A thousand, or thousands of, amateurs at keyboards can help astronomy, math and a whole bunch of other fields. But they won’t produce the works of Shakespeare. Can collective genius ever address art or literature? Maybe, says author Michael Nielsen.
Author: ArtsJournal2
Sisters’ Chat Leads To Ballet San José’s Liaison With American Ballet Theatre – And A Lot Of Drama
“Jane Austen this isn’t, although the plotline is worthy of a novel or a ballet movie — Black Swan, maybe, on overdrive.”
The Tweet Seats Ruin Performances, And Harm Audiences
“Having a point doesn’t seem to be important in today’s text-as-you-view entertainment scene. It’s all about the experience and the moment.” And how many people are just playing Angry Birds, anyway?
Too Much Information! And What We Can Do About That
“Even before the invention of the printing press – when the distribution of information depended upon teams of scribes working with pen and ink in monastery libraries – the fear of too much to know, too much material too widely and swiftly disseminated, was already threatening to overwhelm our orderly sense of understanding.”
Why Liberals Like ‘Downton Abbey’ – Think Wish Fulfillment
What could possibly interest liberal Americans in a costume drama about British nobility before the Great War? Start with the complex women. Plus, it reminds people of “West Wing.” Really.
Forty Years Of Award-Winning Music For Williams And Spielberg
“When Johnny played me the ‘Jaws’ score on the piano, I thought he was pulling my leg,” Spielberg said. “And he played it again. And then he played it until I stopped laughing.”
Architects Face Up To Facts: Humans Still Want To Live In Trees
Surveying new buildings and public spaces designed to look like the forest, an architecture critic wonders, “Why should tree metaphors appeal to architects? Why should they be useful, even good, for people?”
Hey NY Phil, Did You Know We Have Living Composers – And Could You Please Program Some?
NY Philharmonic music director Alan Gilbert might be winning awards for programming contemporary composers – but is that accurate? Zachary Woolfe: “A sustained, all-out dedication to new music is a necessity to keep the Philharmonic from becoming an exercise in nostalgia. It should be the central part of the orchestra’s mission, but it is an area conspicuously underserved.”
Theatre Can Trump T.V., Even When We’re Talking About War
Kate Wenner used to reach millions of people every night by producing ’20/20.’ Now she’s a playwright with a play about war veterans that draws maybe 99 people a performance. And that’s OK with her.
Bill Moyers Un-retires, But Not On PBS. What’s That All About?
“Some public television executives, who would not publicly comment on a sensitive issue, said they believed that PBS did not want to realign itself with Mr. Moyers, a longtime target of some conservatives, as it was fighting to keep its federal financing.”