Author: ArtsJournal2

Giant Outdoor Mass Art Productions Aren’t That Risky And Shouldn’t Be Banned

Or so says the director of an arts production company in the UK. “It’s a brave new world out there, and we’re all going to have to adapt. There are no limits to what our artists, technicians, actors, creators, musicians, dancers and designers can imagine to bring back live outdoor experiences for audiences stupefied by the isolation of the omnipresent screen.” – The Guardian (UK)

Now Is The Textbook’s Time To Shine

Remote learning isn’t all about what articles and resources teachers can cobble together from the internet – especially when a lot of students can only get online occasionally, or in the parking lot or on the steps at the public library. “A good textbook is clear, appealing, and organized in a predictable way. It’s not just paragraphs of text, but it also includes extratextual features such as reference materials, answer keys, sidebars, and key terms to aid students in their comprehension.” Now to update the racist ones … – Slate

University Of Oregon Library Says It Will Cover ‘Oppressive’ Murals

The murals were, as one versed in the history of white supremacist rhetoric in the U.S. might guess, created in the 1930s. In one, “Development of the Sciences by artist Albert C. Runquist, white researchers are on the top level, while Indigenous people are on the bottom, using basic stone tools.” Another refers to white people “preserving our racial heritage.” – KLCC (Oregon)

Alan Alda’s Hawkeye Is A Flawed Hero With Something To Teach Us Now

In 2020, some things to remember about M.A.S.H., and especially Hawkeye: “Hawkeye taught us that when your world is disintegrating, it is not only possible but utterly necessary to crack a joke — to create a counterpoint to what would otherwise be overwhelming. In his oscillations between laughter and gut-wrenching anguish, I recognized a shadow version of myself.” – Los Angeles Times

A Classical Music Host Says Music Is Keeping Her Alive After Emergency Brain Surgery

Clemency Burton-Hill works as the creative director at WQXR, New York’s classical station, and has been a BBC presenter, including a lot of Proms coverage. In early 2020, she had a massive brain hemorrhage and emergency surgery. As she regained consciousness, she heard a familiar piece and, she says, made some internal choices. “Music is the opposite of despair. It was going to be worth the fight.” – BBC

The Studio Behind This Year’s Oscar-Winning Animated Short Are Trying To School Hollywood

Lion Forge is a Black-owned animation studio, the only Black-owned animation studio. For founders and staff, that makes its mission different. “It’s representation on the screen. It’s representation on the producing side of things. But then also, and I think what’s always missed, is, there needs to be representation in the executive teams that have the power to be able to push the content through.” – FastCompany

Reshooting A Zombie Movie During A Pandemic Isn’t Actually That Easy

Comedian Tig Notaro is replacing disgraced actor Chris D’Elia in Army of the Dead, but how exactly does that play out during quarantine? It doesn’t. “The film will mix full reshoots of Notaro acting opposite a partner and solo shoots of her using a green screen and CGI to incorporate her into the existing film. Production will commence as soon as it’s safe to do so.” – Los Angeles Times

A Lockdown Q&A With Yo-Yo Ma

How he feels playing to an online audience: “You can’t touch, you can’t hug, you can’t shake hands. But what music does, its sound moves air molecules. So when air floats across your skin and touches the hairs of your skin, that’s touch. That’s the closest thing to someone actually touching you. It’s as if you were miniaturized and you’re in the middle of a lake. But that lake is a bowl, and that vessel is holding you. That’s what music can do.” – Washington Post