Vladimir Medinsky told a room full of worthies at an Aspen/Davos-type gathering in Sochi, “Soon we’ll be saying that rap is Russian art. Of course, it was born somewhere in America, but its flourishing occurred with us, of course.” Just like ballet. Then Medinsky pronounced that the very first rapper was, in fact, early Soviet poet Vladimir Mayakovsky.
Author: Matthew Westphal
The Art Balloon That Scandalized Australia’s Ruling Elite Is Back
“With a head like a turtle, a body like a giant cetacean and ten bulbous, hanging breasts, one thing is certain: It is hard to ignore the Skywhale. When the hot-air balloon debuted in May 2013, looming over Canberra for the Australian capital’s centenary celebrations, critics said the ‘floating sculpture’ created by Patricia Piccinini did not represent the city. Some blushed at the scale of its udders and at its six-figure cost. … Well, get ready, Australia. It’s back.”
Icelandic Culture Has Survived Since The Age Of The Vikings, But Can It Survive The Age Of Tourism And The Internet?
“Icelandic … has changed so little since then on our small and isolated island, that we can still more or less read [the Sagas] as they were first written. But Iceland is not so isolated anymore.” Novelist Ragnar Jónasson explains the factors that are making English more prevalent there than ever before (“Will Icelandic soon become the second language of Icelanders?”), and then looks at a couple of surprising sources of hope for the mother tongue.
5,000-Year-Old Musical Instrument Found Near Rome
“The ceramic shell at first appeared to be one of a kind. One hypothesis was that it might have been a cheese strainer. Then, similarities were found with two other objects, found near Naples, that had been convincingly identified as sound boxes for musical instruments.” One doctoral student determined that it was either a bowed lute or a lyre, and she made speculative reconstructions of each, using a copy of the ceramic shell and materials that were available circa 3,000 B.C. (includes sound clips)
Anthea Bell, Who Translated Kafka And Astérix, Dead At 82
She was a widely admired translator of German literature in particular, introducing works by Sebald, Zweig, and Freud as well as Kafka to anglophone readers. But she’s best known for her translations of children’s books from German and French, especially the Asterix series of comics, whose puns she cleverly rendered in English.
The First Pop-Up Books Weren’t For Kids — They Taught Adults Science
“From about 1450 to 1750, most pop-ups appeared in scientific books. Movable paper parts were once used to explain the movements of the moon, the five regular geometric solids, the connections between the eye and the brain, and more.”
Cicely Berry, Legendary Voice Coach For Actors, Dead At 92
“[She] was the best-known voice coach of her generation, though the term vastly underrates what she did and her attitude towards it.” In three books and 45 years at the Royal Shakespeare Company (along with extensive work elsewhere), she transformed the way that voice work for actors was taught, and even conceived.
The New American Songbook: The 30 Hits Of The Past 25 Years That We’ll Be Hearing For The Next 100
“Separating the most durable tunes from the millions of other would-be classics is no easy task. So we asked critics, musicians, and industry professionals to predict which [ones will last].Some of these songs our children will belt in sports arenas. Others our grandchildren will dance to at their weddings.”
Walton Family Foundation Funds New Teaching Program To Increase Diversity In Museum Staff
The charitable foundation of the family that founded Walmart has given $5.4 million to Spelman College, a historically black institution in Atlanta, and the Atlanta University Center to create an art history and curatorial studies undergraduate program.
Ballet Culture Is Finally Changing, Because It Has To: Two New York Times Critics Reflect On #MeToo And The City Ballet Lawsuit
A pair of essays, by Gia Kourlas on how New York City Ballet’s dancers are standing up for decency and respect rather than defending the behavior of their now-departed colleagues, and by Siobhan Burke, wondering why the union that’s supposed to represent all the dancers is fighting for the two who were fired rather than the colleagues they demeaned in their texts.