In 2008, less than a year before he died, Cunningham took his dancers and musicians to a Minnesota quarry for what would be the last performances of his 90-minute masterpiece, Ocean. Charles Atlas, a longtime Cunningham collaborator, made an inventive and fascinating film of the event.
Author: Matthew Westphal
NEA Cuts PBS Funding For Arts Documentaries
“The National Endowment for the Arts, a major supporter of PBS shows devoted to performing arts and independent documentaries, is proposing substantial cuts in their financing. Collectively, the cuts, which will not be official until April 25, would strip more than $1 million in federal production aid from PBS shows.”
The Congo’s Intrepid Symphony Orchestra Makes 60 Minutes
“There’s a remarkable symphony orchestra in the Congo, 200 musicians defying the poverty of their war-torn country and creating some of the most moving music we have ever heard. Bob Simon reports.”
Elizabeth Catlett, 96, Sculptor And Harlem Renaissance Figure
“Though much of her early career was ignored by the mainstream art world, Catlett’s work is now collected by museums all over the world. Still, the artist said it was too much when NPR told her last year that she had been described as the matriarch of modernist sculpture.”
What’s The Difference Between A Foreword, A Preface And An Introduction?
“The terms foreword, preface (from Latin praefatio, ‘speech before’), and introduction (from Latin introducere, ‘to lead in’) all seem to be saying ‘Me first.’ But each has a particular meaning in book publishing – allowing for a fair bit of overlap – and there is a traditional order for presenting them.”
Was Carrie The Musical Doomed From The Start?
“Several theater producers contacted recently said that Carrie, no matter how well acted and sung, presented far more than the usual share of difficulties, the most insurmountable being that nearly every character is dead at the end.”
What’s The Great Art Of The Future? Data Visualization
“Why are we picking at [Damien Hirst’s] carcasses of creativity? We should instead be celebrating the really new and relevant: the rise of the data visualizers. Their medium is the one with momentum, the one genuinely changing how we think and feel. And it’s about to boom.”
California Arts Council Could Lose Right To Fund-Raise Via Tax Returns
“Beginning last year, filers could donate to the state’s chronically underfunded arts grant-making agency by checking off a box on their tax return, then adding the amount they wanted to contribute to their payment or subtracting it from their refund.” That box could disappear if the CAC raises less than $250,000 with it this year.
US Court Reinstates Viacom’s Copyright Suit Against YouTube
“A federal appeals court judge has revived a $1-billion copyright infringement lawsuit by Viacom Inc.against Google Inc.’sYouTube … [The case] reflected a frantic effort by Viacom to halt unauthorized snippets of its TV shows from showing up online.”
‘Cellist Of Sarajevo’ Plays Again In City 20 Years After Siege
“Twenty years ago, as mortar shells began raining down on Sarajevo, killing his friends and neighbors, Vedran Smajlovic did what he knew best to help the city: he played his cello at funerals, in bomb shelters and in the streets.” This week, to mark the 20th anniversary of the Serbs’ siege of the city, Smajlovic performed there for the first time since the end of the war.