“When Vancouver-based Adbusters presented the idea to the world, it did so in the form of a poster that featured a dancer posed on the shoulders of the Wall Street bull statue, a foggy clamour of demonstrators behind her. The poster asked the question, ‘What is our one demand?’ Activist groups seized on it, as did the hacktivist group Anonymous, and a collective began to form.”
Author: ArtsJournal2
After Leading A Revival Decade, RSC Leaders Step Down
At the revived, re-funded and redeveloped Royal Shakespeare Company, artistic director Michael Boyd and executive director Vikki Heywood say a decade is long enough, and it’s time to move on. What will happen to the RSC in London?
Got A Bullying Problem? Watch A Little Shakespeare To Solve It
When the Colorado Shakespeare Festival floated the idea of the Bard as an anti-bullying technique, no one knew it would take off. Now, research shows that a little Twelfth Night plus a little critical discussion may equal a drop in bully behavior. Lead on, Malvolio!
A 3D Dance Documentary? Yes, By Taking Dance To The Streets
“The brilliance of Wenders’ near dialogue-free movie is that he not only has the company dancing during rehearsals and performances, but he takes the dreamlike potency of their movement outside into Wuppertal’s industrial landscape, onto the streets, into the factories and into open-faced coal pits.”
The Crazed Secondary Market May Eat Young Artists Alive
“The secondary (or resale) market has historically relied upon dead or ageing artists for its supply, but the heat around contemporary art has fuelled a new phenomenon: an emerging resale market for artists in the early stages of their careers.” But will it destroy those careers even as it feeds on them?
The Seduction Of Pop Versus The Demands Of Art: A Critic’s Legacy
Film critics A.O. Scott and Manohla Dargis debate Pauline Kael’s legacy – and sharply disagree on her writing. Scott: “A lot of people read her for the pleasure of disagreement, and the resentment she was able to provoke — in critical targets and rival critics — is surely evidence of power. “
Just How Vast Is Literature? Well, Big Enough For A New Prize
When the shortlist for the UK’s Man Booker prize was announced, some literary critics and authors thought the list was “too readable.” The disgruntled forces’ new Literature Prize might be provocative – but bring it on, says a member of the Booker committee.
Bohemias – And Bohemians – Don’t Just Spring Up Out Of Tax Breaks
USC urban planning prof Elizabeth Currid-Halkett takes a look at the history of arts districts in light of the NEA’s new funding initiatives. “Using art as a development tool is like working with quicksilver: it’s hard to know which path it might take, and a tough proposition when dealing with taxpayers’ money and foundation grants.”
Love It Or Loathe It, Fox News Has Massively Changed Journalism
The Fox News mastermind, Roger Ailes, wanted to make news that doubled as entertainment. Whatever else Fox has done – damaged journalis or altered the political course of the country, some claim – it’s certainly succeeded at Ailes’ goal.
A Story That Never Ends: Art Spiegelman And MetaMaus
“The book features hundreds of images, by Spiegelman and others; there are charts, page breakdowns, fascinating discussions of structure — but even more, the sense that the work itself was anything but inevitable, that it was an epic struggle to produce.”