Arii Matamoe (known in English as The Chief Is Asleep or The Royal End) is “the sort of painting Gauguin had in mind when he wrote to a painter friend … from Papeete, ‘My canvases terrify me – the public will never accept them. They’re ugly in every respect …” Phyllis Tuchman thinks the work is still pretty scary.
Month: May 2012
Indonesian Muslim Group Says Lady Gaga Promotes Devil-Worship
The Islamic Defenders’ Front (FPI) says that the singer is not welcome in their nation, where she is scheduled to give a stadium concert in Jakarta on June 3. Says an FPI spokesman, “Lady Gaga insults all religions. Even Christians in Korea opposed her. She is promoting the worship of Satan
What Will Become Of Paper Books?
“Now, as we move into the digital age, the well-made copy has come to occupy a familiar, almost nostalgic middle ground between the aura of an original and the ghostly quality of a computer file. A mass-produced paper book, though bulkier and more expensive, may continue to be more desirable because it carries with it this material presence. And presence means something–or it can, at least, in the hands of a good book designer.”
Maurice Sendak, 83
“Maurice Sendak, American born author of Where the Wild Things Are, has died at the age of 83. Over a career that began in the late 1940s he illustrated more than 100 books and wrote more than 20, but it was Where the Wild Things Are, published in 1963, that made his name internationally, selling over 17m copies.”
Mariss Jansons On The Art Of The Conductor
“You have to study deeply and express your wishes. The notes are just signs. You have to go behind them and see what your fantasy tells you. But how do you express that through sound? If you think of the technical aspects of conducting as being on the ground floor of a big building, then 20 floors up you are beginning perhaps to get the sound you want.”
Could Facial Recognition Software Help Identify Subjects Of Old Master Paintings?
“Most unknown sitters are unknown because they were only painted once, and there is no other likeness with which to compare them. So the new programme will most likely only help with portraits of people for whom we already have other portraits.”
Does The Death Of Vancouver Theatre Signal More General Difficulty For Canadian Regional Theatre?
“The Playhouse might be the canary in the coal mine for Canada’s regional theatre network, which was set up in the 1950s and 1960s. It’s time to look at what that institutional model offers us and ask whether it’s good value for public money compared with the smaller, more dynamic companies that are in comparatively robust health.”
CBGB’s To Rise Again (This Time As A Festival)
“The new owners of the club’s assets — some with ties to the original Bowery establishment — say they hope that the festival will revive the wide-open artistic aesthetic associated with CBGB, which in its heyday served as an incubator for influential acts like Television, the Talking Heads, the Ramones, Blondie, Sonic Youth and Patti Smith.”
Hip-Hop Website Returns After Authorities Can’t Prove Copyright Infringement
“Federal authorities seized the dajaz1.com site based on assertions from the Recording Industry Association of America that it was linking to four “pre-release” music tracks in November, 2010. The authorities gave it back nearly 13 months later without filing civil or criminal charges because of apparent recording industry delays in confirming infringement.”
The Rise Of Fan Fiction And Creativity
“Fan fiction has boomed in the past decade, as young people (and many adults) have swarmed online to share what-if tales set in their favorite movies, books, animation, and videogames. Hunger Games fanfic? 10,692 stories. Teen Titans? 26,594 stories. Shakespeare fan fiction? Oh, yes way: 1,747 stories.”