Eight critics and editors do the job that the Pulitzer Prize committee wouldn’t – deciding which book should win this year’s fiction award.
Month: May 2012
Hanging In The Air: Performance Art, Or Just A Good Night’s Sleep?
“I climbed gingerly up a ladder and stepped into a red structure hanging like a balloon from a tree, deep in the woods of Holt Hall in Norfolk. The balloon began to expand as if by magic, its sides unfurling like petals; I lay down and the sky was visible through a porthole above me. There was a strange, soothing singing; a hand and face appeared at the porthole, and a smiling woman dressed in a kimono descended, set out four cups and saucers, and offered me tea.”
The History Of The Met – In 1024 Black And White Photos
“The images are stacked 10 high, snug as bathroom tile, in Founders Hall, the crypt that honors the civic leaders who made the dream of Lincoln Center a reality a half-century ago. Their names, gold-stamped on fake-marble plastic strips, are glued to the travertine at the foot of the Met’s curved double staircase.”
Human Rights Museum + Proposed Water Park = A Mess In Winnipeg
“The architect of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg is criticizing the waterpark and hotel proposed for a lot across the street at The Forks. In a letter sent to Winnipeg city councillors Thursday night, Antoine Predock said a water park ‘risks trivializing’ the area’s rich historic past and cultural district that is being built up.”
The Problem With High Art Prices Isn’t About The Art – It’s About Inequality
Christopher Knight: “The obscenity isn’t in the astronomical sums art has been fetching, it’s in the circumstances that make those prices possible.”
Broadway’s Current Obsession With Stars: A Faustian Bargain?
“Adding a star packs the house, allowing producers to command top dollar for tickets, but here’s the rub: Most stars can agree only to limited engagements because of film and TV commitments. And when a star departs, attendance generally dips.”
Is Modern Architecture A Disaster For Japan? (And How Can Architects Fix That?)
Glass, steel and concrete – building materials born out of other disasters – didn’t serve Japan well during the earthquake and tsunami. Architect Kengo Kuma has some other ideas about how to build for a country plagued by natural disasters.
That Time Magazine Breastfeeding Cover Has Some Art Historical Origins (Really)
“Though the cover may make some readers squeamish, its imagery has a precedent deep in art history, where the image of a woman breast-feeding — and even breast-feeding someone older than a child — is less controversial.”
As Arts Center Closure Looms, Rwandan Artists Hold Conference About Cultural Preservation
“Ishyo was granted an extension until 30 September. However, the impending closure of the arts centre demonstrates the lack of infrastructure to support the conservation of Rwandan culture. ‘We are an oral society,’ said Ruzibiza. ‘We are losing many people. The elders are dying and are taking all this knowledge with them. We have to take the opportunity right now to document everything.'”
Joyce Redman, Exuberant Tom Jones Eating Scene Actress, 96
“For better and worse, Ms. Redman’s fieriness as an actress was most memorably on display in her portrayal in Tom Jones of the promiscuous Mrs. Waters, with whom Tom locks eyes in lusty communion as they devour one course after another in a crescendo of sexual anticipation. Haskel Frankel described it in The Times in 1981 as ‘one of the funniest, most sensual scenes ever put on film without removing one stitch of clothing.'”