Tag: 08.20.18

Giant Public Art Piece Disappears From Prominent Chicago Building

So there it stood for the last decade: allegedly damaged, possibly devalued, definitely disowned, but still a boldly colorful presence on that busy corner and a landmark for the thousands of pedestrians who passed it daily. I wondered, the last time I saw it, why it was cordoned off with the familiar yellow construction-or-crime-scene tape; it didn’t occur to me that it might be coming down. Like the whitewashing of Bill Walker’s All of Mankind mural a few years ago, its disappearance is a reminder that the public doesn’t own or control the fate of some of the city’s most public art.

When Robin Williams Opened Himself, And His 3-Year-Old Son, Up On The Met Opera Stage

“But then, in the waning moments of the show, Robin conjures up an exchange between himself and Zak that is essentially un-invent-able: It’s funny, but also achingly sincere and unexpectedly poignant. It’s a rare expression of openness from a performer who was more comfortable with his audience at arm’s length.” In this interactive feature, Dave Itzkoff breaks down his favorite bit from Williams’s now-famous 1986 “A Night at the Met.”

Philosophy And Art Can’t Answer The Big Questions. Only Science Can

Perhaps whole revised paradigms of thought, such as those a century or so ago when relativity and quantum mechanics emerged, will take comprehension in currently unimaginable directions. Maybe we shall find that the cosmos is just mathematics rendered substantial. Maybe our comprehension of consciousness will have to be left to the artificial device that we thought was merely a machine for simulating it. Maybe, indeed, circularity again, only the artificial consciousness we shall have built will have the capacity to understand the emergence of something from nothing. I consider that there is nothing that the scientific method cannot elucidate.

James Baldwin’s Only Children’s Book, Forgotten For 42 Years, Is Back

“When Little Man, Little Man was first published in 1976, critics didn’t know what to make of an experimental, enigmatic picture book that straddled the line between children’s and adult literature. It received lukewarm reviews and quickly went out of print. Now, roughly four decades later, Baldwin’s relatives have resurrected the work, with a new edition from Duke University Press, and it could scarcely be more timely.”

More UK Theatres Commit To Giving All Actors Who Audition A Yes-Or-No Response

Last week, in response to a social media campaign tagged #YesOrNo, Britain’s National Theatre promised to contact all actors who auditioned but weren’t cast to give them a definitive answer. Now the Royal Shakespeare Company, London’s Almeida and Royal Court, and several major regional playhouses have joined in making the same commitment, as have a number of prominent casting directors.

Be Authentic! Everyone Cries. Well, That Takes A Bit Of Work, Actually

Do people judge themselves to be more or less authentic over time? My inclination is that people believe they are becoming more of their true self as time passes. After all, most of us would like to think that we are growing and changing in positive ways. And the constant bombardment of messages to be ‘true to ourselves’ can suggest that some force prevents us from fully expressing who we really are.