“The year 1919 was pivotal in European culture, with bold portents for the postwar future — it was the year that Walter Gropius founded the Bauhaus and Marcel Duchamp painted a mustache on the Mona Lisa. [Richard Strauss’s] Die Frau ohne Schatten, in contrast, was almost reassuringly conservative in its late Romantic musical language, in its fairy tale libretto about a fundamentally good-hearted emperor and empress, and in its celebration of fertility and childbirth as the foundation of marriage and society.” – The New York Times
Tag: 10.12.19
Placido Domingo’s Career Continues Apace In Europe
In contrast to the United States, so far no theater in Europe, where the #MeToo movement has had little impact, has canceled any of the singer’s planned performances on calendars running through the fall of 2020. In continuing the performances, European venues have cited an absence of allegations in their venues, the lack of a judicial case against him and the singer’s well-known affability and undeniable popularity. – Yahoo! (AP)
An Artist Figures Out Why Mathematicians Just Can’t Quit Their Blackboards
Photographer Jessica Wynne: “When I was talking to [mathematicians] about their work, I realised that their thought process and what they do is extremely creative – and I never really thought about mathematics in that way.” – The Observer (UK)
How A Group Of Artists Created A ‘Breakout Fall’ For Themselves In Detroit
The Vanguard Artists Collective is “a tight-knit group of like-minded members of the creative class looking to push each other in their artistic practice while nurturing the next generation of great Detroit artists.” And their success hasn’t come overnight. – Detroit Free Press
How David Hockney Self-Promoted Himself Into The Art World When He Was Young
Hockney, as a brash young artist in the 1960s, made some bold moves. “In the previously unknown letter, scrawled by Hockney while he was studying at the Royal College of Art in London, the 23-year-old brazenly adopts the tone of an established artist and invites Helen Kapp, the curator of the Wakefield gallery, to see his work as if she were an old friend.” – The Observer (UK)
An Historian Says To Be Wary Of Written History
Why? “People say: history will exonerate me! But history never exonerates anyone. In fact, this makes me very wary about the role of written history – how unfair written history can be.” – Irish Times
The Pre-Raphaelite Women Get At Least Part Of Their Due
They were painters, too, not just muses for the men. Why doesn’t everyone know that? Er, for instance: The classic-looking Queen Eleanor and Fair Rosamund is not by one of the big boys of pre-Raphaelite art. It is the work of Evelyn De Morgan, a woman whose painting was often compared to that of Burne-Jones. Sir Edward, indeed, was scathing about the young artist in his private letters, a sure sign that he felt rattled by her talent.” – The Guardian (UK)
Why Is The Paris Art Scene Roaring Back To Life?
Brexit. Or maybe Macron? In any case, “London galleries are launching new spaces in Paris, and US dealerships, who would once have chosen London as their European base, are going to Paris instead.” – The Observer (UK)
When A Star Stares Right Back
Why did The Washington Post reviewer (and the now-infamous headline writer) have such a hard time dealing with singer Debbie Harry’s memoir? Perhaps because “she always comes off as tough and matter-of-fact and New York–y,” and the Post reviewer wanted a lot more. – The Atlantic