Arts news

• TV Viewing Down? Networks Protest Nielsen Data

  15-04-2021 23:33 via feedproxy.google.com
  Through the trade group Video Advertising Bureau, the networks are perplexed by Nielsen statistics that show the percentage of Americans who watched their televisions at least some time during the week declined from 92% in 2019 to 87% so far this year. – Toronto Star (AP)
  
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• Louis Menand On The Pragmatism Of Lionel Trilling

  15-04-2021 23:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  As Menand puts it in his new book, The Free World: Art and Thought in the Cold War, “Trilling thought that people’s literary preferences tell us something about the kind of human beings they wish to be and about the way they wish other human beings to be—that is, something about their morality and their politics.” – The Point
  
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• We Live In The Age Of The Ghostwriter

  15-04-2021 22:28 via feedproxy.google.com
  “In the age of texting and emailing, the world is full of Cyranos: Getting quick, surreptitious help writing high-stakes messages has never been easier, whether that means enlisting friends to consult on a flirty note in a dating app or turning to a co-worker for assistance on a sensitive email to your boss. Although this sort of collaboration is widespread, people still generally assume that the messages they receive were composed by the sender alone.” – The Atlantic
  
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• In The Netflix Era Does It Make Sense To Classify Movies?

  15-04-2021 22:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  Censorship ain’t what it used to be, including in Ireland. Here, as elsewhere, it’s been replaced by a different C-word. The last Irish film censor, John Kelleher, was instrumental in seeing through legislative reform which in 2008 renamed and redefined his office: he was now a Classifier of films. As a result, the curtain was finally lowered on a long, shameful history of repression, philistinism and bowdlerisation that dated back to the very beginnings of the independent Irish sta
  
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• Does Grit Predict Success? Not Much Evidence

  15-04-2021 21:28 via feedproxy.google.com
  “As it turns out, there was never much in the literature to support either of the two ideas that launched grit on its way: that it was more useful than conscientiousness and that it seriously outperformed “traditional” measures of cognitive or, in the context of military training, physical performance.” – Nautilus
  
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• Is It Really Possible For A Singer To Shatter A Glass With Her Voice? Well …

  15-04-2021 21:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  It can be done, but it’s hardly easy or common, even for people with astounding voices. You have to be hitting just the right note with just the right glass: not any old tumbler or champagne flute will do it, and you have to land — at around 100 decibels — on the precise frequency that will set that particular vessel resonating. (video) – Yahoo! (AmazeLab)
  
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• Benchmarking? Maybe Not

  15-04-2021 20:55 via feedproxy.google.com
  A guest post by actor/writer/arts administrator Selena Anguiano, who shares some concerns about the use of benchmarks in the process of pursuing equity in nonprofit arts organizations. – Doug Borwick
  
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• Community College Enrollment Plunges

  15-04-2021 20:29 via feedproxy.google.com
  The downward trend is occurring at community colleges across the country — the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center recently reported a 9.5 percent decline at community colleges nationwide — and is being compounded by the acute socioeconomic effects of the pandemic on students. – InsideHigherEd
  
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• For The Guardian, At Least, Charitable Donations To Support News Are Actually Working

  15-04-2021 20:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  The newspaper/website raised $9 million through its dedicated US nonprofit alone over the past 12 months, and has been both active and transparent about getting NGO support to cover specific areas such as human rights and climate change. That said, philanthropy is nowhere near being a primary revenue source, “and after one glorious year of not losing money, The Guardian reported ‘significant financial challenges’ in 2020 amid the pandemic. The philanthropic arm focuses on repo
  
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• ‘He’s telling a story of his time’: how ex-slave Bill Traylor became an art titan

  15-04-2021 19:45
  
  Referred to as ‘the greatest artist you’ve never heard of’, Bill Traylor’s compelling life is put under the spotlight in a new documentaryBill Traylor had already lived a full life before he was born as an artist. Enslaved at birth on an Alabama cotton plantation in 1853 and having spent his entire life as a farmer within a 40-mile radius of Montgomery, it was only in his late 80s that he, homeless and alone, parked himself by a bustling intersection in the state capitol&
  
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• ‘He’s telling a story of his time’: how Bill Traylor, born into slavery, became an art titan

  15-04-2021 19:45
  
  Referred to as ‘the greatest artist you’ve never heard of’, Bill Traylor’s compelling life is put under the spotlight in a new documentaryBill Traylor had already lived a full life before he was born as an artist. Enslaved at birth on an Alabama cotton plantation in 1853 and having spent his entire life as a farmer within a 40-mile radius of Montgomery, it was only in his late 80s that he, homeless and alone, parked himself by a bustling intersection in the state capitol&
  
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• Political Theatre Is Useless If It’s Just Preaching To The Choir – So What To Do About It?

  15-04-2021 19:32 via feedproxy.google.com
  “When political theatre preaches to the choir, it removes its potential to disrupt. Indeed, by having such a laser focus on bringing “awareness” to issues, much political art forgets to have a point of view. Art in the current landscape tells us that we live in a racist society or that violence against women exists, but it doesn’t tell us how to fight back. So, we’ve left behind activist theatre and are now engaging in an empty journalistic theatre.” –
  
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• Marketing Opera On TikTok (Maybe It Works!)

