Matthew Westphal – Page 1973 – ArtsJournal Wayback

Are Experimental Films Elitist? (Nope)

“British experimental film has a long tradition of engagement with political and social issues and this goes against a common misconception: that the art form is irrelevant to mainstream audiences. … BBC Culture’s Rebecca Laurence discusses trends in British experimental film with the London Film Festival’s Experimenta programmer, Helen de Witt.” (video)

Lars Von Trier Breaks His Press Silence While Technically Keeping His Vow Not To Talk To The Press

After he got himself banned from Cannes in 2011 for making a thoroughly unfortunate joke, the Danish filmmaker announced that he would “refrain from all public statements and interviews” so as to keep himself out of trouble. But he really wanted to discuss the uncut 5½-hour version of Nymphomaniac with the press at this year’s Venice Film Festival. So they found an ingenious (and entertaining) solution.

Mafioso Memoir Wins Sicilian Book Prize; Outrage Ensues

Malerba, a book which recounts the life, crimes and education of Giuseppe Grassonelli – an erstwhile ‘savage criminal’ by his own admission – emerged triumphant in this year’s [Leonardo] Sciascia-Racalmare prize on Sunday” – defeating a book by the daughter of a judge who was assassinated for pursuing the Mafia.

How Did A Notorious Experimental Theatre Troupe Survive For 30 Years In A Provincial English City? They Didn’t Stay Home

“[Forced Entertainment’s] success is due to having realised early what much larger arts organisations are only discovering now: they work abroad as much as they do here.”

How Can UK Theatre Companies Deal With Ever-Lower Funding? Work Abroad

Lyn Gardner: “It’s those companies who have already been looking beyond these shores for collaborations and co-productions” – not to mention touring opportunities – “who are likely to be the survivors as belts continue to be tightened here in the UK.”

Asheville Art Museum Flirting With Financial Disaster, Says Former Mayor

“Former Asheville mayor and city manager Ken Michalove, who has been dogging the footsteps of the Asheville Art Museum for nearly two years, now says it is headed for bankruptcy unless it ramps up its own fundraising, sticks to its original goals and stops trying to adjust its game plan and financial reports so as to qualify for city and county money.”

Asheville Art Museum Is Fine, Says Local Official

An official with the local Tourism Development Authority says the museum is “strong financially” and that an independent auditor confirms that fundraising pledges will be made good. The committee then voted unanimously to extend a grant of $1.5 million for the museum’s expansion.

This Piece Is Written To Be Played By A Forest

In the outdoor sound installation Living Symphonies, detailed data mapping of a patch of woodland meets instrumental motifs composed for each of that patch’s inhabitants, animal and vegetable. “Only the fragments that reflect the forest’s activity – be it the snare-drum rattle of the squirrel running up a tree, the soprano sax and clarinet piece of the goldcrest flying overhead, or the creaking melody of the tam-tam drums and body of a double bass of the giant sequoia tree – are played through the speakers in real-time, the piece continually developing … ‘solely at the whims of the forest’.”

Dancing With The (Public Radio) Stars

Ira Glass has included dancers in the occasional live performances of This American Life. Now the dancers have returned the favor, building a new stage work with him – and the collaboration has had surprising benefits for everyone involved.

Author: Matthew Westphal