“Only recently has a line been added to the show asking audience members to ‘keep a respectful distance’ from the performers. Wouldn’t it be great if we lived in a culture where this nannyish reminder was unnecessary? It would. We don’t.” Alexis Soloski lays out the case.
Author: Matthew Westphal
It Was ‘Art In Action’: Artist Behind Removal Of That Painting Of Naked Nymphs Explains What Went Down
Sonia Boyce: “The recent, temporary removal from Manchester Art Gallery of John William Waterhouse’s 1896 painting Hylas and the Nymphs, which depicts Hercules’s handsome male lover being lured to his death in a pond by seven long-haired, topless nymphs (pubescent girls), was an attempt to involve a much wider group of people than usual in the curatorial process.” And it did.
New York City Ballet Isn’t Dropping Peter Martins’s Ballets (But It Is Making Small Changes)
As Michael Cooper reports, City Ballet has “no intention of editing him out of the company’s history, the way Kevin Spacey was cut out of the film All the Money in the World after he was accused of misconduct. The Martins ballets remain important to the ticket sales and continuing the company’s fortunes.” Even so, there are occasional moments in his choreography that now look, well, problematic …
Judge Awards Graffiti Artists Of New York’s 5Pointz $6.75M For Mural Destroyed By Developer
Calling developer Gerald Wolkoff’s painting over of the famous graffiti murals – with no warning for the artists – “an act of pure pique and revenge for the nerve of the plaintiffs to sue” (what’s more, Wolkoff was an arrogant brat in the courtroom), Judge Frederic Block awarded each artist the maximum legal amount, $150,000, for each destroyed work.
Actress Jan Maxwell, Five-Time Tony Nominee, Dead At 61
“Ms. Maxwell was a longtime favorite of critics. Ben Brantley of The New York Times, for one, praised her again and again. In 2005, when she played the world-weary Baroness of Vulgaria in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (the role led to her first Tony nomination and a Drama Desk award), he called her ‘the real heroine for anyone who demands wit and sophistication from a Broadway production.'”
Missing Nigerian Masterpiece Turns Up In London Flat
“Ben Enwonwu’s 1974 painting of the Ife princess Adetutu Ademiluyi, known as Tutu, is a national icon in Nigeria, with poster reproductions hanging on walls in homes all over the country. The artist, regarded as the founding father of Nigerian modernism, painted three versions of Tutu and the image became a symbol of national reconciliation. But all three were lost and became the subject of much speculation.” Until late last year, that is.
Women’s Group Wants To Buy West End Theatre, Operate It As Female-Led Arts Space
“The Bossy collective are behind a 15,000-member Facebook group set up in 2016 as a supportive space for women in the creative industries. Now, in the wake of the #MeToo movement and continuing allegations of sexual misconduct in the creative and other industries, the group, has founded a campaign to buy the Theatre Royal Haymarket.”
Meet The Duo Replacing Julio Bocca At The Helm Of Uruguay’s Ballet Nacional Sodre
Graham Spicer talks to Bocca about why he’s leaving and what he achieved, and to Igor Yebra, the incoming director, and Franceco Ventriglia (who recently
departed the Royal New Zealand Ballet), the new adjunct artistic director.
Top Posts From AJBlogs 02.12.18
Monday Recommendation: Dawn Clement In Tandem
Dawn Clement, Tandem (Origin)
Dawn Clement’s recording history includes piano collaborations with saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom and trombonist Julian Priester, among other prominent colleagues. The Seattle Times has called her … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2018-02-12
Propwatch: the dolls in John
The best scene in any play in London right now (don’t argue, I’m not listening) opens the second act in John by Annie Baker. Three women – Mertis, who runs a guesthouse in Gettysburg, … read more
AJBlog: Performance Monkey Published 2018-02-12
Yannick’s Hollow Parsifal
The highwater mark for Wagner at the Metropolitan Opera in recent decades was the 2013 Parsifal,handsomely directed and strongly cast. The crucial ingredient, however, was Daniele Gatti’s leadership in the … read more
AJBlog: Unanswered Question Published 2018-02-11
Aletheia to Tour Northeastern U.S.
Composed by William Osborne for singer-instrumentalist, computer-controlled piano, and quadraphonic electronics, Aletheia is a music theater work featuring the solo performance of Abbie Conant as the title character. Osborne writes, “Aletheia is an opera singer … read more
AJBlog: Straight|Up Published 2018-02-12
Why Paper Jams Keep Happening, No Matter How Far Technology Progresses
“According to The Wall Street Journal, printers are among the most in-demand objects in ‘rage rooms,’ where people pay to smash things with sledgehammers; Battle Sports, a rage-room facility in Toronto, goes through fifteen a week. … Unsurprisingly, the engineers who specialize in paper jams see them differently. Engineers tend to work in narrow subspecialties, but solving a jam requires knowledge of physics, chemistry, mechanical engineering, computer programming, and interface design.”