Whether any of these gestures will mitigate the pressing problems of global warming and rising sea levels is still unknown — the fix likely requires more than what one landscape architect calls “boutique wetlands.” But projects debuting this fall suggest that hard barriers between the designed environment and the natural one are softening — maybe for good. – The New York Times
Tag: 09.16.19
Scans Of Artists Painting Using Their Feet Show The Brain Rewiring Itself
In typically developed people, the “foot” part of the map is a solid region, with no distinct representation of the toes. But in the brains of Tom Yendell and Peter Longstaff, there were clear toe areas, arranged in order. – The New York Times
Diversity, Gender Equity, Innovation — Here’s A Ballet Company That’s Living Up To The Ideals
“With just 10 dancers, [Ballet X is] a model of what is possible for small contemporary ballet troupes — and it embodies many of the ideals that larger companies are striving for today. It commissions lots of women. Half of the company members are dancers of color. The work pushes ballet in new directions, whether through innovative story ballets or genre-bending collaborations. It’s deeply rooted in its Philadelphia community, and has fostered an open company culture rarely found in ballet.” – Dance Magazine
Three Trans-Gender Opera Singers Talk About Their Careers
Baritone Lucas, who decided to keep singing with her booming, low-voice type after her physical transition rather than trying to retrain her voice to sing soprano or mezzo roles, is rising to the very top of her profession. In May, she became the first trans singer to perform a lead role in a classic operatic work in the U.S. when she starred in “Don Giovanni” with the Tulsa Opera in Oklahoma. In October, she will play a lead role with the English National Opera in London. – KQED
Harlem Nonprofit Providing Art Education In Public Schools Expands To Two More Cities
“As the 2019 school year gets underway, ProjectArt, an initiative founded by Ardash Alphons in Harlem in 2011, is expanding to New Orleans and San Francisco, bringing arts access to two cities with large communities of homeless young people and giving the organisation a presence in a total of eight cities across the US (By 2021, ProjectArt plans to be in ten cities.)” – The Art Newspaper
MIT Invents A Black Even Blacker Than Vantablack
Three years ago, the invention of Vantablack, a carbon nanotube coating that absorbs up to 99.965% of all light, made headlines, especially when artist Anish Kapoor acquired exclusive rights to its use in artworks, infuriating other artists. Now MIT scientists have discovered — by accident, they say — a carbon nanotube material that absorbs 99.99% of light. And to demonstrate, they’ve coated a $2 million yellow diamond with the stuff. (Meanwhile, BMW has made a car coated with Vantablack.) – Newsweek
Yannick Nézet-Séguin Signs Lifetime Contract With His Montreal Orchestra
The Orchestre Métropolitain, where native Montrealer YNS held his first music director position (beginning in 2000) and which he brought to international attention, has appointed him Artistic Director and Chief Conductor for life, an extremely rare move in the orchestra world. – Ludwig Van
L.A. Philharmonic CEO Simon Woods Resigns, Effective Immediately
“After a great deal of reflection,” said Woods in a statement, “I have concluded that my hopes and aspirations lie elsewhere, and as a result, I have tendered my resignation.” He served in the position for less than 21 months, succeeding Deborah Borda at the beginning of 2018. – Los Angeles Times
Is Gary Larson About To Revive ‘The Far Side’?
“Fans of the surreal, the bizarre and sardonic anthropomorphic cows are in a fervour after The Far Side cartoonist Gary Larson’s website was updated this weekend with promises of ‘a new online era’, 24 years after the reclusive creator retired at the age of 44.” – The Guardian
Historic Find: Milton’s Notes On Shakespeare’s Plays
The astonishing find, which academics say could be one of the most important literary discoveries of modern times, was made by Cambridge University fellow Jason Scott-Warren when he was reading an article about the anonymous annotator by Pennsylvania State University English professor Claire Bourne. – The Guardian