Steve Lazarides also recalls the early days, including the day Banksy strapped a helium-filled sex doll to a McDonald’s-branded balloon and released it into the sky. Many different police officers, he says, saw the stunt, “thought we could do something about this, but 1,000 tourists are going to take our picture and we’re going to look like absolute dicks, so they just drove off.” – HuffPost
Author: ArtsJournal2
Dancing To, And Around, Bach [VIDEO]
In The New York Times‘ dance coverage, this week’s Instagram video hashtagged #SpeakingAboutDance features solos, duets, trios, and ensemble work to pianist Simone Dinnerstein’s performance of The Goldberg Variations. – The New York Times
No, Reading’s Not For Comfort, Says An Irish Author
Sinéad Gleeson, an Irish Book Award-winning author, says that reading offers connection and perhaps an escape – unless you’re slogging through the “great American” canon. – The Guardian (UK)
The Grammys Tend To Be Pale, Male, And Somewhat Stale
Can the Recording Academy’s new plan change that? – Los Angeles Times
Hungary’s Theatres Protest Orban’s Culture War And Attempted Control
Actors and audiences alike participated in protests against Viktor Orban’s new law around who controls theatre funding. “The change comes as Mr. Orban’s government has become increasingly authoritarian and eroded democratic institutions. It has widened its control over the news media and education, and has given allies roles in overseeing the country’s cultural institutions. And after winning a third term last year, Mr. Orban set the tone for a battle over the arts, saying, ‘We must embed the political system in a cultural era.'” – The New York Times
Britain’s 70-Something-Old Nightclubbers Who Just Won’t Quit
Oh, well, why not dance, listen to music, and party into your 70s? After all, Mick Jagger still does it. “For those who do keep dancing, it can be much more than just a night out. What starts as an act of teenage transgression becomes radical in middle age.” – The Guardian (UK)
Hallmark Disappears Ads With Same-Sex Kissing; Zola Pulls All Its Ads; A Boycott Campaign Gathers Steam
Zola, the wedding planner site that was running the ads, was not OK with the channel’s response to the anti-gay freakout from a notoriously homophobic group. “‘All kisses, couples and marriages are equal celebrations of love and we will no longer be advertising on Hallmark,’ Mike Chi, Zola’s chief marketing officer, said in a statement.” (And #BoycottHallmark has been trending on Twitter for hours.) – The Hollywood Reporter
The Impossible Body Standards Of The Modern Superhero
Superman was “too chubby” to play James Bond, Kevin Hart (The Rock’s “non-ripped” co-star) starts at the gym at 5 every morning, and movie men are partnering, i.e. getting sweet but addicting brand money from, a variety of “fitness” products, companies, and routines. “It is a worrying state of affairs when the measure of an actor is how hard they work on their bodies rather than how good they are at, you know, acting.” (Uh, yes, the women in these movies probably have a thing or two to say about that as well.) – The Guardian (UK)
Here’s Something For Our Era: A ‘Digital Dance Company’ In North Texas
There’s dance, but then there are podcasts, and then there’s the international dance film festival as well. – Dallas Morning News
Parasite Racks Up Another Best Picture Win, This One At The Los Angeles Film Critics Awards
Justin Chang is prepared for the inevitable backlash over some of the choices the LAFCA made. Prepared, but not pleased: “I’ve always been struck by the recurring phenomenon of LAFCA and other critics’ groups getting attacked online for the elitist snobbery of their allegedly out-of-the-box choices. To accuse us of snobbery, I think, gets the situation exactly wrong; championing work that falls outside the usual awards-season conversation, informed by the fact that we spend 52 weeks a year watching and writing about new movies from all over the world, strikes me as a pretty good definition of egalitarianism in action.” – Los Angeles Times