Genuine quotas were explicitly tried in Britain in the 1980s, and they failed. Well, they were sort of tried – Christy Romer argues that the attempt wasn’t serious, and that now’s the time to try to do it properly.
Author: Matthew Westphal
#BoycottHamilton, Eh? The Show Just Sold $3.3M Of Tickets In One Week
“Nothing like a boycott promoted by conservative Republicans to send the Broadway grosses soaring.”
Atlanta Ballet’s New Artistic Director Turns The Company In A New Artistic Direction
Gennadi Nedvigin trained at the Bolshoi and had a 19-year dance career at San Francisco Ballet; Atlanta Ballet has lately been concentrating on contemporary works. Nedvigin will be implementing the ultra-classicist Vaganova Method, developed at and for the Mariinsky Ballet.
This Again? Virginia County Yanks ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ And ‘Huck Finn’ From Schools After Parent Complains About N-Word
The mother of a biracial high school student on the state’s Eastern Shore told a school board meeting, “I’m not disputing this is great literature. But there is so much racial slurs in there and offensive wording that you can’t get past that, and right now we are a nation divided as it is.”
Golden Statue Of ‘King Bibi’ Is Erected, Argued About, And Pulled Down In Tel Aviv
“‘In the social media, there have been tens of thousands of comments about ‘King Bibi’,’ [sculptor Itay] Zalait said on Army Radio when asked what had inspired him to create the statue. ‘I simply made it a reality and put it in its deserved place, the Kings of Israel Square.'”
The Forgotten Hero Of Balanchine’s ‘Nutcracker’ Is The Title Role
Marina Harss looks at the special qualities of this first star part for young male dancers, and she talks to a 12-year-old who’s sharing the role at New York City Ballet this year.
Puccini’s Original Version Of ‘Madama Butterfly’ Returns To La Scala 112 Years After Its Disastrous Premiere
Oh yes, it was booed, and not only by the professional claques. There are some big differences from the revised version Puccini eventually published – especially with the character of Pinkerton, who was originally much more craven as well as more caddish.
Top Posts From AJBlogs 12.07.16
Middle Class Communities
For the many of us reeling from the recent election, middle class communities are much on our minds. … I thought it might be good to dig a little deeper into what this might mean for community engagement. … read more
AJBlog: Engaging Matters Published 2016-12-06
What to do about the NEA
At Bloomberg, Tyler Cowen posts some recommendations on US federal government arts policy. … The thing I always enjoy about Cowen – especially in his blog – is his ability to put fresh ideas out there as sparks for discussion; this is particularly important in arts policy … read more
AJBlog: For What It’s Worth Published 2016-12-06
Brett’s Bet: What Gorvy’s Sudden Exit from Christie’s May Mean for the Art Market
One thing I know about Brett Gorvy, Christie’s departing chairman of Post-War and Contemporary art, is that he’s very smart — probably the savviest auction-house specialist I’ve ever encountered. So it’s almost impossible not to interpret his … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2016-12-07
Singing artists
When did singers and songwriters first start getting lumped under the moniker “artists?” I think it happened during my lifetime, but I’m not sure, because I’ve spent a lot of my life in a cave. … read more
AJBlog: Infinite Curves Published 2016-12-06
When ‘Bibliomania’ Was (Considered) A Real Illness
“Symptoms included a frenzy for culling and hunting down first editions, rare copies, books of certain sizes or printed on specific paper.”
When Japan Went Mad For Art Deco
In the years between the 1925 Paris Exhibition (where the stye became famous) and World War II, Art Deco became as popular in Japan as it did in any other prosperous country. “The cultural hybridity was, in a way, a reversal of the one that emerged in Western Europe in the late-19th century, when Japonism swept through the region, captivating the Impressionists in particular.”