“I think that we may be turning a corner away from what I think of as takedown culture. It all comes from cynicism, the feeling that the system is corrupt and that everything is rigged and nothing is what it seems. We all love a good critical catfight, but somehow, with these catfights and cynical demonizations becoming the way of mainstream media, I perceive the wider culture and the art world slowly trying to separate out and isolate this behavior for what it is: Headline-grabbing, grandstanding, gasbags, people scared of change, or afraid of going deeper.”
Tag: 05.20.15
Study Says Typical Kids’ Dance Classes Don’t Provide Enough Physical Activity
“Only 8% of children and 6% of adolescents achieved the 30-minute recommendation for after-school moderate-to-vigorous exercise. In children, the type of dance really mattered. Hip-hop was the most active kind of dance, with 57% of class time being devoted to moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Jazz took second place, followed by partnered class, tap, salsa and finally ballet, where 30% of class is spent in moderate-to-vigorous activity.”
Maria Abramovic Complains Jay Z Took Advantage Of Her. But Who Took Advantage Of Whom?
Maria Abramović has crossed a line that even Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst are wary of. Someone was bound to do it eventually. She has not just taken art out of the gallery but into a realm of rock concert hysteria and teen adulation. To put it kindly, you can say her fans resemble the star-struck kids in old films of the Beatles. But what is the cultural price of mass intoxication? Is it a good thing?
Handicapping This Year’s Tony Nominees For Best Actor
While 20 have been nominated, only four will win. “Here, a look at who’s ahead, who can upset and who should just be happy to be there.”
Heel-gate Ends: Cannes Film Festival Apologizes
“We apologise. There was perhaps a small moment of over-zealousness,” Cannes Festival director Thierry Fremaux said, apparently referring to the security guards who prohibited women without heels from walking the festival red carpet.
Bruce Lundvall, 79, Influential Jazz Recording Exec
Mr. Lundvall’s career in the recording industry encompassed more than half a century, with success across multiple genres. Blue Note had been an important jazz label for decades but had been dormant for years when he revived it under the umbrella of EMI Records in 1984, intent on celebrating its legacy while moving forward.
PEN Warns That China Censors Foreign Translations Without Authors’ Knowledge
“A report Wednesday from the PEN American Center says translated versions of foreign books may be excised because of political sensitivities, like Taiwan, Tibet and the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown on democracy protesters. But references to sexually explicit material and gay and lesbian issues are also frowned upon.”
Toronto’s Luminato Festival Gets Anthony Sargent As New CEO
Sargent, 65, recently stepped down after his latest triumph: leading the team of Sage Gateshead in creating an internationally acclaimed new venue for music in northeast England. Previously Sargent worked for the BBC as concerts planning manager, including the work of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and helped create the BBC Millennium Music Live project.
Landmarks Commission Rules Against Altering Modernist NYC Classic
“The interior of the Four Seasons restaurant, a vision of Modernist elegance with its French walnut paneling and white marble pool of bubbling water, should not be changed, New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission decided on Tuesday.”
Artist: We Should Prescribe Drugs For Creativity
“Basically what I’m proposing is the idea of using performance-enhancing drugs in education,” Leon Ewing told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Wednesday. “We already prescribe amphetamine-like medication for focus and docility. What if we medicated for creativity?”