Month: July 2016

Top Posts For AJBlogs From 07.31.16

This Week In Audience, When Fans Feel They Own The Art Edition
This Week: Are artists now a weapon for developers?… When fans as creators believe they own the artists’ work… It’s getting tougher to figure out which music is popular… Bots increasingly compete with audiences for … read more
AJBlog: AJ Arts AudiencePublished 2016-07-31

East-West Mash-Up, Hokusai Meets Wright
Not many people know that Richard Wright, renowned for his 1940 novelNative Son, and his 1946 autobiographyBlack Boy, wrote thousands of haikus — about four thousand actually — all of them in France, … read more
AJBlog: Straight|UpPublished 2016-07-31

Dancing Alone and Together
Wendy Whelan, Brian Brooks, and Brooklyn Rider at Jacob’s Pillow, July 7-31   Brian Brooks and Wendy Whelan in Brooks’s Some of a Thousand Words. Photo: Hayim Heron “Adventuress” isn’t a word I’d use to … read more
AJBlog: DancebeatPublished 2016-07-30

 

August: Medium Finds Message
Tom Hull has a dense roundup of political thought surrounding the Republican hatefest, and continues to update with think pieces and canon fodder. Also, maintains an ongoing annual list. Light-bulb joke springs to life Iggy Jackson-Cohen … read more
AJBlog: blog rileyPublished 2016-07-30

 

Community of place
(CC) Tim Lumley via Flickr When I think about what community means to me, I return to the definition set forth by the organization Alternate ROOTS. ROOTS defines community as communities of place, tradition, and … read more
AJBlog: Field NotesPublished 2016-07-29

 

Deferring to Digerati: What Didn’t I Get About SFMOMA’s App?
Although I was expecting some pushback when I published my Wall Street Journal review of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s technological transformation, I’ve been taken aback at how my Twitter “Notifications” feed has been … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrlPublished 2016-07-29

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Can We Talk About Composer And Critic Virgil Thomson Now?

“Blithely ignoring conflicts of interest, he remained a working composer throughout his tenure at The Herald Tribune. His pieces were performed by leading orchestras, sometimes with Thomson conducting! He reviewed ensembles and artists who performed his music, usually quite favorably. While at the paper, he won the Pulitzer Prize for Music. Far from being embarrassed, his editors boasted of their critic’s accomplishment.”

The Matriarch Of Regional Theatre

“Zelda Fichandler, a seminal figure in the regional theater movement who led Arena Stage in Washington for 41 years, producing more than 400 shows and directing more than 50 for a company that helped spur the growth of professional theater around the country and became its centerpiece in the nation’s capital, died on Friday at her home in Washington.”

Computers: The Worst Thing Ever For Spy Movies

“Watching somebody type on a computer is about as interesting, aesthetically and dramatically, as watching cows eat grass. Though at least grass-eating cows would be a change from routine, unlike computers, which many of us type on all day. This seems especially ridiculous when it’s Hollywood stars doing the typing.”

What Did This Woman Learn From A Year Of Submitting Her Plays Under A Man’s Name?

“As Max, I don’t have to worry—at least not as much—that his leadership skills will be labeled ‘bossiness,’ or his humor will be dismissed as ‘silly,’ or his edgy tweet or blog post (#meta) will be met with responses that he should be bludgeoned and left in a ditch. At every corner, life as Max is easier and less intimidating than the equivalent interactions I have as myself.”

In Praise Of Dewey’s Democracy

“He envisions a society where each person can express himself or herself in a manner that enriches everyone – in the way that an orchestra harnesses the gifts of its members or a potluck becomes more fun when many people bring their signature dish.”