“An extraordinary cartoon drawn by Salvador Dalí for Walt Disney in 1946 is now being screened for the first time in 57 years at film festivals around the world. “Destino”, a six-minute cartoon that was abandoned by Disney before its completion, has already won the grand prize for best short film at the Melbourne International Film Festival.”
Blog
Iraq Needs An Arts Plan
Iraq’s artists are having a tough time. “Funding the arts may seem like a luxury in a country where many families still lack dependable access to clean water. But if the US is serious about building a model Middle Eastern democracy in Iraq, say some experts, it’s going to have to rebuild the country’s intellectual infrastructure as well as its buildings and roads.”
Giant Pickles & Bicycle Helmets: This Is London?
As a rule, London does not do skyscrapers. Or it didn’t, until recently. But with a new wave of British culture is coming a new look to the London skyline, and one of the centerpieces is a building which is best described as a 40-story pickle. “The architect is Norman Foster, a man famous for his audaciousness. He designed London’s city hall, an eye-catching if utterly weird structure that looks like a bicycle helmet attacked by a madman wielding a large, dull ax.”
Dammit, People, Put Some Clothes On!
David Hinckley is getting sick of the whole nudity thing. Don’t pretend you don’t know what he’s talking about, either: at some point in the last few years, it seems as if the entire pop culture universe just decided to get naked, or damn near naked, and strut around for all the world to admire. It’s getting old, and Hinckley would like everyone to put their clothes back on, please. Now.
Jump In Bookstore Chain Sales
Major bookstore chains posted another big gain is sales for the quarter ended Nov. 1. Sales “rose a healthy 8.7%, to $1.84 billion. It was the largest increase for the chains in a non-Potter quarter in at least two years.”
Timelessness vs. Timeliness
Some theatergoers can only roll their eyes at the lengths to which some contemporary directors will go to “update” classics like Shakespeare for the modern era. But, says director Michael Bogdanov, such modernizations are absolutely necessary for the classics to remain relevant to today’s audiences. “By removing the barriers that exist between the language and the audience, by allowing them to identify with the characters clearly, by associating the events with contemporary politics, I allowed the plays to breathe.”
The Paradox Of Emotive Performance
You would think that a performer who is truly moved by the music s/he is playing would be exactly the kind of performer an audience would want most to hear. But in reality, emotional connections can be both a blessing and a curse for performers, who must battle “trembling limbs, nerves, [and] memory problems. All these can intrude between the musician and the music, and between the music and the listener. Some of the most outwardly emotional music requires enormous control.”
Is Canada Ready For Its Theatrical Close-Up?
Canadian fiction has long since come of age on the world stage, but what about Canadian drama? “If its meta-narrative is to be taken at face value, the defining wave of English Canadian theatre in the late 1960s and early seventies has morphed from telling local stories into building a national identity, with international recognition viewed as an added bonus, if it happens.” But now, a series of international partnerships and a wave of productions in Europe suggest that Canadian playwrights are finally being elevated to global status.
Assassination As A Cultural Flashpoint
“Had the assassination of John F. Kennedy not happened 40 years ago today, it’s hard to imagine the writing of Six Degrees of Separation, the making of Bonnie and Clyde, the career of novelist Don DeLillo, the apocalyptic music of the Doors or the popularity of ‘Grand Theft Auto’ and other violent interactive games… After Kennedy’s death, the world became bleaker, stranger somehow. The culture — the arts it produced and the audiences that absorbed them — turned suspicious, became less respectful of government, more prone to what some would call ‘paranoiac flights of fancy,’ flights that were alternately sinister and playful.”
The Explosion of Online Radio
With traditional over-the-air radio fast becoming just another tool of the global corporate music industry, music fans are looking to new technologies to replace the predictable playlists of their local radio stations. The phenomenon of Internet radio, in particular, is becoming increasibly popular, thanks to its easy accessibility and diversity of content. In addition, a savvy webcaster can personalize the content of his stream for listeners in specific regions, which can result in a global webcast that sounds more local than your local radio station.