“‘We’re not a bunch of bloody hippies,’ Mike Shepherd growls by way of introduction. Turns out the last time a journalist paid Kneehigh a visit at its Cornish home, that was the verdict. The time before, the company wound up being compared to a cult, the rehearsal rooms a commune. Its artistic director has had enough.”
Tag: 09.18.17
On Eve Of Trial For ‘Subliminal Messages’, Leading Turkish Author Smuggles Essay Out Of Prison
“[Ahmet] Altan, the author of 10 acclaimed novels that have been translated around the world, as well as essays and journalism, was arrested last September following the attempted coup in Turkey in July 2016. Charges against him include ‘giving subliminal messages in favour of a coup on television’, ‘membership of a terrorist organisation’ and ‘attempting to overthrow the government’.”
So How Did That Robot Do Conducting An Orchestra? Here’s Video
The machine called YuMi made its podium debut last week in Pisa, conducting the Lucca Philharmonic with tenor Andrea Bocelli and soprano Maria Luigia Borsi. Says the conductor who trained YuMi, “We basically had to find time to understand his movements. When we found the way, everything was pretty easy.”
Meredith Monk Wins $250K Gish Prize
“The Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, one of the most generous arts honors in the United States, has been awarded to the singer, composer and multidisciplinary artist Meredith Monk, whose wordless vocal pirouettes and otherworldly theater compositions have reverberated in New York and internationally for five decades.”
Renovated Theatre Celebrates Reopening By Firing Staffers Who’d Been There For Decades
“Staff who are understood to have worked at the Hull New Theatre for more than 20 years were told they no longer had jobs at the venue just days before it reopened. Casual workers at the theatre were told they would need to apply for ‘newly created’ casual roles after its £16 million refurbishment.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 09.18.17
Kusama in Seattle, Post Script, And On to LA
When, on a recent day, The Broad museum announced that “due to overwhelming demand” additional tickets for the coming Yayoi Kusama exhibition would be available on Oct. 2, it added this to the statement: … read more
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts Published 2017-09-18
“The Difference Between Quality Art and Crap” Take Four
Processing my exchange with Vladimir Feltsman, I find myself distracted by something I have long more or less ignored: the art of the piano as manifest by the young artists who today dominate the scene – what Feltsman calls “a new artform.” … read more
AJBlog: Unanswered Question Published 2017-09-17
Bausch Reborn
Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch returns to the Brooklyn Academy of Music (through September 24). … read more
AJBlog: Dancebeat Published 2017-09-17
Brad Mehldau and Chris Thile at the Ace Hotel/LA
In some ways, this pairing makes absolutely no sense — a jazz pianist and a bluegrass mandolinist, playing together? But in another, it’s nearly inevitable. … read more
AJBlog: CultureCrash Published 2017-09-18
Monday Recommendation: Tatum’s Town
Bob Dietsche, Tatum’s Town (Bobson Press)
Most Art Tatum devotees know that Toledo, Ohio, was his hometown. It was where his genius became evident when he was a teenaged Fats Waller disciple. … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2017-09-18
Netflix Announced A Major New Standup Comedy Initiative. Will It Help Or Hurt Comedy?
“I do feel like Netflix is commodifying stand-up. This boom, at least as defined by me, is about treating comics as individual artists with distinct points of view, not people providing a service. Stockpiling stand-up as content and telling people it’ll be there whenever you need a laugh is completely antithetical to that. Has the boom already given way to a bloat?”
New Banksy Murals Turn Up In London As Basquiat Show Opens
The works, near the Barbican Centre, mark the opening of an exhibition by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.
The Curious Case Of The Oregon Bach Festival Soap Opera
Previously undisclosed emails reveal that the colleague at the center of the inquiry, the countertenor Reginald Mobley, denied to festival administrators that Matthew Halls had been racially insensitive. But clear reasons for the firing remain elusive. And the attempt to deal with an ugly personnel issue sotto voce — last week, university officials agreed to pay Mr. Halls $90,000 as part of a settlement with a nondisparagement clause — has resulted in a crescendo of criticism, from the festival’s hometown, Eugene, Ore., to England.
They Seriously Think They Can Build A Computer That Can Predict The Future
“Supercomputers are already used to predict weather and earthquakes, but there’s not currently enough computing power to model complex biological systems precisely enough to make endeavors like large-scale transitioning to wind energy, for example, feasible. An exascale computer would be powerful enough to uncover answers to questions about, say, climate change and growing food that can withstand drought. It could even predict crime (hopefully with more accuracy and fairness than current predictive policing systems).”