That Sad, Empty,Yet Hopeful Palestinian Museum
You may have seen the New York Times article headlined Palestinian Museum Prepares to Open, Minus Exhibitions in Tuesday’s paper. It told the sad story of a new museum, … read more
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts Published 2016-05-17
Chatting with Playwright Rich Orloff … on Relevance.
What is the value of relevance? As an arts marketer, I believe that relevance is the mandatory price of admission to an audience’s attention. That which is irrelevant is routinely ignored or discarded. And for artists … read more
AJBlog: Audience Wanted Published 2016-05-17
Who Are the World’s Most Famous People?
You’d be surprised. Martin Luther King, Jr. is the world’s best-known American, followed by — are you ready? — Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Walt Disney, and Ben Franklin. Those are the top five. How do … read more
AJBlog: Straight|Up Published 2016-05-17
Lookback: relativism and its discontents
From 2006: People are forever telling me that a work of art should be “criticized on its own terms.” (Mr. Parabasis, one of my favorite bloggers, got after me a few weeks ago on precisely… … read more
AJBlog: About Last Night Published 2016-05-17
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Author: Matthew Westphal
Consciousness Isn’t A Great Mystery, It’s Just A Physical Process
“It’s the most familiar thing there is, whether it’s experience of emotion, pain, understanding what someone is saying, seeing, hearing, touching, tasting or feeling. It is in fact the only thing in the universe whose ultimate intrinsic nature we can claim to know. It is utterly unmysterious. The nature of physical stuff, by contrast, is deeply mysterious.”
The Singer That Arthur Godfrey Fired Live On The Air Has Died At 86
“[Julius] La Rosa was in the Navy when Godfrey heard him sing and invited him to appear on his CBS TV show. After his discharge, Mr. La Rosa became a star of Godfrey’s show from 1951 to 1953, recording several hits including ‘Eh, Cumpari.’ Godfrey liked to exert control over his entertainers, making demands and restricting their outside work in return for exposure on his popular show.”
An International Glossary Of Happiness
“Could understanding other cultures’ concepts of joy and well-being help us reshape our own? The Positive Lexicography Project aims to catalogue foreign terms for happiness that have no direct English translation.”
D.C. Dance Critic Jean Battey Lewis Dead At 91
“[She] oversaw The Washington Post‘s dance coverage for nearly 15 years during a modern-dance boom in the city and later worked for the Washington Times as its dance critic.”
Public Radio Station Manager Drops ‘This American Life’ Because Ira Glass Put It On Pandora – And Ira Fights Back
Mike Savage, general manager of WBAA in West Lafayette, Indiana, made the announcement on LinkedIn’s Pulse; in the comments, Ira Glass, TAL reporter Ben Calhoun, Audible.com SVP Eric Nuzum, and several other public radio execs debate the issue.
Lufthansa Denies Boarding To Cellist Leaving For European Tour
“A cellist traveling to Spain for the start of the Curtis [Institute] European tour was not allowed to board a Lufthansa flight Saturday at Philadelphia International Airport … But this was apparently not a case of an airline simply refusing to let on a large instrument.”
Critic Sasha Frere-Jones Out At L.A. Times, Accused Of Expensing $5K Tab At Strip Club
The music and culture critic, who won awards and gained fame during his years as a New Yorker staff writer (2004-2015), “has abruptly exited the L.A. Times after less than a year amid allegations of expense-account shenanigans involving a strip club and accepting expensive freebies from sources.”
More Stolen Old Master Paintings Discovered In Ukraine – Hidden In The Bushes
The canvases by Tintoretto, Mantegna, Rubens, and Pisanello were stolen from the Castelvecchio Museum in Verona in November; 13 suspects were arrested for the thefts in March. (Last month, a different set of old masterworks, taken from a Dutch museum ten years ago and held for ransom by a Ukrainian militia, were recovered.)
Historic African-American Theater ‘Automatically’ Loses Tax-Exempt Status
“The behind-the-scenes tumult [t Karamu House] has elements of tragedy, mystery and a touch of dark comedy. If it were a play, it would be titled ‘Finagle’s Law: Anything That Can Go Wrong, Will – And at the Worst Possible Moment.'”