“Gaspard Louis has an interesting sense of timing. After dancing and co-creating dances with Pilobolus for 10 years, he went into banking, earned good money – and got out just in time to avoid the collapse of 2008.” He’s gone on to found Gaspard & Company, which makes its professional debut this week in Durham.
Tag: 12.02.09
Musty Old Book Smell Becomes Tool In Conservation
“A new testing method can rapidly determine the condition of old books and documents by analyzing the bouquet of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released by paper off-gassing. The technology promises to help conservators assess the condition of old works quickly, while not harming the documents.”
Archaeologists Dig At Site Of Shakespeare’s Final Home
“They hope to discover remains of clothing, documents and even household waste. The dig is at New Place, where he lived from 1597 until his death in 1616.” The team leader said: “It is very possible we can find parchments if the conditions in the grounds are as good as we’re hoping.”
South Coast Rep Hosts A Smaller Neighbor
The prominent regional theatre “is opening its house to an outside production by another Orange County theater. … David Emmes, South Coast’s producing artistic director, sees the run as a ‘pilot project’ that could lead to further imports of shows mounted by the county’s small theaters.”
Why Christopher Alexander Deserves His Scully Prize
“For the last 45 years, Alexander has been a controversial figure on the architectural scene, both revered and reviled; yet in [a] period burdened by flocks of architectural theorists, I would guess that he is one of very few whose work will endure. If Alexander often irritates his critics, it is in part because he is so obviously gifted.”
Thom Mayne’s Cooper Union Building Takes No Prisoners
“[T]he bold new arrival has been widely praised by the architectural community and sharply criticized by those who see it as a contextual affront to the neighborhood.” Count Ada Louise Huxtable among the unoffended. “To this native New Yorker who has watched the city evolve over decades and treasures its unrelenting diversity, Mr. Mayne has got it just right.”
Newseum Cuts More Jobs; Fund-Raising Said To Be Culprit
“In the latest round of dismissals, which took place late last month, the Newseum eliminated 29 full-time positions, or 13 percent of personnel. It has now reduced its staff by 23 percent overall.” Meanwhile, “the Smithsonian Institution has received 158 responses to the voluntary buyout plan it announced in late September.”
NYC Ends Weekly Public Viewing Of Film-Shoot Permits
“The permits contained information on filming locations for movies and television shows,” and requests to view them “now have to be made by mail or e-mail through New York State’s Freedom of Information Law.” The paparazzi are not amused.
Pick Your Ending To Shaw’s Final Play
“When George Bernard Shaw died after falling off a ladder while pruning an apple tree at age 94 in 1950, he had finished five of six scenes of what would be his last play. Nearly 60 years later, a New York theater group will offer not one but five [newly-written] endings to that play, Why She Would Not.”
Richard Serra Sculpture In Ontario Saved
“In a surprise move, councillors for the Township of King have voted in favour of granting heritage status to an outdoor installation [called Shift] erected in the municipality in the early 1970s by the famed U.S. minimalist sculptor Richard Serra.”