“This weekend I went to the recently opened San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and wanted to know everything about the art and various installations, beyond what was posted on the walls. I felt as if I should be able to lift my phone and get more details on the process of the creation of the art work, rather than having to type a search term into my browser. Pokémon Go had changed my expectations on how to access information. That shift in expectation, perhaps, is the game’s true importance.”
Tag: 07.12.16
It’s The Worst Audience Behavior I’ve Ever Seen, Says Producer
Richard Jordan: “Attending the final Friday evening performance of Doctor Faustus starring Kit Harington at the Duke of York’s Theatre, my heart sank.” There was talking, eating, taking pictures – and complaining after being asked to stop. There was popcorn, chips crisps, and even Chicken McNuggets.
We’ve Got To Stop This Audience-Shaming, Says Indie Theatre Exec
Amber Massie-Blomfield, executive director of Camden People’s Theatre: “Not only does this line of discourse do little to change behaviour, it might well serve to alienate the new audiences that are so crucial to the continuing vitality of the art form. … The fear of not knowing how to behave at the theatre is a genuine barrier to entry.”
Let’s Stop Dissing Amateur Orchestras, Okay?, Says Maestro
“[Eric] Kujawsky is the director, founder, and inspiration behind the Redwood Symphony, which he has recently nicknamed ‘the Bernie Sanders of Symphonies’ because of their steadfast commitment to a progressive approach that embraces ambitious and contemporary music. If you wonder whether that includes a chip on the shoulder; yes, it does.”
Headphones, Headphones Everywhere – Are They Changing Everything?
“Certainly, headphones are an obvious method of exercising autonomy, control – choosing what you’ll hear and when, rather than gamely enduring whatever the environment might inflict upon you. In that way, they are defensive; users insist upon privacy (you can’t hear what I hear, and I can’t hear you) in otherwise lawless and unpredictable spaces. Should we think of headphones, then, as just another emblem of catastrophic social decline, a tool that edges us even deeper into narcissism, solipsism, vast unsociability? Another signifier of that most plainly American ideology: independence at any cost?”
There’s Another App That Has People Thronging To Museums: Pokémon Go
“It turns out that a huge number of Pokéstops, as described in the game’s release, are museums, historic buildings and markers, and even public artworks. … Pikachu seems to be drawn to the electricity of a Dan Flavin at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and Charmander’s been spotted hanging around the British Museum’s Parthenon Marbles galleries as well as Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts.” (Unfortunately, somebody put Pokéstops at the 9/11 Museum and Holocaust Museum.)
A Classical Response To #BlackLivesMatter
“After a series of Google searches along the lines of ‘classical music black lives matter,’ it became clear to [Eun Lee] that no such project existed. ‘It just hit me,’ Ms. Lee said, ‘that, as much as we were seeing a response from rap musicians and folk musicians and now more and more pop musicians, there was no such response from the classical music community.'”
TV Viewing By Young People Down By 27% Since 2010
Viewing fell by 27% among 16-24 year olds and children, while it fell only 5% in the 55-64 age category in the same time period. Ofcom said its report highlighted “a widening gap between the viewing habits of the youngest and oldest audiences”.