“It’s the archetypal IKEA product. It was dreamed up in 1978 by an IKEA designer named Gillis Lundgren. He sketched it on the back of a napkin, worried that he’d forget it. Now there are sixty-odd million in the world, nearly one for every hundred people.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
How Our Brains Tell Time
“Different parts of our gray matter respond to different timing tasks, and brain imaging has helped us parse which areas do what. From drumming along with a musical phrase to figuring out how long a lecture has lasted, these specialized areas work together to shape our temporal perception.”
The Art And Science Of Stage Blood
“Though all Shakespearean characters may bleed, at [DC’s] Shakespeare Theatre Company, they don’t all bleed the same blood – or at least, not the same fake blood. Chris Young, the theater’s properties director, mixes a unique version of the vital fluid for every gory scene in every show. No ketchup or red food dye here: Young’s complex recipes vary depending on the color and fabric of the actor’s clothes, the nature of the stage lighting and the type of theatrical injury at hand (or leg, or heart).”
Here’s One Texas Museum That Was Ready For Hurricane Harvey
“Back in 2008, when Hurricane Ike pummeled Texas, the Galveston Arts Center sustained steep losses. … Art valued at more than $100,000 was ruined, and the storm caused upward of $1 million in damage to the historic, 19th-century bank building that houses the Arts Center. … So this time around, the team was prepared.”
We’ve Had The ‘Fake News’ Debate Before – In The Early Days Of Radio
Adrian Chen looks back at Orson Welles’s 1938 War of the Worlds broadcast, the wildly exaggerated newspaper reports of public panic over it, and the anxieties behind the entire uproar, noting the parallels with today’s concerns over false reports spread via the internet.
Top Street Artist Designs The Egyptian Palaces Of ‘Aida’
Anne Midgette meets Retna (aka Marquis Lewis), who created the sets for Washington National Opera’s new staging of the Verdi evergreen (co-produced with San Francisco Opera).
Dakota Elders Decide Not To Burn Sam Durant’s Controversial ‘Scaffold’ – They’ll Bury It Instead
The sculpture, which references the hanging of 38 men during the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, was greeted with protests when it was installed at the Walker Art Center this summer and was quickly removed. Chief and spiritual leader Arvol Looking Horse dissuaded his fellows from following the original plan to burn the disassembled work.
Creating A Dance-Only TV Episode For HBO
The new Duplass brothers anthology series, Room 104, just aired an episode that included no spoken text – only dance. Dance Magazine talks with choreographer Dayna Hanson, who created both the storyline and the movement of the episode.
Restoration Of Chartres Cathedral Is As Transformative, And As Controversial, As That Of Sistine Chapel
“This is its most substantial renovation since Chartres was rebuilt between 1194 and 1225. In the intervening 800 years, the building has changed almost beyond recognition, as smoke from burning candles, oil lamps and fires darkened the walls, the statues and the exquisite stained glass. The restoration aims not only to clean and maintain the structure, but also to offer an insight into what the cathedral would have looked like in the 13th century. Its interior was designed to be a radiant vision, as close to heaven on earth as a pilgrim might come, although many modern visitors have responded more with shock than with awe.”
Professional Ballet Is Back In Indianapolis, 12 Years After Old Company Suddenly Collapsed
“In November 2005, the city’s oldest professional ballet company, Ballet Internationale, was preparing for its annual Nutcracker performance at the Murat Theater when the company suddenly closed their doors – canceling the upcoming show and leaving professional dancers in Indianapolis out of work. For Victoria Lyras that was the beginning of a long twelve years to bring professional ballet back to the Circle City.” (video)