers through a pas de deux. He runs from corner to corner, with Chudin following, and (Filin can’t help himself) he demonstrates how Chudin should jump. Quick and light, like a jackrabbit. Watching him, his mother covers her eyes.”
Book Translations Into English Are On The Increase
“2013 saw the highest number of translations since it started counting in 2008 – more than 500 books from some 187 publishers. What’s driving this increase?”
After New Chinese Museums Open With Big Shows, What Happens Next?
“These cities are not cultural centres, but have experienced a boom due to their coal, oil and gas industries. Expensive property investments there have led to a rise in regional and city art museums. But these museums are established with little research or planning and their weaknesses—collecting, staffing, marketing—are later exposed.”
Patrick Stewart Talks About Star Trek, X-Men, Godot, Love, Ian McKellen … And More
“Actors, we have this thing called a ‘sense memory’ which we draw on for particularly emotional moments. We have these things stored away in a vault and we can draw them out when we need to.”
Philip Roth Is Really Retiring From Public Life, And Here Comes His Last Interview
“Roth has never seemed so relaxed or content. Usually, a cocktail of vanity, optimism, and defiance, spiked with raw economic necessity, keeps old writers in the game long after they should have bowed out. Roth has beaten the odds.”
A Bad Year For Cannes (Or Just A Normal Year, Writ Large?)
“Disgruntled critics suggest the competition has become a cosy club, where the chosen few are never ejected, merely shuffled to one of the less prestigious selections.”
Hollywood Movies Are Destroying Cinema, And Maybe The World
Alejandro Jodorowsky: “Industrial pictures are not art. They are necessary sometimes, like a cigarette. But they kill you.”
Why ‘Do What You Love’ Is So Silly
“The universally recognized paragons of humanity — the Nelson Mandelas, Dietrich Bonhoeffers and Martin Luther Kings — did not organize their lives around self-fulfillment and bucket lists. They, no doubt, found a sense of meaning in their heroic acts of self-sacrifice, but they did not do what they were doing in order to achieve that sense of meaning.”
Opera And Dance Would Seem To Be Natural Allies. Why Aren’t They?
“Partly, this is due to the specialization of the two forms over the course of the nineteenth century, and the resulting theatrical requirements of each.”