Actually, people of the 1950s (yes, those 1950s) were much less likely to be reading than we are. Why do we like to think there was a reading golden age – and that that golden age isn’t now?
Author: ArtsJournal2
Thomas Kinkade, “Painter of Light,” 54
The self-described “painter of light,” who made millions off his paintings and associated home furnishing products, died of natural causes in his California home. “His artistic philosophy was not to express himself through his paintings like many artists, but rather to give the masses what they wanted: warm, positive images.”
Indie Bookstores And Their Awesomeness: The List
How much do independent bookstores (at least the ones in Boston) beat the chains and Amazon? Let us count the ways.
Arsenal Footballers (Soccer Stars) Learn Ballet Moves [VIDEO]
Yes, it’s for an advertisement, and the men aren’t super with the barre work – but it’s fun anyway.
In Case You Missed It, SAG and AFTRA Have Actually Merged
“After two failed attempts and 80 years of on-and-off efforts, the members of SAG and AFTRA have voted to merge. The new organization, called SAG-AFTRA, was born Friday afternoon.”
What Do We Want From A Theatre Review? (Well, Who’s This ‘We’?)
“What do we actually want from a theater review? Here’s a catalogue of desires from a few sides.” (Add your own in the comments.)
Want To Learn More About Literature? Put Those Earbuds In, And Start Walking
“Billed as an East Village poetry walk, the project, ‘Passing Stranger,’ is a site-specific audio tour that guides listeners through the history of the neighborhood’s interconnected writers and shakers, with interviews, archival recordings and recitations of poems. Narrated by the filmmaker Jim Jarmusch, with music by John Zorn, it is a literary and geographic keepsake, a portrait of a bohemian community that still resounds.”
British Actors Call For Withdrawal Of Israeli Theatre From Festival
British actors, including Emma Thompson, have asked the Globe Theatre to remove an Israeli theatre troupe from an upcoming Shakespeare festival because of issues around Palestinians and Israeli settlers.
There’s A Mind-Body Gap – Or Rather A Mind-Brain Gap
A new London exhibit on the brain “confronts its visitors with the gulf between our hard-won knowledge about the form of the brain and our as-yet-meagre understanding of its function.”
Artists Withdraw From New Orleans Gallery Over Movie Shoot
At the Contemporary Arts Center, several New Orleans artists withdraw from a group show after the executive director agrees to close the exhibit for a week for a film shoot. It “seems that visual art gets bumped aside really quickly,” one artist said.