“We talk to Denver Art Museum curator Gwen Chanzit about her important exhibition, speak with the artist Judith Godwin – an Abstract Expressionist who has largely been ignored in the history books, I travel to the Upper West Side to get feminist art historian Linda Nochlin’s thoughts on the matter, and finally I chat with curator and critic Karen Wilkin, who was friends with Helen Frankenthaler.” (podcast)
Tag: 07.25.16
Pope Julius III’s Nymphaeum Restored By Mysterious Japanese Donors (What’s A Nymphaeum?)
A nymphaeum is a type of old Roman monument meant to honor nymphs, and this 16th-century version in the Villa Giulia (Julius’s palace) was moldy and monochromatic and overgrown until these anonymous Far Eastern donors came forward.
How To Procrastinate Better (A Productivity Expert’s Tips)
“Q: If you’re going to procrastinate, are there better and worse ways to do it?”
Charles Duhigg: “There is no magic formula that applies to all people. What we do know is that often people are fairly bad at picking up on what is refreshing and rejuvenating, and so they tend to misevaluate what they should do as a break.”
After Decades Of Chaos, Somalia Is (Re-)Developing A Book Industry And Culture
“As the war-weary nation slowly gains more stability, there has been an uptick in the number of festivals promoting books and the culture of reading. The fairs have become an important place to expose Somalis to different writers and cultures across Somalia, Africa, and the world.”
There’s A Fabulous Old Victorian Theatre Sitting Derelict In North London, And Now There’s A Plan To Reopen It
“The existence of the ‘frozen in time’ theatre is not widely known but it is considered one of the most architecturally significant and historic parts of the [Alexandra Palace] entertainment complex in north London, built in the 1870s as ‘the People’s Palace’.”
Misty Copeland On Ballerinas As Athletes, Self-Care, And Her Body-Image Issues As A Black Woman In Ballet
“I’ve had so many issues throughout my career finding the right support – even in something like finding leotards to fit a larger butt. … With the conversations that I’ve opened up, people are more open to expecting the different body types that exist. Also, if you go back to the 1930s and ’40s you’ll see these ballerinas that had really soft physiques – they didn’t have muscles, they weren’t six-feet-ten, and had big breasts.”
What Was It About Nudity In Renaissance Art That Was So Shocking?
“Works of art get lost for many reasons, but there is a suspiciously high destruction rate for those involving nudity. Leonardo da Vinci’s Leda and the Swan was one of the first openly carnal depictions of myth in art, delighting in a big-bosomed, curvy-hipped Leda. Today, this painting is only known through drawings and copies. A French owner probably destroyed it deliberately.”
How Being Exhausted Became A Status Symbol
“Each era remakes the condition in its own image, reflecting its medical, technological and cultural developments, as well as its fears. Dangerous precisely because it keeps us from action, exhaustion has for centuries done double duty as a sign of weakness and a badge of honor.”
Only In Portland: A Food Truck For Opera
“At each stop, the cart – actually a converted truck that carries a foldout stage as well as set pieces – offers a ‘menu’ of arias, duets and ensemble pieces. When a selection is ‘ordered,’ a cast of three singers and a pianist gives a short performance.” And what is Portland Opera calling this venture? We’re afraid so: “Opera à la Cart”.
Ballet Company Still Reeling Financially Three Years After Cancelled Joni Mitchell Project
“On the heels of a series of successful pop productions, [Alberta Ballet] was working for a second time with singer Joni Mitchell, working to stage a production based on her love songs.” But an artistic disagreement with Mitchell and the consequent cancellation “cost [the company] about a million dollars … in single ticket sales that were budgeted for but were then lost.”