  15-04-2021 19:03 via feedproxy.google.com
  The Royal Opera House in London launched a TikTok channel last summer and has since picked up more than 400,000 followers, with some of its quickie videos picking up millions of hits and likes, especially Diana Damrau singing the Queen of the Night’s second aria from The Magic Flute. – The Telegraph (UK)
  
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• The Louvre’s Director Is Mounting A Public Campaign To Keep His Job

  15-04-2021 18:31 via feedproxy.google.com
  “Jean-Luc Martinez, … whose job security has been a matter of public speculation for weeks, … has been on a media tour in recent weeks, offering interviews to newspapers, magazines, and television outlets explaining his achievements at the world’s most visited museum. … ‘His enemies accuse him of selling the museum to tourists, carrying out costly [renovations], buying mediocre works, and behaving like an autocrat,’ according to Le Monde.” &nda
  
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• Why Do Complex, Messy Spelling And Writing Systems So Rarely Get Reformed? Power

  15-04-2021 18:04 via feedproxy.google.com
  When they do get reformed, it’s usually because autocrats force the changes through (as with Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and Mao Zedong). “A big reason spelling systems never seem to get overhauled in more liberal societies is that those in a position to change the rules have learned the old ones. Put another way, the type of folk who were once good at spelling bees now run the world. Those who would benefit most from reform, meanwhile, hardly have a voice.” – The Economi
  
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• The College That’s Brought Popping, Breaking, Hip Hop, And Other Urban Dance Styles Into Academia

  15-04-2021 17:33 via feedproxy.google.com
  The University of East London has offered a BA in “Dance: Urban Practice” (as the program is called) since 2007. Carla Trim-Vamben, the program’s director, talks about what exactly the program teaches and what kind of students enroll. – Dance Magazine
  
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• Apocalypse now: John Akomfrah’s The Unintended Beauty of Disaster

  15-04-2021 17:24
  
  Lisson Gallery, London
  With a relentless video onslaught, Akomfrah confronts colonialism, slavery, migrants and the obliteration of the natural world with astonishing resultsThe images slide across three screens in relentless succession. White birds flap over the wetlands and a boy in the burning sun. Elephants move through the scrub. One thing after another, and then another, and then something else. Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser and a fleeting glimpse of Malcolm X. Someone playing sax.
  
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• Respected Actors Doing Commercial Endorsements Used To Be Considered Déclassé. Not Any More.

  15-04-2021 17:05 via feedproxy.google.com
  “Not too long ago, stars aligning their images with multivitamins or prepaid debit cards might have been eyed skeptically, their efforts coded as a cynical money grab (George Clooney for Nespresso) or a pitiful last resort (the Joan Rivers Classics Collection for QVC). When celebrities cashed in, they also risked diminishing their credibility as serious artists. Now the opposite is true. Stars are respected for how much profit they can generate, even if the stuff they’re selling is
  
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• One Of The Movie Theater Chains That’s Closing Also Owns Cinerama Technology. What Happens To That Now?

  15-04-2021 16:33 via feedproxy.google.com
  “Pacific Theatres announced on Monday that it would close all of its locations, which include the ArcLight Hollywood and the historic Cinerama Dome. Not as well known is that the theater chain also owns the Cinerama technology. The three-camera filming technique was introduced in 1952 in response to the rise of television, and was virtually obsolete by the time the Cinerama Dome opened on Sunset Boulevard in November 1963.” But there are still some movies made with the technique ext
  
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• With Theatres Closed, Regular Folks Have Taken To Doing Play Readings On Zoom

  15-04-2021 16:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  “Over the past year, as many theaters worldwide have remained closed, online play reading groups have arisen to fill that dramatic gap, with more or less prowess — on Zoom, on Skype, on the audio-only app Clubhouse. Some participants merely read their lines, scripts in hand, others act them out. Many clubs stick to Shakespeare and affiliated classics, but plenty range more widely, integrating contemporary plays, Star Trek episodes and film scripts.” Some stage professionals ha
  
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• Time To Take Bernard Henri Levy Seriously?

  15-04-2021 15:32 via feedproxy.google.com
  For nearly half a century, Lévy has been one of the most visible public intellectuals in France and a master at manipulating philosophical and political controversy. With his good looks and outsized ego, Lévy is a compelling performer. He is also an irresistible target for critics from the left, right, and center. – Foreign Policy
  
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• Sydney’s Major Museums Face Huge Funding Cuts From State Government

  15-04-2021 15:04 via feedproxy.google.com
  “The [New South Wales] state government [is] flagging multimillion-dollar cuts for the Art Gallery of NSW, the Australian Museum, the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences and Sydney Living Museums in budget forecasts.” – The Sydney Morning Herald
  
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• Russian Artist In Obscenity Trial For Her Female Nudes

  15-04-2021 14:35 via feedproxy.google.com
  “Feminist artist and LGBTQ+ activist Yulia Tsvetkova … [who] was detained in November 2019 and remained under house arrest in Komsomolsk-on-Amur until March 16, faces up to six years behind bars if found guilty of illegally producing and distributing pornographic materials on the internet.” – Artnet
  
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• 10 of the best places to see outdoor art in the UK: chosen by readers

  15-04-2021 12:30
  
  Many a lockdown walk has been brightened by a piece of modern art. Readers pick their favourites, from seafronts and forests to more urban settingsConversation Piece – 22 bronze statues on Littlehaven beach in South Shields – is by Juan Muñoz and peers out over the sand dunes towards Herd Groyne lighthouse, the point where the River Tyne spills into the North Sea. The statues are known locally as weebles. These lifesize figures laugh, whisper, chatter, point or just stare out
  
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• Baltimore City Council Objects To Proposal That Would Expand Live Music

  15-04-2021 00:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  Pushed by County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr., a Democrat, the New Opportunities for Tourism and Entertainment — or NOTE — Act would enable restaurants, bars and other businesses to hold live musical entertainment by amending zoning rules in areas where live music is currently prohibited. But residents and some council members are skeptical of how the county would enforce its noise ordinance, which stipulates a maximum of 65 decibels during the day and 55 decibels at night. &ndash
  
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