Ondrej Cerny says he was abruptly given notice of dismissal on Friday, with no reason stated. Culture minister Alena Hanakova has given unclear and conflicting reasons for her decision, and following a disastrous television interview on the subject, calls are mounting for her to resign.
Tag: 09.10.12
Shlomo Mintz Fired As Director Of Swiss Music Festival
Citing conflicts of interest, the Sion-Valais International Music Festival terminated the Israeli violinist’s contract as artistic director after finding out through press reports that Mintz had accepted a similar post at the Festival Crans-Montana Classics.
America’s First Self-Help Book
“Officially, The Long Lost Friend is a grimoire, a book of magic … [and it] may well be the most influential and, at one time, most well known grimoire to have originated in the New World. … [Yet c]alling The Long Lost Friend a book of magic is misleading to the modern mind.”
Ai Weiwei: ‘The Chinese Art World Does Not Exist’
“I don’t think it’s worth discussing new directions in the context of Chinese art – there were no old directions, either. … Chinese art is merely a product: it avoids any meaningful engagement. There is no larger context. Its only purpose is to charm viewers with its ambiguity.”
Oxford American Names New Editor: Roger Hodge, Lately Of Harper’s
“After enduring weeks of unflattering attention over the firing of its editor, The Oxford American has hired a successor: Roger D. Hodge, … who was the editor of Harper’s magazine from 2006 to 2010.” Marc Smirnoff, … the literary journal’s founding editor, was fired in July in a sexual harassment scandal.
China’s Most Famous Contemporary Dancer (And Her Most Unusual Past)
Jin Xing “may be the only acclaimed contemporary dancer capable of blowing up a bridge. Though she is just 43, Jin’s life has spanned numerous roles, two continents and, most famously, both genders.”
UC Berkeley Launches $100K Award For Female Architects
New York architect Deborah Berke is the first winner of the Berkeley-Rupp Prize, “which will be awarded every two years. The winner, a prominent woman architect, gets to teach a term at Cal and also has a show of her work in Wurster Hall,” the university’s architecture school building.
Study: Arts Education For Pre-Schoolers Helps
The arts-rich curriculum produced more “positive emotions such as interest, happiness and pride, and greater growth in emotion regulation across the school year.”
The New Open Data Economy
“We’re on the verge of the next generation of services driven by open data, which will involve everything from energy to health care to consumer finance to transit sectors. The challenge is that the cities and federal agencies that hold vast amounts of data may not always understand the value of the information they hold or how to create or sustain businesses using it.”
Jonathan Gold Talks About Writing About Food
“Taste, in the act of eating, is concrete, but also abstract in a certain way. How do you describe a flavor? I’ve done music writing, too. How do you describe a guitar solo in a way that hasn’t been done before?”