“The grid is ripe ground for tilting, warping, ripping, and otherwise distorting into new forms. As autumn and the back-to-school season get underway, it’s only natural to crave order. But a crisp gridded notebook needn’t be a way to restrain our thinking or reign in our imaginations. As Jefferson and other architects have long known, the grid is simply an underlying structure—upon which we may be able to build something new.”
Tag: 09.17.17
Why Orchestras Play Behind The Beat
Here’s the simple response: When an orchestra plays behind the conductor, it has the room to produce a more expressive sound. “It works so well because the musicians can take in a great deal more information before they play,” said Falletta. Waiting a tick allows the ensemble to take in the trajectory, speed and style of a conductor’s beat, which helps them determine what kind of sound the conductor is hoping to achieve. “It gives them a chance to prepare that sound. So the downbeat comes, and the sound opens after that.”
Do You See Yourself As A Visual Learner Or An Auditory Learner? Turns Out There’s Little Scientific Evidence For Either
“The idea that people have different styles of learning – that the visually inclined do best by seeing new information, for example, or others by hearing it – has been around since the 1950s, and recent research suggests it’s still widely believed by teachers and laypeople alike. But is there scientific evidence that learning styles exist? ‘The short answer is no,’ says Daniel Willingham, a psychology professor at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.”
U.S. Holocaust Museum Finds Itself Caught In Argument Over Syrian Civil War
The museum commissioned and published a study on whether any alternative approaches might have prevented more bloodshed than the one taken by the Obama administration. (The answer: probably not.) Then the museum withdrew the study after accusations that it was nothing but a whitewash of what critics called Obama’s inaction in Syria.
What’s So American About American Art?
Art historian Brian T. Allen: “Understanding American art doesn’t necessarily require special training. There’s lots of insider baseball and tons of nuance, to be sure. It’s a big, complex country well into its third century. More than the art of most countries, though, it’s accessible by instinct. Basically, it’s about what makes Americans tick.”
Toronto Fest’s Top Prize Goes To ‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri’
“Directed by Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards stars Frances McDormand as a woman who takes a stand against the police, using the titular three billboards after her daughter is murdered and months later no arrests have been made. The rest of the cast includes Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell (who, along with McDormand, is already receiving awards season buzz), John Hawkes, and Peter Dinklage.”
Ever Noticed? That “Transformative” Technology Is Always Five To Ten Years Away
“Slate has noticed a wily hedging mechanism among Silicon Valley soothsayers to circumvent these uncertainties—make predictions for “five to 10 years out.” It hits that sweet spot: just close enough that people can begin to taste it, but just far enough away that (almost) no one is going to call you out if it doesn’t become true. A review of press releases and tech articles stretching back to the 1990s finds that these Goldilocks forecasts are abundant.”
Ottawa’s National Arts Centre CEO Steps Down
“Peter Herrndorf, who joined the CBC in the mid-1960s, rose to become vice-president of the CBC’s English radio and TV operations. He went on to become publisher of Toronto Life magazine from 1983 to 1992 and then served as CEO of TVOntario from 1992 to 1999 before taking the job of running the NAC.”
This Year’s Emmy Winners
“This year streaming shows accounted for four of the seven nominees for Outstanding Drama Series, two of the picks for Outstanding Comedy Series, and programs like The Handmaid’s Tale, House of Cards, and Master of None have earned praise in nearly every major category. But earning a nomination only does so much; at the end of the day, it’s who takes home the statue that matters.”
Where Did Leonard Bernstein’s Legacy Go?
Bernstein spotlights some of the fault lines running through the American musical establishment, and the centennial makes it clear that, in spite of his example, they haven’t changed all that much. Ironically, the classical music world will be feting Bernstein in part for his role in merging the American vernacular with high-art music, in works such as “Candide” and “West Side Story.” But throughout his life, critics castigated him for not being serious enough.