“Clearly corporate America gets it when it comes to arts education, but why don’t education policy makers in Massachusetts? The Commonwealth has the weakest arts education requirements of all the New England states, several of which have specified high school graduation requirements in the arts. In many Massachusetts school districts, including Springfield and Boston, there are students who graduate from high school without ever having a single arts course taught by a licensed arts educator.”
Author: Laura Collins Hughes
Resentment A Force That Shapes Lit Bloggers’ Views
As newspapers decrease their quantity of book reviews, book bloggers grow ever more vocal. “In one sense, the democratization of discourse about books is a good thing, and should lead to a widening of our intellectual horizons. The more people there are out there reading, making discoveries, and advocating for their favorite books, the better. But book bloggers have also brought another, less salutary influence to bear on literary culture: a powerful resentment. … As anyone who reads literary blogs can attest, hell hath no fury like a blogger scorned.”
How To Make A Memorable Building — Realistically
“True, not every project can claim an extravagant budget or a big-name architect,” John King writes. “But there’s no reason new buildings in suburban downtowns or big-city neighborhoods can’t be modest triumphs of quality and care. The problem is when developers have formulas, communities have demands, architects have rent to pay and the actual building becomes an afterthought. So consider today’s column a manifesto of sorts….”
Gehry’s Downtown LA Project: An Early Evaluation
“Since Frank Gehry was hired nearly two years ago to design a massive mixed-use project along Grand Avenue, he has clashed repeatedly and sometimes bitterly with the developer, New York’s Related Cos. Barring some sudden rapprochement, it now seems unlikely that Gehry will return for the planned second and third phases of the project. But the plan … has turned a significant corner in recent weeks. The latest version suggests it will rise not only as an effective complement to Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall across the street but also as a dramatic architectural presence in its own right.”
D.C.-Area Arts Spending Tops $2 Billion, Study Says
“An economic study shows that arts spending in the Washington region has reached $2.15 billion, according to data released yesterday. … The survey of local economic activity also measured audiences’ arts-related spending beyond admission fees and tickets — things such as meals before shows, transportation to concerts and parking. Such spending amounted to $118.9 million in the District.”
On Return To ABT, Kirkland Gets Burned
“Gelsey Kirkland, returning to American Ballet Theater as a performer after 23 years, suffered a burn to her hand during a performance of ‘The Sleeping Beauty’ at the Metropolitan Opera House on Saturday night, the company said.” (first item)
Performance Artist Lee Nagrin, 78
“Lee Nagrin, a noted Off Broadway performance artist, director and member of Meredith Monk’s theater company, The House, died Thursday in Manhattan.”
O’Neill Center’s Amy Sullivan Dies At 54
“Amy Sullivan, who as executive director of the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Conn., restored the finances of an institution long known for discovering significant playwrights early in their careers, died Sunday at her home in Old Lyme, Conn. She was 54. The cause was cancer, her husband, Bruce Josephy, said.”
Venezuelan Dancing Devils Harnessed By Chávez
“Wearing blood-colored costumes and devilish papier-mâché masks that would make a gargoyle grimace, hundreds of worshipers disguised as demons danced through the streets here Thursday in one of Venezuela’s most exalted religious rituals. An Afro-Venezuelan tradition in parishes near the country’s Caribbean coast since the late 18th century, the ‘Dancing Devils’ have received support from President Hugo Chávez’s government as they seek to raise awareness about Venezuelan folklore and promote new forms of tourism.”
Were Romulus And Remus More Than Just A Story?
“The story of Romulus and Remus is almost as old as Rome. The orphan twins were suckled by a she-wolf in a cave on the banks of the Tiber. Romulus grew up to found Rome in 753 B. C. Historians have long since dismissed the story as a charming legend. … Yet the legend … has been invigorated by recent archaeological finds.”