“A Twitterstorm erupted in the US last month over the findings of survey of 8,000 art galleries based in the US, UK and Germany.” Magnus Resch recommended “that most artists should be paid only 30% of sales not the traditional 50/50 split of most galleries (superstar artists aside). It probably hasn’t helped that he divides artists into some all-too-pithy categories.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Royal Shakespeare’s Company’s New App Puts A Hip-Hop Spin On ‘Much Ado’
RSC education director Jacqui O’Hanlon says that the app, designed for students aged 11 to 16, “would act as a ‘trail of breadcrumbs’ to the original work. The app’s rap lyrics are derived from Shakespeare’s insults, and his characters’ amorous exchanges. It challenges users to spot the difference between the Shakespeare rap and those of modern hip-hop artists.”
New Brian Friel Festival Lights Up Ireland – On Both Sides Of The Border
The Lughnasa International Friel Festival – created and directed (on a tiny budget) by Seán Doran, who also founded the Happy Days Festival focused on Beckett – is the first large-scale arts event to be shared between Northern Ireland and the Republic.
Philip Glass’s Children’s Opera (Yes, He Wrote One)
The Witches of Venice, an opera-ballet based on the children’s book by Beni Montresor, had its premiere at La Scala 20 years ago. It will finally have its U.S. premiere next summer, in a production directed and choreographed by Karole Armitage.
When Disaster Strikes, Museums Call In The A-Team Of Conservation
“You’ve got a muddy 18th century chest of drawers. Who you gonna call? The American Institute for Conservation Collections Emergency Response Team, also known as AIC-CERT. Okay, it’s not quite as catchy as Ghostbusters. But for workers at cultural institutions, the AIC-CERT is a disaster relief A-Team, solving problems ranging from a a burst pipe to a tsunami.”
With Misty Copeland On Board, Broadway’s ‘On The Town’ More Than Doubles Its Box Office Take
“The first African-American woman to be named a principal in the 75-year history of American Ballet Theater provided a jolt to On the Town during her first week in the musical. The show, which is closing on Sunday, immediately went from a laggard to a leader: It grossed $914,434 in the week that ended Sunday, up from $395,379 the week before.”
Lucinda Childs Revives Her Legendary 1983 Collaboration With Frank Gehry And John Adams
The choreographer originally created Available Light, now seen as a Minimalist milestone in both dance and music, as a site-specific piece for Gehry’s Temporary Contemporary at Los Angeles’s Museum of Contemporary Art. This past spring at MASS MoCA, she and Gehry revised Available Light for a proscenium stage; the work was just presented in Berlin and (finally!) makes its East Coast premiere this week at the Philly Fringe Festival.
Maybe Jonathan Franzen Isn’t Quite As Weird As His Public Statements Make Him Seem
“Franzen, whose writing tends to be very careful, has a gift for putting his foot in his mouth when he speaks publicly. … But if you look at Franzen’s taste in writing, it’s clear that he isn’t quite as one-dimensional as his bad press would lead readers to believe.” Scott Timberg reviews the evidence.
New Broad Museum’s Online Reservation System Crashes On First Day
“The public’s enthusiasm was apparent – maybe a little too apparent – on Monday when the Broad Museum began booking online reservations for its Sept. 20 opening and beyond. By midafternoon, the Web page for reservations to the new contemporary art museum in downtown Los Angeles carried an announcement in red type: ‘Due to overwhelming demand, our ticketing system is currently down.'”
A 70-Year-Old Grandmother Is China’s Pole-Dancing Champion (And An Internet Sensation)
“The woman, called Dai Dali, first learned to pole dance at a gym four years ago and is now able to pull of moves that most people half her age couldn’t accomplish.”