Jefferson’s memoir Negroland won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography, partly because of its ability to be personal and critical at the same time. Jefferson says, “I’d spent my writing life as a critic. My initial feeling was that those kinds of tones and voices had to go; this was memoir. But then, I realized, no, that was as much a fixed part of my identity as other things. I realized I had to include the critic who is diagnosing, who is assessing, who is judging against a kind of backdrop that is aesthetic, cultural, political.”
Tag: 09.26.18
Librarians Are Becoming Tech Specialists
“I have a big problem with library technology. Let’s be honest, all libraries do! Mainly, the problem is… it sucks. Most of the time our tech already doesn’t work right, somebody decides to break it, and then we don’t have the money to fix anything.”
Pussy Riot’s Pyotr Verzilov Released From Berlin Hospital After Suspected Poisoning
Verzilov, who took part in the protest at the World Cup final and runs an independent news website in Russia, was rushed to the hospital on Sept. 11 after losing his ability to see, speak, and walk and was later airlifted to Berlin for specialized treatment. Doctors says there are now no traces of toxins in his system but that poisoning is the most likely explanation for his illness; Verzilov believes he was poisoned by the GRU (military intelligence agency).
Rebuild Of Scottish National Museum To Start (Already Three Years Late And Over Budget)
Work on the first new exhibition spaces the nation’s most important paintings to be created in more than 30 years is set to get under way as part of a long-awaited overhaul of the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh. However the cost of the project – which also involves a new look for part of East Princes Street Gardens – has soared by nearly a third, is running three years late, and has had to be scaled back significantly since plans were first unveiled four years ago.
How The British Art Market Is Preparing Itself For Brexit
“As with other markets, the UK and Europe’s art trade has been held in a state of prolonged uncertainty, an uncertainty now shifting to rising unease at the spectre of March’s looming deadline. But, politics and panic aside, what practical issues will art market professionals face after 29 March 2019, whatever the outcome: hard, soft or no-deal? Costs, paperwork and potential shipping delays at borders are the three areas of most concern and uncertainty, along with the future of London’s art agents who have benefitted from the UK having the lowest import VAT rate in the EU.”
Jack Whitten’s Sculpture Show Uncovers his Secret Strengths (& the Met Breuer’s Hidden Weakness)
As an admirer of the late Jack Whitten’s paintings, I welcomed the chance to see his little-known, previously unexhibited wood sculptures and mixed-media assemblages now on view in the Met Breuer. But the considerable pleasures to be derived from this admirable show were partly undermined by its subtle but substantive commercial overtones.
‘I Went To As Many Instagramable ‘Museums,’ ‘Factories’ And ‘Mansions’ As I Could. They Nearly Broke Me.’
Amanda Hess visited the Museum of Ice Cream’s New York pop-up, the Rosé Mansion, Candytopia, Color Factory, 29Rooms, and even a preview party for the upcoming Museum of Pizza. “I realize that I have a ‘fun’ job that it’s annoying to complain about: Oh no, I have to drink free wine and eat ice cream. But as my summer of pop-ups dragged on, I began to dread my evenings. What began as a kicky story idea became a masochistic march through voids of meaning. … And yet, the ‘experience’ has emerged as among the defining fads of my generation.”
Composer And Flutist Katherine Hoover, 80
“[She] began writing music in earnest in the early 1970s, a time when few women were having success in the male-dominated world of classical composing, and she was still creating new works into this decade. … Her best-known work, though, was probably Kokopeli (1990), a piece for flute that was inspired, as were a number of her other compositions, by American Indian music and culture.”
How They Handled The Gender Switch At The Center Of Sondheim’s ‘Company’
With the much-talked about London revival of the musical now arriving on Broadway, reporter Sopan Deb talks to director Marianne Elliott, co-producer Chris Harper, and star Rosalie Craig about changing the main character from confused bachelor Bobbie to commitment-phobic hetero single woman Bobbie.
Eight Years After Earthquake, Haiti’s Theatre Scene Is Finally Climbing Back
“A decade ago, posters advertising glamorous theatrical productions lined Rue Pavée, a main road in [Port-au-Prince,] Haiti’s capital city. Local theatre was on the rise here until the devastating 2010 earthquake destroyed much of the city, including progress for the arts.” Once the National Theatre was reopened in 2013, stage artists began trying to rebuild the scene for live drama, with small companies and playhouses producing new work alongside the larger venue.