Author: ArtsJournal2

We Can Learn How To Fight For Arts Funding From New York In The 1970s

One idea – among many – is to talk about money: “Indeed, the late ’70s saw the emergence of the idea that theatre might not be a drain on the city’s coffers, but actually help fill them—a school of thought that still holds today, with theatre as an economic engine on a par with tech (something has to replace manufacturing, right?).”

No, The Author Of ‘Goodnight, Moon’ Was Not The Old Lady Whispering Hush

This was Margaret Wise Brown: “When she received her first check for writing, she didn’t buy necessities or even champagne, but an entire cart full of flowers. She had dramatic and tumultuous love affairs with both men and women. She was ambivalent about her audience, famously telling a reporter, ‘I don’t particularly like children.'”

A String Quartet’s Place In The Political Upheaval Of Our Time

Mark Sved on the Kronos Quartet: “The Age of Reason ideal expanded throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, but with the string quartet still a reasonable vehicle for great composers’ inner musical thoughts and feelings. Then along came Kronos. In the last quarter of the 20th century, the Bay Area outfit revolutionized everything in string quartet country and beyond.”

Known Unknowns, Or, How The Fossils We Don’t Have Are As Important As Those We Do

Evidence of absence: “Interpreting fossils that aren’t there comes with its own peculiar challenges, and these gaps and ghosts that haunt the fossil record are a big part of palaeontology’s allure. In dinosaur palaeontology, sample sizes are often small, and the challenge is to find creative ways to extract information from fossils. One of the most daring moves of all is to begin treating the fossils we don’t have as data.”

Top AJBlogs For The Weekend Of 01.22.17

Who’s responsible for The Donald? The Founding Fathers.
My cousin Jonathan’s witty Protest Banner Last Friday Donald Trump was inaugurated as President of the United States. Across the world this weekend millions, mostly women, have marched to protest the event. It is already … read more
AJBlog: Plain English Published 2017-01-22

Reflections on a Half Century
His mother was a model. He was a 26-year-old officer driving around the jungle, giving bonus pay to his fellow Marines. Fifty years ago this week, the vehicle he was in rolled over a … read more
AJBlog: CultureCrash  Published 2017-01-21
Replay: Kenneth Clark on the fragility of civilization
In his epilogue to Civilisation, telecast by the BBC in 1969, Kenneth Clark talks about his “biases” and “beliefs” about Western civilization, and discusses its fragility and future prospects: (This is the latest in … read more
AJBlog: About Last Night Published 2017-01-20
Charles Lloyd Delivers A Bob Dylan Inaugural Message
Saxophonist Charles Lloyd has made a cover version of Bob Dylan’s protest song “Masters Of War.” Lloyd and Blue Note Records timed the release of the single to coincide with today’s inauguration of Donald J. … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2017-01-20

Eugene Opera Suspends Current Season, Tries ‘Town Halls’ To Figure Out What’s Next

“The Eugene Opera completed two of its four planned productions for what was billed as its 40th anniversary season. … The remainder of the season — ‘West Side Story,’ planned for March, and ‘La Tragedie de ­Carmen,’ planned for May — have been canceled.”

Indie Movie Theatres Are Somehow Having A Cultural Revival

Frankly, it’s a bit surprising, but here’s the deal: “From themed weddings to live-streamed operas and interactive movie nights, indie theatres are reinventing themselves as the new entertainment hubs on the high street – eating into the market share of the multiplex giants and in-home rivals such as Netflix and Amazon Prime.”

When A Writer Says She Wants To Be Famous, The Lit World Has Questions

Ottessa Moshfegh: “I think that’s what I’m interested in, this question of whether or not we are allowed to be other people. Are we allowed to change? Do we give ourselves permission to grow? Are we even capable of making those kinds of decisions? Is there a will, or are we just being pushed around by our own personalities, just fucked to be who we are?”