“Almost 9,000 pieces [out of nearly 11,000] will go to the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center, with others headed to 10 Smithsonian Institution museums, several universities and the U.S. Supreme Court. The distribution marks the final stage of the dismantling of the famed Washington institution. Under a controversial 2014 deal, the National Gallery of Art had first dibs on the entire collection and ended up acquiring about 40 percent of the 19,493 works.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Actress Margot Kidder, 69
Her most famous film performances were as Lois Lane opposite Christopher Reeve in the Superman franchise and as a lead in The Amityville Horror; she was also known for what she later called “the biggest nervous breakdown in history, bar possibly Vivien Leigh’s.”
How One Man Found Himself Starting An English-Language Theatre In The Czech Republic
“Some are born into the theater, some achieve the theater, and some have theaters thrust upon them. Gene Terruso had a theater thrust upon him … One moment, he was a Fulbright scholar about to return home; the next, he was artistic director of [BEST Divadlo,] the first all-English-language theater in Brno, a bustling, international, U.S.-culture-loving city.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 05.14.18
Monday Recommendation: Peter Erskine’s latest encounter with Dr. Um
On Call: Peter Erskine & The Dr. Um Band (Fuzzy Music)
Erskine’s quartet luxuriates in excitement that recalls and updates his achievements as Weather Report’s keystone drummer and later when he was … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2018-05-14
Doing Sportscaster-Style Commentary On A Classical Music Competition (Yes, It Can Work)
Andrew Mellor writes about the commentary he did for the live video stream of this year’s Malko Competition for Young Conductors. “Much like a pundit pitting the poor defensive track record of West Ham against the unstoppable firepower of Manchester City, I tried to ascertain what dangers the prescribed works would pose for each contestant, and tapped the expertise of other journalists in so doing. What’s the worst thing that can happen in the slow movement from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony?”
A Female Star Who Fought Back Against Fat-Shaming Nearly 100 Years Ago
“[Sophie Tucker] realized that because she was not traditionally beautiful, she could get away with a candor that other women could not. While her routines contained bawdy tales of sex and romance, she also incorporated material about her weight. …[And] in 1923, she wrote in the Los Angeles Times that she was hoping to organize a fat women’s club, explaining that she wanted to help women ‘laugh and eat without feeling conscience stricken.’ For Tucker, members of her club simply had to swear to see the ‘beauty of a double chin.'”
How Moviemakers Use Edits To Game The MPAA’s Ratings Rules
“Why do two movies with nearly identical sex scenes get different ratings for sexual content? And why does the same thing happen with violence, drugs, and swearing? Is our ratings system totally arbitrary? Not quite. … In this episode of Watch Smarter, we explore how the subject shown on screen matters to the MPAA less than how that subject is shown – and the impression the MPAA believes a certain depiction leaves on the audience. Our journey begins with the F-word.” (video)
When Marcel Duchamp Agreed To Forge One Of His Own Most Famous Works
Well, okay, if he does it himself, it’s not exactly a forgery. But here’s the story of a couple who rushed to buy Duchamp’s then-reviled Nude Descending a Staircase (No. 2) from the 1913 Armory Show, only to find that someone else had beaten them to it, and how they ultimately convinced Duchamp to make them another one.
Shakespeare’s ‘Julius Caesar’ And Politics, Then And Now
“Why was the Bard so fascinated with the fall of the Roman Republic? Why do we tend to turn to this play when we worry about society’s future? … Isaac [Butler] talks to theater critic Helen Shaw and English professor Andrew Hadfield about what was going on in Shakespeare’s time that led him to look back to ancient Rome. We also talk to theater directors Rob Melrose and Tyler Dobrowsky about the choices they made in their recent staged renditions of Caesar.” (podcast)
When, And Why, Theater Audiences Fall Asleep In Their Seats
Peter Marks: “It is every patron’s right, I suppose, to consume theater in any way they see fit, as long as it is not a nuisance to others. The steady mechanical breath of sleep can be an audible distraction at a quiet play, and yes, a throat clearing or a whispered word of correction is required if snoring commences. But the greater injustice, it seems to me, is the one unconscious theatergoers do to themselves. Buying a $100 seat is an inordinately expensive way to take a nap. Is every theater piece really that dull to some percentage of the crowd, I wonder, or are we just coming to public events ever more sleep-deprived? “