Top AJBlogs For The Weekend Of 01.28.18

Weekend Extra: Meet Laila Biali
Among the many Canadian musicians attracting the attention of listeners outside Canada is the pianist and singer Laila Biali. She was born in Vancouver, B.C., in 1980 and trained in classical piano … read more
AJBlog: RiffTidesPublished 2018-01-27

Replay: Noël Coward receives a Tony
Cary Grant presents Noël Coward with a special Tony Award in 1970: (This is the latest in a series of arts-related videos that appear in this space each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) … read more
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2018-01-26
AAMD’s Midwinter Agenda: Auction-House Presentation, but No Deaccession Deliberation?
In yesterday’s post, I predicted there would be “a lot of thinking about the unabated deaccession crisis at the midwinter meeting of the Association of Art Museum Directors, which begins next Monday in San Antonio”… …or … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrlPublished 2018-01-25
Thinking about the unthinkable
The latest episode of Three on the Aisle, the podcast in which Peter Marks, Elisabeth Vincentelli, and I talk about theater in America, is now available on line for listening or downloading. In this month’s … read more
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2018-01-25

The Politically Outspoken Director Of The Queens Museum Steps Down

The board, Laura Raicovich said, was not very happy with the decision to close the museum for 2017’s presidential inauguration. Then “she recently proposed to the board that the museum — in collaboration with other institutions — consider becoming a kind of sanctuary space that connects immigrants with social services. ‘It was made very clear to me that that was not something that was of interest,’ she said.”

A Day In The Life Of A TV Dancer

Eight hours of rehearsal with cameras blocking every move and choreographers telling them what angles look best, then on set with two hours of hair and makeup, and – for a two-minute on-screen dance – three to four hours of takes. Plus the bacting, of course (that’s “background acting,” for those not in the know).

The Nominated Musicians We Won’t See At The Grammys

The New York Times‘ Jon Caramanica: “The seeming arbitrariness of the Grammy nominating process sometimes provides left-field gifts: unexpectedly excellent nominees in categories that almost certainly will not be televised in prime time. Here is a selection of 17 under-heralded artists as worthy, if not more so, than their better-known compatriots.”

What Happens When You Publish A Novel

Mira T. Lee: “I always told myself that once I’d written the book I wanted to write, anything else would be gravy. But suddenly I find myself plagued by feelings of insecurity and inadequacy, everything from ‘Will my sales meet my publisher’s expectations?’ to ‘Why didn’t that reader like my book?’ I thought I was old enough to be over all that ego-type stuff, but it’s a constant battle to stay grounded.”

Murals Mean As Much As Marches (And We Need Both)

Héctor Tobar: “We need to bring the ambitions, the foibles and the soul of immigrant America into the collective American mind. And for that we need television shows and movies, and more novels, poems, paintings and songs. High art and low. We need stories told in Spanglish and Korean slang, and erudite English, and in bright and moody colors by artists who represent the sons and daughters of the African, Latino and Asian diasporas.”

An Artist Who Followed Her Own Dream

Dora De Larios “singlehandedly willed her career into existence” in the 1950s. “Where others went minimal, she composed rich mosaics of intricate color and form. She created work inspired by pre-Columbian pottery and ancient Japanese funerary sculpture, yet her work felt resolutely Modern. … ‘I really didn’t care what others were making.'”