African choreographers are inventing new forms of dance, but no one seems to be sure what to call them. “African dance is, by nature and tradition, both multidimensional and heterogenous. To suggest that choreographers should stay within the boundaries of some preconceived national dance expression is relativistic; to describe their work as derivative of American or European modern dance choreographers is elitist.”
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The Difference Between English And American Theatre Critics?
“The American drama critic, when he is not a failed playwright or actor, tends to be recruited from the ranks of journalists. The English drama critic comes to the “live theatre” after an immersion in upscale, university-bred culture. On some tacit level, play-going is always viewed as the more vulgar expression of Literature. But being better read and better educated than his American counterpart doesn’t always insure more sensitive responses. Too often larger, and largely irrelevant, issues becloud his judgment and his mind is constantly distracted by generalities which are part of a political agenda, an elaborately-wrought esthetic, or merely the offshoots of an over-stuffed intellect.”
Three Theatres Reach Finals Of Business Competition
“Three not-for-profit theatres have arrived at the final round of the third National Business Plan Competition for Nonprofit Organizations, a project of the Yale School of Management-The Goldman Sachs Foundation Partnership on Nonprofit Ventures.”
Berlin’s Cultural Comeback
“The toppling of the Berlin Wall in 1989 recast daily life, as the two halves of the country awkwardly reunited. A capitalist gentility took hold in the historic Scheunenviertel, a district of the old East Berlin, as courtyards along Sophienstrasse and elsewhere were tidied up and residential buildings converted into showcases for art. Today, what Prague and London were in the 90’s, Berlin has now become: a magnet for anyone who wants to live and work in a city that is humming with cultural energy and, by contrast with the rest of northern Europe, an insane bargain.”
Can Anyone Save ICA?
London’s Institute of Contemporary Art has changed leaders as well as leadership models. But observers say that what ICA needs is a complete change of direction, if it is to survive and compete in an increasingly competitive environment. “Caught between the huge ambitions of its founders, its limited resources, its militant amateurism and a vast expansion in the number of arts institutions competing for ideas, attention and resources, [ICA’s new leadership team] faces quite a task.”
Charlie Parker, 50 Years Later
Charlie Parker died 50 years ago. “It said “pneumonia” on the death certificate, but it might have been more accurate to have written “everything”. At that point he had advanced ulcers, dropsy and a bad heart, and his liver was gravely damaged. The influence of Charlie Parker has been so all-pervading that it’s hard to imagine music without it; his influence has reached places where it would scarcely be suspected.”
Humanities Meet Human Nature
Eileen Mackevich forced departure from the helm of the Chicago Humanities Festival has left the event at a crossroads. Mackevich, who co-founded the festival, was known for crafting a high-minded series that somehow never smacked of elitism, and her ouster was widely portrayed as a purely political move by her enemies on the board. Regardless of the circumstances, the festival will have its hands full as it tries to regroup under new leadership.
Do Art Dealers Have Too Much Impact On The Art World?
“The era from the Renaissance through to the mid-19th century was one of patronage. But then the capitalist intermediary, the dealer, took over. And as early as 1871 the prestigious periodical the Art Journal was lamenting their part: ‘The influence of the dealer is one of the chief characteristics of modern art… to him has been owing… the immense increase in the prices of pictures.’ The pervasive influence of the dealers hasn’t stopped since.”
Small Wonders
“Ever since its earliest days, limning (to give miniature painting its original name) has been the subject of a certain status anxiety. Practitioners and commentators have worried that it is not art at all, but itsy-bitsy hackwork. Or, conversely, that it is not an artisanal craft suitable for men, but merely a hobby for ladies. Or that it is an instrument of the court, full of pomp but not much else. Or, that it is small and domestic, a toy art. Yet alongside this anxious babble is the work itself, an unarguable four centuries’ worth of small marvels.”
The Hotel And The Munches
What kind of hotel has original Edvard Munch artwork on its walls? “Munch would seem the least likely artist to be at home among the chat and cheer of a posh restaurant overlooking Oslofjord, across the water from the village where he used to summer in the 1890s when he was painting The Scream and other images in his cycle The Frieze of Life. Yet here he is, watching over the business lunchers in the Hotel Refsnes Gods’ Restaurant Munch (no pun intended).”