“Nicholas Penny, the director of the National Gallery in London, has criticised the contemporary works that temporarily occupy the empty plinth in front of the gallery in Trafalgar Square as ‘antagonistic to the architectural character of the square’, turning the plinth into ‘a stage, which can be used ironically, farcically [and] inappropriately’.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Maybe Everyone Really Is Just A Little Bit Psychic
“Scientists understandably don’t have much patience for the notion of extrasensory perception. Yet evidence persists in the psychological literature that people’s bodies sometimes unconsciously ‘predict’ unpredictable future events. These visceral responses don’t appear to be the result of sheer chance.”
Now That’s Luxury Casting: Ian McKellen And Derek Jacobi To Play Gay Sitcom Couple
“A new sitcom has been commissioned by ITV” – the folks who bring us Downton Abbey – “which is set to feature Sir Derek Jacobi and Sir Ian McKellen as an elderly gay couple. The series, which is titled Vicious Old Queens, will feature both actors as an elderly gay couple living in London’s Covent Garden.”
Japan May Be Conquering The Ballet World
There, “ballet is big business and local competitions set the barre. Japanese dancers now populate every major ballet company on the planet, and Japanese students are taking top prizes at highly rated competitions such as the Prix de Lausanne in Switzerland and Youth America Grand Prix in New York.”
At Least One Orchestra Has Labor Peace: The Cleveland
“Monday morning, the institution announced a new, three-year deal with the musicians had been ratified, bringing the negotiation process to a notably swift and uncontentious conclusion.”
Spanish Novelist Javier Marías Turns Down €20,000 Government Prize
“[The author] said he had rejected the national narrative prize [Premio Nacional de Narrativa] for his novel The Infatuations because of a lifelong aversion to receiving public money. He is on record as a critic of the way Spain hands out state-backed literary prizes.”
Another L.A. Theater Faces Financial Emergency
“The Colony Theatre in Burbank is facing the possibility of imminent closure if the company isn’t able to resolve a budgetary shortfall … [The] 37-year-old company has run out of money and needs to raise $49,000 in the next two weeks and $500,000 by the end of the calendar year in order to remain open.”
British Museum Maintenance Staff Go On Three-Hour Strike
“Cleaners and maintenance workers at London’s British Museum went on strike Monday against plans to outsource their work.”
Pina Bausch’s Great Gift
Joan Acocella: “Bausch had certain gifts that were all her own – above all, the ability to create scenes that told serious psychological truths, but in an oblique, semi-abstract, wholly physical way, which made them powerful and discomforting. Surrealist, I guess we should call them.”
Gay ‘Cures’ May Not Work, But Should They Be Banned?
“Therapies that claim to make gay people straight are hateful and dangerous, but banning them won’t win over their supporters.”