How did this all get started? Grafton says, “I was reading an Edward Gorey cartoon book called ‘The Gashlycrumb Tinies.’ And that’s little pen-and-ink drawings of Victorian children being done in in various ways. A is for Amy, who fell down the stairs. B is for Basil, assaulted by bears. C for Claire, who – you know, and on down the alphabet. I thought, what a keen idea.”
Tag: 08.20.17
Songs For The Eclipse
Yes, there’s an obvious number one. And then a few more. (Each song lasts longer than the totality in most of the totality zone, but never mind that.)
The NYT’s Holland Cotter: Don’t Destroy Confederate Monuments
The resident art critic says to move them instead. “My reasons are pragmatic. When you find yourself at a crime scene, you don’t destroy evidence. You preserve it for the prosecution. In the case of images like this, the prosecutor is history, and the trial may be a long one, stretching far into the future, with many witnesses called. Rush to judgment and drastic action should be resisted.”
Here’s An Artist Building Colorful Bungalows To Highlight The Housing Crisis In The UK
Richard Woods: “There’s one house in the harbour, floating around – somebody heard through gossip in the town that it was going to be floated to Calais and back again. Some people are genuinely interested in whether “boat people” will move into the houses. But then lots of people in the town completely get the project.”
The King Of Audiobooks Doesn’t Even Have A Near Rival
George Guidall’s entire family was in the medical profession, and that was his parents’ plan for him. “But as a self-described ‘fat and antisocial’ child in New Jersey, he discovered acting when a high school English teacher recruited him to play Teddy Roosevelt in ‘Arsenic and Old Lace.'” More than 1300 audiobooks later …
Hulu And Netflix Are Banking On Nostalgia Making A Comeback
Digital platforms are creating new audiences for old TV shows – as when this 25-year-old from Houston says “I know ‘Game of Thrones’ is all the rage — and I watch it too, sometimes — but it doesn’t have me hooked like ‘Golden Girls.’ … I’m on my third round of watching the series right now.”
Top AJBlogs For The Weekend Of 08.20.17
Dancing on Water, Making Waves Onstage
The Trisha Brown Dance Company performs at the Clark Art Institute and at Jacob’s Pillow. Trisha Brown’s Groove and Countermove. (L to R): Kyle Marshall (head hidden), Patrick McGrath, Oluwadamilare Ayorinde, Kimberly Fulmer, Amanda Kmett’Pendry, … read more
AJBlog: DancebeatPublished 2017-08-19
Berkshire Bumble: Director’s Letter Reveals Focus Groups Kept in the Dark About Planned Art Sales
In the sell-job for its New Vision, the Berkshire Museum, Pittsfield, MA, has made much of the fact that “approximately 400 people have participated in the community consultation process” during the planning phase. But a … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrlPublished 2017-08-18
Wu Hsin-fei: Renegade Nanguan Music from Taiwan
As I write this, another day of rain in New York is adding to what has been a rather tropical summer. Am I the only one who thinks rainy days evoke nostalgia? I think … read more
AJBlog: OtherWorldlyPublished 2017-08-18
Reminder: The Statue of Liberty’s Burka*
Words and narration by Heathcote Williams. Montage by Alan Cox. The President is obsessed with deporting Arabs Although, by a superb comic irony, It was an Arab who modeled for the United States’ icon – … read more
AJBlog: Straight|UpPublished 2017-08-18
The Legendary Dancer Julie Kent Talks About The Transition To Artistic Director Of The Washington Ballet
Kent says that the adjustment from being a dancer in New York to being an artistic director in D.C. is a challenge, but that it’s good for her two young children to see their parents taking on new work. “My service to the art form is now creating opportunities for other people. … My focus is on them.”
The Globe’s New Boss Says She Has Ideas For The Theatre
Michelle Terry isn’t feuding with Emma Rice, won’t direct any plays, wants children to fall for Shakespeare through their kinetic experience at the Globe – and the plays will be “gender-blind, race-blind, disability-blind.”
Jerry Lewis Dies At 91
The high regard in which his comic abilities were held in France — he received the Legion of Honor award in 1983 — became a running joke in the U.S. long after Lewis’ style of broad physical comedy fell out of fashion. His final film, “Max Rose,” screened at France’s Cannes Film Festival in 2013.