It may be hard to remember now, but there was a time when manners and social graces counted for something in American society, and no name was more associated with such niceties as that of Emily Post. “Like Freud and Betty Crocker, the name “Emily Post” became shorthand for authority itself.” But Post was a conflicted and complicated woman, as a new biography makes clear…
Tag: 10.22.08
Lincoln Center Names Resident Theatre Director
“Bartlett Sher, a Tony Award winner for his direction of the current revival of “South Pacific” at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, has been named the resident director of Lincoln Center Theater. Mr. Sher, who will retain his position as the artistic director of the Intiman Theater in Seatlle, will have an office at Lincoln Center and direct one production there each year.”
Frieze May Be Gone, But Its Coattails Linger
The most interesting thing about London’s Frieze Art Fair may be the provocative activities going on around its fringes. “If the 2008 Frieze, which ran for five days, ending on Sunday, offered a glimpse of a plush, moneyed-to-the-gills art world that may soon be history, the outlying shows in many cases seem more reality-based.”
Colleagues Demand Release Of Jordanian Poet
“Writers in Jordan are calling for the immediate release of a poet charged with insulting Islam in love poetry. Islam Samhan’s recent collection, Grace Like A Shadow, includes phrases from the Koran, viewed as sacrosanct by Muslims as the literal word of God… Writers and artists have sent a petition to the government calling the arrest a “retreat in the freedom of expression.”
Listening To A Revolutionary School
“During the dawning years of jazz education [the Creative Music Studio in Woodstock, NY,] was the unmusic school, roughly analogous to Black Mountain College, the progressive school in North Carolina that brought together avant-garde writers, dancers and painters in the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s. The constant musical activity at the studio, in workshops and concerts, yielded about 400 hours of tapes.”
Hanging On Despite Economic Turmoil
“Calgary’s major arts groups have managed to duck the recent economic heavy weather battering the Canadian economy — so far… Much of their strategy is geared towards luring a younger audience through discounted tickets, special student matinees and an increased reliance on viral marketing on the Internet, where younger eyeballs tend to gather in the largest numbers.”
Experimental Artist Simon Hantaï, 85
The strong-willed painter, who walked from Hungary through Italy to Paris and abandoned the art world for 15 years because he hated commercialism, tried “to overcome the aesthetic privilege of talent.” (He was also the father of the early music specialists Pierre, Marc and Jérôme Hantaï.)
Pistol-Packin’ Fiddler
Italian violinist Matteo Fedeli travels with his $10 million Stradivarius – “and has been given police permission to protect it with a .357 Smith and Wesson Magnum.”
What Turns Ordinary Pissed-Off People Into Terrorists?
“Let’s assume that a very few people in the world share the same strange belief, say that the moon is made of green cheese. Through a process of self-selection, they find each other on the same forum… Soon, they will assume that everyone shares this conviction because only the true believers air their views and the rest stay silent.”