Notwithstanding our horror-movie headline, this is a serious issue. “These tiny invaders” – bacteria, fungi, even algae – “have wrought catastrophic damage on historic sites like the Lascaux cave paintings in France and the Titanic – [which] is being devoured by a tenacious species of metal-hungry bacteria. That’s why scientists and conservators are working to identify what kinds of bacteria are colonizing an artifact, purge them, and make sure they cannot return. Some are even enlisting bacteria to help protect historic sites.” (The good guys germs to the rescue!)
Author: Matthew Westphal
Alan Gilbert’s New Conducting Job Will Be At The World’s Hottest New Concert Hall
“He is leaving a fixer-upper on the Upper West Side of Manhattan for a sleek new home in Hamburg, Germany. Alan Gilbert, the departing music director of the New York Philharmonic, announced Friday that he would be the next chief conductor of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, whose striking new $843 million concert hall overlooking Hamburg’s harbor opened earlier this year.”
‘There Is No Individual Who Has Done More To Change The Way This Country Sees Art’ – Nicholas Serota Transformed More Than Just The Tate Galleries
“There is no one in the British cultural world more single-minded, more monkishly devoted to the arts as a civic and public necessity, more able to bend events to his will. … When he arrived at the Tate in September 1988, it was an affectionately regarded and faintly parochial museum; he left it earlier this month one of the most powerful forces in the international art world.” In a Guardian Long Read, Charlotte Higgins looks at Serota’s career as he moves on to lead Arts Council England, the country’s cultural funding body.
‘Indecent’ Isn’t Closing On Broadway After All
“In a rare, almost unheard-of move, the play’s producers announced late Thursday that the production – which was set to close on June 25 because of poor ticket sales – would in fact stay open through Aug. 6 at the Cort Theater. The play, which was written by the Pulitzer Prize winner Paula Vogel, won two Tony Awards and was nominated for three.”
Do Free And Discount Tickets Really Make Opera More Accessible?
Some observers question whether free or low-cost opera tickets really are reaching new audiences, as opposed to being giveaways to fans who’d come anyway. Here, the general director of Opera Holland Park in London describes the several different programs of the sort his company offers, explains the philosophy behind the schemes, and describes the experience OHP has had with them.
Napoleon III’s Historic Theatre Will Have Its Original Stage Machinery Restored
A multi-year restoration of the 1857 theatre at the Château de Fontainebleau, which has already seen the golden jewel-box auditorium refurbished, will focus in its final phase on the original scenic machinery, the upper salons, and “the podium that houses one of France’s most important stage sets.”
The Arts’ Economic Impact Around The U.S.: Richard Florida Crunches The Numbers
“Across the nation, arts and culture industries employed roughly 1 million Americans in 2014. That’s less than 1 percent of all workers. … [Yet] arts and cultural economic activity accounted for 4.2 percent of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP), or $729.6 billion [that year], … growing by roughly 2 percent annually.” With colored maps and charts, Florida shows the impact this activity has in various states and cities. And there are some surprises.
Creating A True Democracy Of The Arts, Using People’s Everyday Creativity
“Only 8% of people regularly engage with publicly funded art, but every day people are creating their own versions of culture. Nick Wilson and Jonathan Gross report on research that makes the case for a new approach to cultural policy.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 06.22.17
Dancing into Summer
Jacob’s Pillow opens its season with a Gala performance. … read more
AJBlog: Dancebeat Published 2017-06-22
Propwatch – all the stuff in Hir
‘No good ever came from things.’ This line from Hir by Taylor Mac is guaranteed to strike fear into propwatchers. For what is this series but an act of devotion to the innate goodness … read more
AJBlog: Performance Monkey Published 2017-06-22
Recommendation: Miles Davis At Newport 1955-1975
Miles Davis At Newport 1955-1975:The Bootleg Series, Vol. 4 (Columbia/Legacy)
Miles Davis’s importance and recognition grew dramatically in the decades covered by the recordings on these four volumes. When he played in … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2017-06-22
Great new jazz photography #2: Lauren Deutsch’s Made in Chicago portfolio
“Made in Chicago” is true of the photography of Lauren Deutsch, and also the name of the four-day-long collaborative jazz festival she’s organized in Poznan, Poland for the past 12 years as artistic director (formerly with Wojceich Juszcsak) on behalf of the Jazz Institute of Chicago. … read more
JBlog: Jazz Beyond Jazz Published 2017-06-22
After Ten Years, ‘Jerry Springer – The Opera’ Is Finally Making It To New York
“Jerry Springer — The Opera was supposed to come to Broadway more than 10 years ago after its [Olivier] award-winning premiere in London. That didn’t happen for a variety of reasons, but that brazen musical will finally have a proper run in New York as part of the Off Broadway troupe New Group’s 2017-18 season, the company announced on Wednesday.”