“Once dismissed for their bourgeois domesticity, the 20th-century female writers championed by Persephone (Books) are now enjoying stealth success. … Many of the books that Persephone has rediscovered are gentle domestic tales written by largely middle- and upper-class white women; it has also reprinted long-lost cookery books and sells its own branded aprons.”
Author: Laura Collins Hughes
Two Picassos Stolen In Switzerland
“Two Picasso paintings worth millions of pounds have been stolen from an art gallery in Switzerland, police have revealed. The oil paintings were stolen on Wednesday evening after an exhibition of the artist’s work in the town of Pfaeffikon, near Zurich, had closed. Tête de Cheval (Head of Horse) and Verre et Pichet (Glass and Pitcher), were on loan from the Sprengel museum in Germany to the Seedamm-Kulturzentrum.”
Mom, Can We Go To The Movies To See The Hockey Game?
“The movie theatre business isn’t so much about movies any more. Sure, what’s up on the screen is still key to getting your bum in the seat. But how much you spent on that snack in your hand is now crucially important, as are the advertisements you watch before the show, and the loyalty card that you used to pay for tickets. And it may not even be a movie you’re watching.”
To Be Understood By History, Write Neatly
The ferocious disagreements over transcriptions of Robert Frost’s diaries have made headlines lately, but the problem is larger than any single writer. “For dead writers, diary pages are the best evidence scholars have of the ways their minds worked–their first thoughts on a poem or story, their innermost ambitions and fears as human beings. No one wants to get that wrong.”
In Chicago, February Isn’t The Only Time For Black Plays
On theatre schedules across the country, February — a.k.a. Black History Month — is often the automatic, and only, slot for black plays. Not so in Chicago. “The biggest recent change seems to be that traditional theater companies are reaching out to African-American audiences, not only by producing black-themed plays and stories, but also by casting blacks in prominent roles, in the hopes that if you cast them, they will come.”
The Last-Minute Drama At LACMA
“On Wednesday, just a day before its unveiling for media from around the world, (LACMA’s) revamped campus was still a work in progress. Buzzing around its centerpiece, the $56-million Renzo Piano-designed, travertine-covered Broad Contemporary Art Museum, an army of workers fine-tuned metalwork from cherry pickers, dealt with a forest of two-story palms and worked all night on an elevator shaft that frames a Barbara Kruger mural….”
Preservation Target: Tower Records’ Stucco Shed
“They’re going to tear down the Tower Records on Sunset. What are you going to do about it? … This is the spot that has been the beating heart of Los Angeles rock ‘n’ roll since 1971. 1971! That’s, like, ancient history. And that’s what they’re trying to do: Destroy our ancient history.”
Studios, Writers May End Strike This Weekend
“Hollywood could be back on its feet as early as Monday. The major studios and the Writers Guild of America are putting the finishing touches on a deal that could bring an end to the costly walkout. Today the two sides are expected to finalize a three-year contract that guild leaders plan to present to thousands of writers in Los Angeles and New York on Saturday.”
A Chemist Restores The Music Of Notre-Dame’s Bells
At the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, the musicality of Stéphane Urbain “has led to a minor revolution in the way that the bells have been rung since he became the chief sacristan three years ago. … The (bells’) caretakers want less music, to diminish wear on the centuries-old bells. Mr. Urbain wants more, to restore the art to what it must have been when the bells were young.”
The Secret Passions Of NYT’s Classical Critics
What do New York Times classical music critics listen to for fun? “They may be works deemed trivial by the lofty day-to-day standards of the art, performances that are dated and thus scorned or condescended to, manifestations of musical personalities that attract a fascination bordering on unseemly obsession. … But it is hard to be high-minded all the time.”