“It depicted what to me was a fantasy as attractive as any I’d ever seen: that you could be in your twenties, living in New York City, surrounded not by the family you’d left behind but by the ones you’d made. That you could pursue above all else art and love. At its end, I leapt to my feet in applause.”
Tag: 12.21.14
Earthquake-Proofing Michelangelo’s “David”
“The Italian government is to spend €200,000 (£160,000) on a new plinth to support Michelangelo’s statue of David after hundreds of earth tremors shook Florence and the surrounding region in recent days.”
Did Tuberculosis Really Kill Chopin?
In 19th-century Europe, the heyday of Romanticism, consumption was the glamorous, poetic way for the beautiful and gifted to die, and Chopin fit the bill perfectly. But there have been questions ever since the composer’s death about whether TB really was what killed him. The exhumation and (visual-only) examination of his heart this fall didn’t necessarily settle the question – and actually testing the heart would be even more contentious than you’d think.
The Challenge – And The Joy – Of Playing Martin Luther King
“Mr. Oyelowo worked and traveled throughout the South, studying Dr. King and his times to offer a deeply inhabited interpretation, hoping to accomplish what Daniel Day-Lewis did with the title role in ‘Lincoln’ and Denzel Washington did as the star of ‘Malcolm X.'”
Some Questions To Ask – And Answer – For Theatres Doing ‘Color-Conscious’ Casting
“As a South Asian American, I’ve often felt frustrated by the lack of my community’s stories on stage; what’s even more frustrating is feeling that, when that story is being told, it relies on stereotypes or caricatures as opposed to challenging those mainstream perceptions.”
Fired Theater J Artistic Director Speaks About Artistic Freedom, Israel, And His Controversial Tenure
Ari Roth: “The ideal always was to engage with Israel in an honest and as mature and as nuanced a way as possible to present the humanity of the people who lived there, and who lived in the midst of and on other sides of the borders, so that’s where we began.”
She Was Samuel Beckett’s ‘Perfect Actress’
Billie Whitelaw “described Beckett as demanding and meticulous, but added: ‘Because I knew he was radiating love and he cared and he wanted you to be perfect… it didn’t upset me.'”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 12.21.14
Problems with data: measuring diversity
AJBlog: For What it’s WorthPublished 2014-12-21
Should nonprofit museums have free admission because they are tax exempt?
AJBlog: For What it’s WorthPublished 2014-12-20
Art in Disguise: A Koons or Not a Koons?
AJBlog: Straight|UpPublished 2014-12-20
Has Architecture Lost Its Connection?
AJBlog: CultureCrashPublished 2014-12-19
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Boys Won’t Read? Give Them More Screen Time
“Boys were twice as likely as girls to spend more time with stories on touch screens than printed stories.”
Paris Has Hated Every Monument That Now Defines It To The World. Is This Any Different?
“Plans for a skyscraper, known as the Triangle Tower, have divided Parisians and prompted a wave of protests that the city’s cherished skyline is about to be violated.”