“I think what I felt about the Broadway show was that it was ungroomed and needed pruning. Basically, I felt it rambled. I lightened the show. I took out some of the shadows in the underbrush. I made it more interior.” (Chris Jones: “And when Tharp references grooming and pruning, she speaks not of nips and tucks.”)
Tag: 12.29.11
Andrew Lloyd Webber: West End Theatre Will Die During Olympics
“Nobody’s going to go to the theatre at all,” the composer told Radio 4’s Today programme, predicting that “most of the theatres in London will shut. It’s going to be very tough,” he said, revealing advance bookings were “about 10%” of their normal level.
Chicago’s City Arts Staff Fired (Again)
“Department of Cultural Affairs employees who were sacked a year ago (because of problems with anti-patronage regulations) and then hired to do the same jobs by the “private” nonprofit Tourism Fund (aka Office of Tourism and Culture), are either out of work again, or soon to be, their positions at Tourism eliminated.”
Neuroscience Versus The Law
“Should brain images be admitted as evidence in court? Could they be used to defend someone with an abnormality, such as a brain tumor, which might impair judgment? Those in the legal professors are very interested in developments in neuroscience.”
Saying Goodbye To Merce
“There were reasons to consider closing down the Merce Cunningham Dance Company following his death, to be sure: it faced a devastating economic crisis following the 2008 recession, and without the constant production of new works once Merce was gone it would have been increasingly difficult to fill a theater or get bookings. But mostly, the man who always loved challenges and difficulties was too old and frail to take charge of this new crisis himself.”
In Search Of Unplugging From The World
“In barely one generation we’ve moved from exulting in the time-saving devices that have so expanded our lives to trying to get away from them — often in order to make more time. The more ways we have to connect, the more many of us seem desperate to unplug.”
Dulwich Picture Gallery Restores ‘Stunning’ Baroque Canvas – Now, Who Painted It?
“It was in the most sorry state imaginable – terribly torn, with parts peeling off, no frame, and almost black – and for about 150 years lay unloved at the back of the stores in one of the world’s oldest public galleries.”
The Problem Of ‘British Culture’ In 2012
“[A]nyone seeking to promote ‘British culture’ – a key marketing concept in the year of the 2012 London Olympics – faces the problem that the definition of the United Kingdom is contracting while the definition of culture is expanding.”
‘Ground Zero’ Arts Center Saves Itself By Finally Naming Board
“Mayor Bloomberg named five people to the Word Trade Center performing arts center board Thursday, a last-minute move that averted the loss of millions of dollars in funding for the long-delayed institution. … If the board wasn’t in place by the end of 2011, the performing arts center could have lost most of the $155 million it has received.”
Sydney’s MoCA Has Asbestos Problems
“A call for an investigation of asbestos inside and around the Museum of Contemporary Art could delay the official opening of its new wing, set for next March.”