Incoming Arts Council England Boss Surprised By Plan For Arts Quality Assessments

Tate boss Sir Nicholas Serota responded with disbelief to presenter Sue MacGregor when she told him of ACE’s plans to introduce Quality Metrics to measure artistic quality and said “the Arts Council is going to say if it doesn’t tick these boxes we’re not going to give money to it.” Serota responded: “I suspect you caricature the decision”, which MacGregor denied, saying: “No, I’m almost quoting it word for word from the press release.”

‘Sick Joker Or Avant-Garde Savior?’ Romeo Castellucci Makes Theater That’s Powerful, Confounding, And Icky

“His often-abrasive theater pieces won’t let you look away – whether it’s an elderly man struggling to control his bodily functions beneath a benevolent painting of Christ (On the Concept of the Face) or a klatch of Amish women cutting off one another’s tongues (The Four Seasons Restaurant).”

Balanchine’s ‘Divertimento No. 15’ – Alastair Macaulay Does The Arithmetic

“Three men to partner five women! … I’ve often wondered if the name Divertimento No. 15 gave him the idea: 15 = 5 x 3, a kind of numerical pun. Having eight principals (5 + 3), he matches them with a corps of eight women. As you watch the changing corps patterns, Balanchine shows how neatly divisible the number eight can be – two fours, four twos: symmetries abound. But then you see those eight principals. Eight, after all, can contain an imbalance.”

Top Posts From AJBlogs 09.22.16

The most inspiring conference …
… that I’ve ever been at … This was the DePauw School of Music 21Cymposium, held the weekend before last. I gave the keynote talk, but … later for that. What inspired me about this event wasn’t anything I said, … read more
AJBlog: Sandow Published 2016-09-22

Little man, big trouble
Mrs. T and I just watched Conquest, a delicious 1937 movie in which Charles Boyer and Greta Garbo played Napoleon Bonaparte and the Countess Marie Walewska. Seeing Conquest reminded me that I reviewed two books … read more
AJBlog: About Last Night Published 2016-09-22

So you want to see a show?
Here’s my list of recommended Broadway, off-Broadway, and out-of-town shows, updated weekly. In all cases, I gave these shows favorable reviews (if sometimes qualifiedly so) in The Wall Street Journal when they opened. … read more
AJBlog: About Last Night Published 2016-09-22

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Oldest Surviving Fragment Of Bible Text (2,000 Years) Deciphered, Thanks To New Scanning Technology

“Nearly half a century ago, archaeologists found a charred ancient scroll in the ark of a synagogue on the western shore of the Dead Sea. The lump of carbonized parchment could not be opened or read. Its curators did nothing but conserve it, hoping that new technology might one day emerge to make the scroll legible.” That day has arrived.