“VR was supposed to be a revolution, with companies like Oculus pioneering a whole new way for gamers and non-gamers alike to be immersed in digital environments … But for all the hype we have very little consumer interest to show for it.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
A Cemetery With A Playwright-In-Residence
Playwright Patrick Gabridge is artist-in-residence at the Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Mass. “[His] mandate is to bring theatre to the graveyard in a way that avoids the clichés about ghosts and ghouls, and instead focuses on the beauty of the space’s environment and the significance of its history.”
Why Do Various Foods Disgust Some People And Not Others? There’s A Museum Devoted To The Question
“What’s interesting,” says Samuel West, an organizational psychologist who’s the lead curator of the Disgusting Food Museum, “is that disgust is hard-wired biologically. But you still have to learn from your surroundings what [in particular] you should find disgusting.”
Steven Spielberg Signs Up Lena Dunham To Write A Screenplay About A Syrian Refugee, And The Twitterverse Gets Angry
“@lenadunham constantly talks about representation as crucial to enrich storytelling. Yet, in practice, she has shown a disregard for actually elevating those voices. Now, she’s been signed on to write a Syrian refugee’s story? Hollywood, was no female Arab writer available?” That was one typical response to the news that Spielberg and director J.J. Abrams had hired Dunham to pen the script for their film version of A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea: One Refugee’s Incredible Story of Love, Loss, and Survival.
Why John Luther Adams Is A Composer And Not An Activist
“Throughout my life I’ve steered an uneasy course between my desire to help change the world and my impulse to escape it. The vessel in which I navigate these turbulent waters is music. … And yet, it’s impossible for me to regard my life as a composer as separate from my life as a thinking human being and a citizen of the Earth.”
William J. Murtagh, ‘The Pied Piper Of Preservation’, Dead At 95
“As entire city blocks were razed in urban renewal projects, interstate highways were paved across the countryside and architectural marvels such as New York’s Penn Station were demolished to make way for bigger, newer structures, Dr. Murtagh helped lead a growing resistance effort that culminated in the passage of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. In its aftermath, he was appointed the first ‘keeper’ of the National Register of Historic Places — a job that made him the curator of America’s now-sprawling catalogue of significant districts, objects, buildings, sites and structures.”
After 200 Years, ‘Frankenstein’ Has Suffused The Culture
“While Frankenstein may have thwarted his creature’s desire to procreate, [Mary] Shelley’s novel has birthed a seemingly endless stream of adaptations and riffs … There have been camp Frankensteins, feminist Frankensteins, queer Frankensteins, and political Frankensteins of all stripes, which have taken the monster’s murderous revolt against its maker as allegory of everything from scientific overreach to capitalism to racism to war.”
Why Are Haunted Houses Always Big Old Victorian Mansions?
“Head to your local Halloween haunted house or watch a horror movie, and you’ll probably see a creepy Victorian structure that simply exudes terror. But as art historian Sarah Burns points out, in the 1870s, Victorian houses were just … houses. ‘Half a century later, however,’ she writes, ‘that very same style had become a signifier of terror, death, and decay.’ When did we start to associate these houses with creepiness?” Erin Blakemore explains.
Yayoi Kusama And Takashi Murakami Go After Chinese Company Exhibiting Counterfeits Of Their Work
“The shows allegedly began in April and have been held in the Chinese cities of Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Wuhan, and Shanghai … [and] were allegedly organized by a Chinese company that approached the individual venues.” Attorneys for both artists say they intend to pursue civil and possibly criminal charges as soon as they firmly identify the parties responsible. (Both artists have legitimate shows opening in Shanghai in November.)
Fired Violinist William Preucil Will Be Replaced On Suzuki’s Teaching Recordings
The now-former concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra was dismissed for good last week following an investigation into his alleged sexual misconduct with students. The news has distressed many teachers and parents of children studying violin with the Suzuki Method, as Preucil was the violinist playing on the official Suzuki instructional recordings. (His parents were among the first teachers of the method in the US.) So Suzuki International and Alfred Music have announced that they’ll be issuing new recordings with another violinist as soon as practical.