Michael Rosen blames the Reformation – truly. That time period was “when they thought the only way you could be virtuous was to be modest and serious, so humour was pushed aside, seen as frivolous … even dangerous. And that seeps through into education today, so there’s a slight fear of subversiveness or laughter, as well as a dismissal of it. And for some of us, humour is a means of survival.” – The Guardian (UK)
Author: ArtsJournal2
How To Keep On Writing (Or Making Other Art) When It Feels Like The Planet Is Coming Apart
Writer Jenny Offill: “The question I was thinking about in this book … was, Can you still just tend your own garden once you know about the fire outside its walls?” – The New York Times
This Map Shows Where Every Best Actress, Actor And Director Were Born
Cool use of big data, no? Real shocker though: “When you look at the birthplaces of all the winners together, you can see the Academy tends to favor American-born talent, with Europe as a close second.” – Fast Company
The Director Of The Cooper Hewitt Has Resigned
Caroline Baumann’s resignation was abrupt on Friday, February 7, and the Smithsonian Design Museum in Manhattan would give no reason for her departure. “During her tenure as director, she oversaw the $91 million renovation of the museum’s home at Fifth Avenue and East 91st Street, which aimed to make its Gilded Age mansion more inviting to modern-day visitors.” – The New York Times
Working To Broaden, And Subvert, The Story Of Overlooked People In Hollywood
Frieze Los Angeles goes up in the Paramount Pictures backlot, opening on Valentine’s Day. Sounds cozy. But, says a Frieze co-curator, “Going into 2020, we didn’t simply want to go back to the backlot and be purely celebratory.” That’s why “the curators have commissioned artists to engage the histories that Hollywood frequently overlooks.” – Los Angeles Times
Robert Conrad, Who Came To Fame In ‘Wild, Wild West,’ Has Died At 84
Conrad’s biggest part came as Jim West in a blend of James Bond and Westerns. His character “was dispatched on various secret missions on behalf of the government of President Ulysses S. Grant. West had his own personal train for traveling, an arsenal of quirky gadgets — exploding billiard balls, a pistol on a track hidden up his sleeve — and a partner (played by Ross Martin) who was adept at outlandish disguises.” – The New York Times
Fleeing War, Finding Refuge In Dance
In Burkina Faso, hundreds of thousands of refugees from neighboring countries are trying to find peace and a future in the capital. One of them, an 18-year-old dancer who’s been on the run since 2012, “knows that people like him wait years or decades to leave war zones — if the opportunity ever arrives. He must stand out to have a chance.” – The Washington Post
The Costume Designer Who’s Been Nominated For – And Won – As Many Oscars As Meryl Streep
Sandy Powell, nominated this year for The Irishman (which she finds odd since it’s mostly men in “normal clothes”), says that a large part of her job is helping actors maintain and improve their posture. She says also that the awards are “terrifying. It’s absolutely terrifying. You sit there and hope your name doesn’t get called.” – BBC
At The Spirit Awards, The Last Pre-Oscars Ceremony, ‘The Farewell’ And ‘Uncut Gems’ Win Big
There was little overlap with the Oscar nominees as The Farewell took Best Picture and its older star Zhao Shuzhen won the best supporting actress award. Adam Sandler won for his role in Uncut Gems, and gave a “speech in which he joked about ‘a few weeks back, when I was quote, unquote snubbed by the Academy’ and recalled winning a best personality award in high school rather than best looking. The actor declared, ‘the Independent Spirit Awards are the best personality awards.… Their handsome good looks will fade in time while our independent personalities will shine on forever.'” – Los Angeles Times
The Quilters And Knitters Mapping Climate Change
Turns out that “climate crafting has come into its own,” according to cross-stitchers, knitters, and other crafters around the world, whose visual representations of temperature and other data are stirring discussion. One: “I pictured my project as a personal memo of the temperatures of 2020. … However, the further I go the more I can see the impact it can have. I am angry and sad every time I have to stitch a house with a color that shouldn’t be there. … It makes me want to show it more and more so that people can see.” – Slate