Truth: “Art meme-ing has long been with us, but some mix of quarantine creativity, idle isolation and the need to connect through humor in these uncertain times is sparking a stream of mischievous art alterations.” (The Scream without the screamer? Whoa.) – The Washington Post
Author: ArtsJournal2
Shailene Woodley, Doing (Now Online) Movie Release Press From A Big Social Distance
The actor, who had success as a child and in her teens and early twenties, says that social isolation with her dog isn’t the worst thing. “This feels like heaven in a lot of ways because I don’t have to talk to people, I don’t have to deal with people, I don’t even have to look at people. I can play the game of being an extrovert when I need to — it’s a big part of my job — but my happy place is honestly being alone.” – The New York Times
When Truth Resembles Apocalyptic Fiction
Novelist Waubgeshig Rice: “It kind of blew my mind. … I wrote that plot point of Moon of the Crusted Snow just as a what if, not as a how-to guide.” – CBC
The Guggenheim Is The Latest Institution To Lay Off, Furlough, And Reduce Benefits
The museum says it’s facing a $10 million shortfall and must furlough 92 people and reduce the salaries for 85 more. The furloughed staff members, “which union officials said include about a dozen people who work in a clandestine storage facility, will be paid through April 19 and receive health benefits covered by the museum through July 31 or the date of rehire, whichever comes first.” – The New York Times
Irish Scholars Have A Rather Large Bone To Pick With A ‘Hatchet Job’ In The New Yorker
Who decided messing with Edna O’Brien was a good idea? Ian Parker of The New Yorker, that’s who. But “after a complicated relationship with her home country – in 2015 President Michael Higgins made an official apology for the scorn formerly heaped on her by the Irish – O’Brien is now regarded as a national treasure in Dublin” and Irish literary scholars have responded to Parker in kind. – The Observer (UK)
Theatre’s Stages Of Grief
Idled theatres can’t earn money, can’t meet grant requirement deadlines, and have nothing they can do with huge sets or out-of-work actors or stage crews. It’s not OK. “O’Gara conceded that theatre’s future appears ‘pretty dire.'” – American Theatre
Restaurants And Retail Are Closed, So What’s An Out-Of-Work Hollywood Artist To Do?
Podcast from home, of course. (Or work in video games or animation – those industries, perhaps unsurprisingly, are doing just fine.) – Los Angeles Times
What Did It Mean To Exhibit The Shroud Of Turin Online?
When the Archbishop of Turin, Cesare Nosiglia, announced the church would livestream the Shroud, things in the world of the mysterious sacred artifact got a bit weird. “Whether Nosiglia knows it or not, his decision to exhibit the Shroud of Turin virtually in real time during a global pandemic finds neat points of synchronicity with the history of the shroud’s rise to becoming Christianity’s most famous—and notorious—sacred artifact. It also forces us to rethink the limits and capabilities of digital mediation as life is exiled to virtual platforms.” – Slate
How Bad Is The State Of The Arts?
At least in one West Coast city – though truly, everywhere in the U.S. – “It’s pretty grim. … Everyone is experiencing the worst.” – Oregon Artswatch
Louis Johnson, Acclaimed Dancer, Choreographer, And Director, Has Died At 90
Johnson choreographed the film adaptation of The Wiz and won a Tony for his choreography for Purlie. He performed in both stage and screen versions of Damn Yankees, created works for the Alvin Ailey and for the Dance Theatre of Harlem, and inspired Jerome Robbins’ “Afternoon of a Faun.” He began the dance department at Howard University. Carmen de Lavallade, his costar from the 1954 musical House of Flowers, said “You know those hard rubber balls that bounce? He reminded me of that because he had such elevation, and he was quick and tough. He was low to the ground, but he could get off the floor, and he could jump high. My goodness, he was strong. … And there was always a sense of humor in his movement — the jauntiness that he had.” – The New York Times