An intensive eight-year study of his pigments, palettes, canvases and correspondence indicates that Vincent was less manic and more methodical, less radical and (somewhat) more conventional an artist than the tormented, unconventional master of myth. (He was still crazy, though.)
Author: Matthew Westphal
Philadelphia’s Drama Queen
How Blanka Zizka – who had slipped through the Iron Curtain as a pregnant 21-year-old – and her erstwhile husband built the Wilma Theater from a tiny, seat-of-the-pants collective into a powerhouse that galvanized Philadelphia’s theater scene.
Chicago’s Luna Negra Dance Theater’s Future In Doubt As Artistic Director Quits
“Gustavo Ramirez Sansano, the audacious and imaginative artistic director who has led the Latino-rooted Luna Negra Dance Theater here since 2010 – and transformed it into a company of great sophistication and experimentation – has stepped down from his post, effective immediately. … [The company] has been suffering from previously undisclosed financial and administrative problems for many months.”
St. Paul Chamber Orchestra Lockout Is Over
“After a 191-day lockout, SPCO musicians ratified a three-year contract Monday that cuts base salaries and the size of the ensemble but allows them to resume their season May 9. … Both sides felt pressure to salvage the remaining 14 concerts of the season after the cancellation of approximately 80 concerts.”
A Tour Of The Mariinsky’s New Theatre
“The new Mariinsky Theatre, officially called Mariinsky II, is located directly across the canal from the original Mariinsky Theatre. It will become one of the largest opera production and presentation facilities in the world, and will be home of the Mariinsky Opera, Orchestra and Ballet.” Take a photo tour, led (metaphorically) by architect Jack Diamond.
The Repentant Thief: Lambeth Palace Alerted To Stolen Books By Culprit
“London’s Lambeth Palace, home to the Archbishop of Canterbury, also has a leading historic book collection. The palace’s library was the scene of a major crime that stayed undiscovered for decades. A sealed letter that arrived at one of Britain’s most historic libraries in February 2011 was to leave its staff stunned.”
Marina Abramovic Is Making Ballet
The mother of all performance artists is working at, of all places, the Paris Opera Ballet, collaborating with Sibi Larbi Cherkaoui and Damien Jalet on a new setting of Ravel’s Boléro.
Macbeth, The Boston Bombings, And Evil
Inspired by Alan Cumming’s solo performance of the Scottish play, Ron Rosenbaum considers where the three intersect.
Saudi Arabia’s Fist Artist-Run Foundation
“The Saudi conceptual artist Abdulnasser Gharem plans to set up the Arab state’s first artist-run foundation in Riyadh in light of ‘the art revolution taking place in Saudi Arabia’, he says.”
Tamara Rojo To Return To Stage This June
“English National Ballet’s artistic director Tamara Rojo will perform the lead role in the company’s production of Swan Lake for select dates at the Royal Albert Hall this summer.”