“The life of the mind has its intrinsic methods and rewards. It is concerned with the true, the beautiful and the good, which between them define the scope of reasoning and the goals of serious enquiry. But each of those goals can be faked, and one of the most interesting developments in our educational and cultural institutions over the past half century is the extent to which fake culture and fake scholarship have driven out the true varieties. It is important to ask why.”
Tag: 12.17.12
Creating Scotland’s First National Theatre
Vicky Featherstone, the company’s founding artistic director, talks about the challenges of building a national company from scratch and getting it established on the world stage – and about when her own Englishness became an “issue” and even degenerated into “bullying”.
India Hosts Its First Art Biennale
In a bid to expand the country’s contemporary art scene beyond the commercially oriented events in Delhi and Mumbai, a new international exhibition has been launched in Kochi, in Kerala on India’s southwest coast.
Why Were So Many People Upset About Philip Roth Retiring?
Morgan Meis suggests that famous artists at the top of their professions serve, in a secularized and educated society, as something like patron saints. And saints aren’t supposed to retire. “Imagine Mother Theresa suddenly announcing that she was done with her work and would spend the last few years of her life vacationing in the Caribbean.”
Mao Paintings Cut From Warhol Shows In China
“Andy Warhol’s famous images of Chairman Mao won’t be part of the biggest ever traveling exhibition of his works when they go to China next year, an organizer said.”
If Salman Rushdie Blurbed His Own Books
Well, the man has provided a pull-quote for his own screen adaptation of Midnight’s Children – “I am very proud of this film” is right there on the posters. So one blogger suggests how he might do the same for his novels.
Minneapolis’ Guthrie Theatre Balances Its Budget And Grows Audience
“Total attendance, which includes tickets to shows and workshops, was 425,932 — up from 421,982 last year. The Guthrie has 20,822 subscribers, up by 322 from the previous year. Its $42 million endowment remains unchanged.”
Walker Art Center Balances Budget By Tapping Endowment
“Walker Art Center announced Monday that it had balanced its budget for the 2012 fiscal year that ended June 30 by tapping a bit more money from its endowment than it did the previous year.”
Russia Trembles Before Mayan Apocalypse
“The apocalypse is surely near when Ramzan Kadyrov emerges as the voice of reason. The ruthless leader of Chechnya is among dozens of Russians officials, priests, doctors and psychiatrists aiming to calm an anxious populace frantically preparing for the end of the world later this week.”
New Literary Food Fight: Salman Rushdie Vs. Pankaj Mishra Over Mo Yan’s Patsyhood
Part 1: Rushdie joins chorus of criticism over Mo’s Nobel Prize, calling him “a patsy of the [Chinese] regime.” Part 2: Mishra, mentioning Rushdie among other writers, argues that writers criticizing Mo should look at their own governments’ faults before condemning Mo’s accommodation with China’s government. Part 3: Rushdie retorts, “It is not for Mishra to tell me not to criticise Mo Yan.”