There’s certainly something to be said for diversity of ideas and abilities; it produces a richer culture. But there’s also something to be said for declaring hierarchies of quality. “A whole society that adopted a policy of letting everything into the show, so to speak, would lose its ability to spot specialness and mediocrity and bankrupt the classical notion of art as a pursuit to be studied and developed by an artist over time.”
Tag: 09.02.05
Gulf Coast Cultural Institutions In Peril
“The state of many cultural institutions in New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana and Mississippi are largely unknown, those preparing to help say. The Heritage Emergency National Task Force – a coalition of 36 federal agencies and national organizations – held a conference call yesterday to plan for help, said Jane Long, task force director. It is a project of Heritage Preservation, a national nonprofit, in Washington. The main problem, she said, is the lack of information, particularly about New Orleans.”
Broadway Theatre To Be Renamed For August Wilson
Broadway’s Jujamcyn theatre group says it will “change the name of the Virginia Theater, at 245 West 52nd Street, to the August Wilson Theater. The new marquee, with a giant neon sign bearing the writer’s signature, is to be unveiled on Oct. 17. Mr. Wilson, 60, will be the first African-American for whom a Broadway theater is named. He will take his place beside such theatrical figures as the playwright Eugene O’Neill, the composer George Gershwin and the actress Helen Hayes.”
Do You Have To Be Young To Write A Good Pop Song?
“As rock has got older, musicians and audiences have inevitably aged with it, but questions remain about what happens to the creative process over the years.”
Podcasting Comes To Books
The latest in books? Podcasting – or “podiobooks.” “Are podcast books really anything more than a trendy version of audiobooks? Since podiobooks are delivered in easy and consumable ‘chunks’, much of the ‘bookmarking’ hassle has been taken away. The ease of consumption allows you to listen to many books at one time. And Podiobooks are also free from the technology hassles of downloadable complete audio books.”