“In some ways, reading all this Arabic literature in English has been like listening in on a foreign-language recording when one understands the words’ meanings, but not the allusions, nor the jokes, nor the underlying rhythms. Some of this woodenness can be blamed on inadequate translations. But some of it falls to our historical blind spots.”
Tag: 07.25.15
Reviving The Play That Reclaimed The Pink Triangle For The LGBT Movement
Yes, all you millennials – back before you were born, the few people who remembered that the Nazis had used pink triangles to mark out homosexuals in the prison camps tended to view the symbol as a badge of shame. Then Martin Sherman’s Bent opened on Broadway …
Changing Media, Changing Criticism (For Better And Worse)
“The Internet has had an explosive and largely positive impact on film culture. The average film lover can read good critics from around the world for free, draw on more academic resources than ever and simply see more films than ever before. They can argue, engage, question and inform each other in film forums and keep up on the latest discoveries from festivals around the world.”
What’s Going To Happen To South Carolina State’s Warhols, Jacob Lawrences, And Much More Art?
“Amid the turmoil at S.C. State University, which is scrambling to put its financial house in order, another drama is playing out on the Orangeburg campus of the historically black school. It’s a controversy within a controversy, and a significant collection of art is caught in the middle.”
How To Review Philip Glass’ Autobiography Without Being Snarky
“When I told a snarky friend I was writing about the new Philip Glass autobiography, Words Without Music, she asked, ‘Does it go like this: I, I, I, I, I, I, was, was, was, was, was, born, born, born, born?’ Snarky.”
Why Is Sophie Hunter Taking Britten’s Phaedra To A Beckett Festival?
“But why Phaedra in a Beckett festival? Yes the Racine/Lowell/Britten links were evident, but how to join Beckett and Racine? I had to trace my own constellation of connections from one great artist to another and, without wanting to deny the audience their own chance to join the dots, here are just a few of the discoveries made.”
Amazon Makes Plans For Brick And Mortar Stores
“After placing an order, you’d get to select a pickup time window. Then, all you’d have to do is stop by on the way home and pick up your items. It’s said that there will also be a small store location on site, perhaps allowing customers to walk in and buy without placing an order online first. The image above is a render pulled from the planning documents.”
Vogueing: Still Dominant In New York
“While the ball honors vogueing’s pioneers, it also reflects the ways that the dance has evolved stylistically and demographically: its global expansion; the increasing participation of women; and a shift to bolder, more acrobatic dancing.”
Marlon Brando’s Private Audiotapes Reveal A Man Haunted By Fame And Memories
“Brando started recording his thoughts ‘as soon as he could get his hands on a tape recorder,’ Douglas said, adding that he loved new technology and gadgets. ‘He was the first person to buy a Mac. He was the first person to tell me about the Internet. I had no idea what he was talking about.'”
How Joseph Cornell Changed The Art World – From His Mother’s Basement
“A pioneer of assemblage art, collector, autodidact, Christian Scientist, pastry-lover, experimental film-maker, balletomane and self-declared white magician, he roved freely through the fields of the mind while inhabiting a personal life of extraordinarily narrow limits. He never married or moved out of his mother’s house in Queens and rarely voyaged further than a subway ride into Manhattan, despite being besotted with the idea of foreign travel and particularly with France.”