“Why Leonardo abandoned this first composition still remains a mystery. Handprints resulting from patting down the priming on the panel to create an even layer of more or less uniform thickness can also be seen, probably the work of an assistant – but perhaps even by Leonardo himself.” – The Guardian
Author: Douglas McLennan
The Biology Of Art (and Its Many Connections)
So many of the metaphors which we use to describe art are biological in nature, from calling a work “my baby” to William S. Burroughs’ contention about language’s viral nature. How some people describe biological creation is reciprocal in its metaphors, such as thinking of a child as a “masterpiece.” – Nautilus
Unlike Previous Presidents, Donald Trump Seems Not To Care About Music
The one art form that interests Mr. Trump is the art of the deal, though the book about it published under his byline was ghostwritten by someone else. Its only reference to music is hostile: “I punched my music teacher,” Mr. Trump recalls, “because I didn’t think he knew anything about music and I almost got expelled.” – Baltimore Sun
A Show That Turns Involuntary Gestures Of Cerebral Palsy Into Choreography
Despite it being a show that satirised the appropriation of disabled roles by non-disabled actors, few assumed someone with cerebral palsy might have staged it. That he did – and so well – feels like a step forward. – The Guardian
Why I’m Philosophically Opposed To Signing Petitions
“Such a document tries to persuade you to believe (that it is right to do) something because many people, some of whom are authorities, believe it (is the right thing to do). It is not always wrong to believe things because many people believe them, but it is always intellectually uninquisitive to do so.” The New York Times
Kennicott: How Seeing Video At The Barnes Foundation Made Me Reconsider The Whole Place
“It took seeing the museum’s powerful survey of Bill Viola’s rich, deep and deeply moving video work to fully understand what is so hollow and dispiriting about the main galleries of the collection, which hold an invaluable collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist art assembled in the first half of the previous century.” – Washington Post
Prejudging The Movies – When The “Buzz” Gangs Up
“Today, the forces of entertainment marketing, social media and grievance culture are increasingly colliding, with the casualty being the movies themselves. Why wait to actually see “The Irishman,” Martin Scorsese’s long-gestating project about Jimmy Hoffa and the mob, when you can start fact-checking it months before it opens?” – Washington Post
When Kanye Dissed Taylor At The VMA Awards Ten Years Ago And Changed Pop Culture
Everyone had an opinion about what Kanye did. The VMAs were viewed by 11 million people that year, though the crush of coverage after the fact was more comparable to that of a Super Bowl, which typically gets 10 times as many viewers. – Washington Post
European Opera Houses Take Wait-And-See Attitude Towards Domingo
In Europe, there were no immediate cancellations of the 78-year-old Domingo’s performances and even some words of support for the star. Opera world officials noted that no charges had been brought against Domingo and no formal judicial investigations were underway that might provide legal underpinning to cancel any contractual obligations.The stark differences in the levels of urgency in the responses underline the differences in the footing of the #MeToo movement on both sides of the Atlantic. – Yahoo! (AP)
Gustavo Dudamel Has Led The LA Phil For Ten Years: What He’s Done And Will He Stay
“It may now seem inevitable that the world’s most glamorous conductor ended up leading what may be the world’s most admired orchestra, that a young Latin American hero would settle in a Latino-majority city that likes to tell itself it will never grow old. But it could have just as easily not happened at all.” – Los Angeles Magazine