Everyone’s concentration is shot right now, and for some, it’s just too hard to focus long enough, either physically or mentally, to read a novel. But “there’s something about reading a short form – a capsule of place, time or character – that appeals to me. I know that I can get through it in one sitting. It doesn’t ask too much.” – The Guardian (UK)
Author: ArtsJournal2
French Directors And Distributors Are Thrilled By The Confinement’s ‘Return’ To Cinema
“We can only welcome a massive return of heritage cinema to France Télévisions in this very special period. Let us hope that this frantic desire continues in post-confinement,” they write. But, they add, why aren’t the channels diversifying their offerings with contemporary filmmakers (and not just from France) instead of simply returning to the 1970s? – Le Monde
The Best Art Parodies Seem To Have Started In Russia, And Now They’re Everywhere
A Facebook group started in Moscow now has tens of thousands of members worldwide, making art of the mundanities of lockdown. “They have been posting their work at a clip of more than 1,000 items a day, each time attaching their own photo alongside an image of the original art. They have corralled family members, pets and household items to channel the iconic and, as the Munchs and Kahlos pile up, so do the obscure — a flexible air-conditioning duct; a collage of plastic forks; a ring of strung-together, almost-spent toilet paper rolls.” – The New York Times
Hollywood Studios And Union Will Begin Virtual Negotiations This Week
At issue in the SAG-AFTRA talks with the studios is everything from scheduling to residuals, and certainly health insurance as members deal with loss of jobs to the coronavirus shutdown. – Los Angeles Times
Paris Without (Extra) People
Paris without tourists looks and feels different – and is a reminder of other traumatic times. “In this stage-set Paris, the monuments still brilliantly illuminated, it is easy to imagine an earlier time when the city streets were quiet: the German occupation. Photographs from that period show empty streets, solitary pedestrians, and grand monuments jarringly out of sync with the humiliated city. Like now, lines of grim-faced customers stretch from the few open stores.” – The New York Times
To Postpone Literary Prizes, Or To Go Virtual?
That is the question. The Booker delayed its prize not because it couldn’t have a virtual ceremony, but because book distribution is in a bit of a crisis right now. “According to a statement, the award will be delayed until later in the northern summer to ensure that readers are able to get hold of copies of the shortlisted books.” Uh, yes please. – Sydney Morning Herald
Helping The Handel And Haydn Society Head Into The Future, By Acknowledging The Real Past
The Handel and Haydn Society has been around, performing Baroque concerts on period instruments, since 1815. And now it’s time to diversify their programming – and acknowledge the diversity they’ve already had, says Reginald Mobley, their new programming consultant. “‘There are so many composers that are female or black or queer that have existed long before we really thought of race or sexuality as a social construct,’ says Mobley. … ‘What it does is gives a sense of belonging … to all of these various communities that have always felt unwelcome or left out of classical music or ‘high art.’'” – The Bay State Banner
Hey Kids, Your Homework During Quarantine Is To Watch Hitchcock Movies
And then write essays about them. On the other hand: “The other night I tried Wings of Desire. That really didn’t go well. You could see the kids’ minds were blown by the concept of angels hearing people’s thoughts, but it was a tad too mature. Still, at least it got everybody to bed early that evening.” – The Guardian (UK)
A Dancer Puts Her Retirement On Pause Along With The Ballet
She had her retirement dress and her finale plan. She’d stretched and was ready for rehearsal for the performance on March 13. “Suddenly, the carefully choreographed end to Kuykendall’s 22-year career was swept up in the vortex of the coronavirus pandemic, adding a note of aching dissonance to her coda.” – Colorado Sun
How London’s National Theatre Is Surfing A Wave Of Viewers For Its Broadcasts
Basically, the National Theatre has better camerawork than most theatres trying to do broadcasts – and that creates intimacy, the kind of intimacy you might otherwise find only at a life performance. “Partly it’s that the productions are terrific, and wildly varied in style. And partly it’s that the intimate camerawork makes you feel like a collaborator in distinctly theatrical effects. When a callous aunt took the bundle of rags that stood for baby Jane Eyre and violently shook it out, revealing the dress that the actor playing Jane donned to assume her role, I gasped.” – The Atlantic