“I have received hostile voice mail messages and e-mails. They are often anonymous, I’m sad to say, as anonymous messages are delivered only by very low forms of human life, in my opinion. I have been denounced in various public forums … The columnist Liz Smith once proposed in print that I be lynched in Shubert Alley, which was one of the more thrilling moments of my career.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Jonathan Jones Says The Louvre’s Art Is Wasted In A Small Industrial City
“The Louvre-Lens looks like a clumsy idea to me, a self-hating move by an institution that should be proud of its palatial magnificence. … It is breaking up a collection that is one of the wonders of the world. For every visitor who makes the trip to Lens, there will be people frantically scouring the Louvre in Paris looking for the vanished Delacroix that is usually one of its highlights.”
Architect Oscar Niemeyer, 104
“[He] was among the last of a long line of Modernist true believers who stretch from Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe to the architects who defined the postwar architecture of the late 1940s, ’50s and ’60s. He is best known for designing the government buildings of Brasilia, a sprawling new capital carved out of the Brazilian savanna.”
The Dilemma Of David Mamet
“The demise of The Anarchist raises questions about the theater business. Did the lead producers’ devotion to Mr. Mamet – and the hope of a lucrative Glengarry revival – mean staging a new work that wasn’t right, or ready, for Broadway? … And does Mr. Mamet, whose brawny, expletive-filled early plays remain stage mainstays decades after their debuts, still have something to say to a contemporary audience?”
The Donmar’s All-Female Julius Caesar – A Gimmick? (Nope)
“[The] obvious justification for the production is that Shakespeare’s plays were originally experiments with gender. … If Shakespearean acting began with males pretending to be female, then why shouldn’t women take male parts?”
Minnesota Orchestra Lockout: What Can The Organization Afford?
“At the heart of the labor dispute is this question: Does the Minnesota Orchestra – its board, donors and patrons – have the financial wherewithal to pay its players on a scale that rivals the best-funded and most prestigious American ensembles?” Reporter Graydon Royce looks at the endowment numbers.
Met Opera Plans $60M Tech Overhaul
“This renovation concerns the guts of the place, replacements or upgrades for the Met’s internal organs: the flies, lighting, stage lift, air circulation and internal communication systems. The Met’s technology has fallen behind European opera houses, where many of the directors bringing new productions to New York are used to computerized controls.”
Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, 103, Melbourne’s Great Philanthropist (And Rupert’s Mum)
“She was devoted to the arts, to gardens and the landscape, to education and medicine, to the disabled and the underprivileged. Her name is perpetuated at places as diverse as the Melbourne Recital Centre, the Royal Botanic Gardens, the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, and the former Langwarrin Secondary College.”
Authors Who Keep Going After Age 80
Philip Roth may have thrown in the towel at 79, but the AP and CBC remind of us some colleagues who remain in the game: Elmore Leonard, David Ferry (who won this year’s National Book Award for poetry), Toni Morrison … Even 97-year-old Herman Wouk has a new book out. (Oddly, they neglected to mention Alice Munro.)
Montreal Museum Of Fine Arts To Add Pavilion For New Collection
“The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts has announced it will construct a new building to house Michal and Renata Hornstein’s recent donation of Old Masters paintings valued at $75 million – the largest private art donation in Quebec’s history.”