The artworks were taken by British soldiers who were sacking the capital of the Kingdom of Benin; the art was then auctioned off to pay for the costs of the invasion in which they were taken, and most of the pieces ended up in museums in Berlin and London, where they gave European viewers their first glimpse of African art.
Tag: 08.31.17
Poll Of 50 Nobel Winners: The Biggest Threats To The World Right Now
Political polarization, the rise in populism, ignorance in world leaders, distortion of the truth, and encouraging distrust among people, their leaders, and the media are considered dangerous enough to be featured on a list that includes climate change, population increase, and infectious diseases.
How Individuality Gets Subsumed Into Mobs
“In Group Psychology, Freud asks why crowds make a ‘barbarian’ of the ‘cultivated individual’. Why are the inhibitions enforced by social life so readily overwhelmed by all that is ‘cruel, brutal and destructive’ when we join together with others? And why does the crowd need a strong leader, a hero to whom it willingly submits? The crowd – which is, after all, just an evanescent massing of humanity, a gathering that will quickly disperse once its task is finished – is oddly ‘obedient to authority’. It might appear anarchic, but at bottom it’s conservative and tradition-bound.”
Rethinking the Nature Of What Is And Could Be
“I want our audiences to understand the vast scope of what a ballet can be,” says Paul Vasterling. Pushing that distinction means thinking outside the norm, whether in terms of subject matter, movement vocabulary, use of text and singers, or in performance structure and duration. This raises interesting questions around where exactly we draw the line between ballet and modern dance or musical theatre.
The Challenges Facing Houston’s Small Theatre Companies After The Flooding
“As in most cities, Houston’s small to mid-sized companies often don’t own their own spaces; they are itinerant or rent spaces. The effects of cancelled shows and evacuations will likely take their toll on these organizations, especially ones that are still emerging such as Shunya Theatre, Gravity Players, Rogue Productions, and Rec Room Arts. While each of these companies faces a different set of circumstances, they demonstrate just how much small theatre companies hang on by a thread and will need to rely on the greater Houston community for their continued survival.”
An All-Girl Remake Of ‘Lord Of The Flies’ (The Twitterverse Is Pretty Skeptical)
As Roxane Gay tweeted, “An all women remake of Lord of the Flies makes no sense because … the plot of that book wouldn’t happen with all women.” (What’s more, the movie will be written and directed by two guys.) Other people, pointing to Mean Girls and Heathers, argue that the idea isn’t so farfetched.
The Shaggs Have A Reunion Concert (This Will Never Happen Again)
The three New Hampshire sisters who formed a rock band because their father forced them to (when he died, in 1975, they stopped) developed a serious cult following, either despite or because of “deficits in what is commonly understood as standard musicality.” Five years ago, a Brooklyn musician did a Shaggs tribute concert; he’s since made meticulous transcriptions of their songs, and this summer he got the two surviving sisters to perform with him and his band at Mass MOCA. Howard Fishman was there.
The American Theatre Is About To See Huge Changes At The Top
“The leadership of the American theatre is at a crossroads like it hasn’t seen since the birth of the regional movement in the 1960s. … There are more than 20 artistic director vacancies at major theatre companies across the country, along with a handful of high-profile executive and managing director positions. One way or the other, the new guard will alter the leadership landscape in the American theatre for decades. The question is: how?”
A Glass Ceiling At America’s Regional Theatres
Joseph Haj, artistic director of the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis: “A 2015 study … of 74 LORT theatres … found that there were zero managing or executive directors of color and, on the artistic side, just six people of color. Since then the figures have worsened. … That same study also found that women made up 59 percent of managerial staff presumably next in line for leadership positions (associate artistic directors, general managers, finance directors, development managers, etc.). But women have historically never held more than 27 percent of leadership positions in the American theatre, and the needle on that percentage hasn’t budged in 30 years.”
Bartlett Sher Talks About ‘Oslo’ And Political Theatre In 2017
As the Brexit vote and the US. presidential election proceeded last year, the director and the company of Oslo made a decision that, “as it became more tumultuous in our political world, we would get further and deeper into 1993 and try less to make associations with now.” Audiences can – and do – make those associations on their own.