“A large Guercino painting that was stolen from a church in Modena in August 2014 has been traced by Italy’s Carabinieri art crime squad to Casablanca, Morocco. The Italian government is negotiating to return Madonna with the Saints John the Evangelist and Gregory the Wonderworker (1639) to the Church of San Vincenzo ‘as soon as possible’.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Verona Fires Its Entire Ballet Company
The hugely popular opera festival at the Arena di Verona is, like almost all Italian opera houses, in deep financial trouble: it nearly went into liquidation last spring, until Rome sent a turnaround specialist to the rescue. Last week, as a cost-cutting measure, the 19 dancers of the festival’s ballet company were laid off – despite the fact that their shows regularly sell out. (in Italian; Google Translate version here)
Anish Kapoor To Put A Deep Black Whirlpool In Brooklyn Bridge Park
New York City’s Public Art Fund in New York will install Kapoor’s Descension – a funnel of black-colored water that spirals down into the ground – in Brooklyn Bridge Park this summer. (How many think-pieces do you suppose we’ll get comparing it to the 9/11 Memorial?)
Crisis In Bordeaux: Ballet’s Director Is Suspended And Dancers Fight Job Cuts
With a sharp, if veiled, rebuke – “the Opéra has been working for several months to define a new balance between reduced resources and ambitious artistic activity … [an effort] which assumes commitment, trust, and close collaboration” – the board president of the Opéra national de Bordeaux has suspended Charles Jude, the house’s director of ballet. The action follows months of dispute over how to allocate dwindling state funding and whether or not to fill vacant positions in the corps de ballet. (in French; Google Translate version here)
Jannis Kounellis, Pioneer Of Italy’s Arte Povera Movement, Dead At 80
He was known for using as materials everything from old furniture to coal to jute sacks to live birds; the 1960 show that made him famous involved 12 live horses.
Top Posts From AJBlogs 02.16.17
Finally, A Botticelli Exhibition in the U.S.
The Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William and Mary, in Williamsburg, Va., has pulled off another noteworthy show, again eliciting important loans from Italy that other, larger museums would covet. … read more
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts Published 2017-02-16
Propwatch: the dummy in The Pitchfork Disney
Philip Ridley is that rare writer whose work alternately snares decadent adult and innocent child. PG to certificate 18 with nothing in between. … read more
AJBlog: Performance Monkey Published 2017-02-16
What Will Have Happened in the Woods?
Vim Vigor Dance Company presents the New York premiere of Shannon Gillen’s FUTURE PERFECT. … read more
AJBlog: Dancebeat Published 2017-02-16
Salves for Trump Bumps: Getty’s Direct Salvo vs. MoMA’s Discreet Indirection
One of the two major museum stories that broke while I was [away] involved the Museum of Modern Art’s decision to respond to the Trump travel ban … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2017-02-16
How Do You Edit Animation? The Opposite Of The Way You Do Live-Action
“Animated films have editors just like live-action films. But how do you edit an animated film? In live action, you shoot first and edit later. In animation, you edit first and shoot later.” Andrew Saladino explains in a video essay.
Immersive Virtual Reality In The Classroom
“Emerging evidence suggests that one of VR’s biggest strengths is its ability to tap student emotions, notably empathy and the can-do confidence known as self-efficacy.” Teachers are using the technology to put students in the shoes of Syrian refugees and police in Flint, Michigan.
Our Bots, Ourselves: How Digital Assistants Could Change Our Lives – And Even Change Us
Matthew Hutson: “In the coming decades, artificial intelligence will replace a lot of human jobs, from driving trucks to analyzing X-rays. But it will also work with us, taking over mundane personal tasks and enhancing our cognitive capabilities. … Here’s what to expect.”
Ballet Training Really Can Harm Your Mental Health: Study
“While the advantages – including physical conditioning and the instillment of such welcome habits as discipline and cooperation – are clear, so are the dangers.” (For instance, the increased risk of eating disorders.) “That suggests dance training may produce or exacerbate some less-than-healthy psychological pressures. New research from Portugal finds evidence of just such a dynamic among young ballet students.”