“We suggest that activist art, including environmental art, should move away from a dystopian way of depicting the problems of climate change,” they conclude. Rather, activist artists should keep in mind the power of “offering solutions, and emphasizing the beauty and interconnectedness of nature.” – Pacific Standard
Author: Douglas McLennan
Study: Disadvantaged Students Don’t Have Access To Dance, Music Education
The study, from the University of Bath, shows young people for poor backgrounds are faced with cost barriers, access difficulties and a fear they won’t fit in. – Classic FM
Duh: Study Shows Audiences Find Jokes Funnier When Crowd Laughter Is Added
“This research shows that while canned laughter does elevate the humour of a comedy, adding real laughter would get a better response.” – BBC
Lang Lang Returns After Career-Threatening Injury As A Changed Man, He Says
Mr. Lang — who long maintained that his greatest fear was an injury that would leave him unable to play the piano, and therefore, as he once put it, “render me useless for life” — spent his forced sabbatical taking stock. “I used the time,” Mr. Lang said in an interview, “to rethink everything I do.” – The New York Times
Two Years Into Construction, Philadelphia Museum Of Art Is Remaking Itself From The Inside
Clearly the museum is attempting an unusual feat: Tearing itself apart in plain view, but hiding the mess. – Philadelphia Inquirer
Is Gentrification Really That Bad For Original Residents?
According to one just-released study, original residents gain more from gentrification than the traditional neighborhood narrative lets on. And the harms of gentrification, while hard to fully gauge, may not be so severe for original residents, especially for those who stay but even for those who choose to leave. What if the conventional wisdom about gentrification is kind of wrong? – CityLab
Study: Power Doesn’t Just Corrupt, It Takes A Toll On Your Brain
The historian Henry Adams was being metaphorical, not medical, when he described power as “a sort of tumor that ends by killing the victim’s sympathies.” But that’s not far from where Dacher Keltner, a psychology professor at UC Berkeley, ended up after years of lab and field experiments. Subjects under the influence of power, he found in studies spanning two decades, acted as if they had suffered a traumatic brain injury—becoming more impulsive, less risk-aware, and, crucially, less adept at seeing things from other people’s point of view. – The Atlantic
The Pianist’s Ultimate Nightmare: Onstage, Conductor Begins Different Concerto Than The Soloist Is There To Play
Tianxu An, the Curtis Institute of Music student, just 20, was ready to play the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in June. When conductor Vasily Petrenko brought in the orchestra for its brief introduction, the sound that came at An was that of Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. – Philadelphia Inquirer
Not “Avengers”: Adjusted For Inflation, These Would Be The Ten Top Box Office Movies Of All Time
There’s a reason the film industry doesn’t measure the success of modern movies against those of the past — movie ticket inflation isn’t an exact science. There are so many factors behind what makes a movie a box office success and those factors have changed since the earliest days of cinema. – CNBC
New Study: 54 Million Americans Sing In Choruses
The number of Americans singing has increased over the past decade, with more than 54 million adults and children participating in choral groups today . More than one in six Americans over the age of 18 sings in a chorus. The percentage of Americans singing today has increased over the past decade, up to 17% today from 14% in 2008 . – Chorus America