“British and American cultural influences collide with the inescapable realities of the weather, resulting in a lot of sweaty people in Santa hats lolling about on Bondi Beach. … A look at archival images from Australia’s state libraries shows some of the odder ways the country combines traditional Christmas images with Down Under culture.”
Tag: 12.11.15
Gloria Contreras, 81, Choreographer Who Blended Balanchine With Mexican Culture
“One of [her] major achievements was the company and school she founded in 1970 in Mexico City … There she showcased a signature style that avoided folk dance but used Mexican composers and motifs to infuse even plotless neo-Classical ballets in leotards with a Mexican sensibility.”
Cleveland Orchestra Ratifies Three-Year Musicians’ Contract
“The agreement marks a smooth end to a lengthy so-called ‘play and talk’ period, and extends the peace that has reigned at Severance Hall since 2010, when orchestra members waged a brief strike.”
Arthur Miller’s Very First Script Gets The World Premiere He Wouldn’t Give It
“The staging of the play, No Villain, a nakedly autobiographical story that Miller wrote in 1936 as a 20-year-old sophomore at the University of Michigan, was scheduled to open on Thursday night, capping a banner year for the playwright in England.”
How Bad Behavior Online Is Like The Masked Mayhem Of Every Age
“Every human culture has used masks for ritual disinhibition, shaming and play. Is being online the ultimate masquerade?”
Why Older Paintings Didn’t Have Names
“For the vast majority of European paintings before the eighteenth century, the absence of a title testified not to a deliberate refusal of prevailing custom but to the default condition of artistic practice. That these are not the works we presently designate as Untitled has more to do with reception, broadly understood, than it does with production.”
The Best Movies Of 2015 (In A Blah Year For Hollywood)
“The anticipated Oscarizables have mainly ranged from the blandly enjoyable to the droningly disastrous. Partly, the problem is merely one of scheduling: most of Hollywood’s inspired directors, the ones whose images have a natural musical sublimity and complexity, weren’t on call this year.”
Univ. of Kentucky Covers Depression-Era Mural After Debate Over Racial Imagery
“Universities across the country are having productive conversations about race and representation, but what happens when campus public art is caught in the crossfire between a desire to preserve history and cultural sensitivity?”
Being Bored By Art Can Be A Good Thing
Alva Noë: “Works of art, in all their variety, it seems to me, afford us the opportunity for boredom – and they do so when everything in our lives mitigates against boredom. Maybe this is one of art’s gifts? Could it be that the power to bore us to tears is a clue to what art is and why it is so important?”
As Pittsburgh Center For The Arts Faces Deficit And Leadership Crisis, Donors Hold Back
“A $1 million deficit at Pittsburgh Filmmakers/Pittsburgh Center for the Arts plus the resignation of longtime executive director Charlie Humphrey have prompted one foundation to pause before investing more money in the nonprofit … Mr. Humphrey resigned Tuesday after a majority of staff told the arts group’s board that it had no confidence in his leadership. In June, he laid off 20 employees because of the deficit.”