Online communities build campaigns around “correcting” what they see as artistic errors. “A depressingly large number of these campaigns are defined by grievances against women and minorities, and by fury at Hollywood for attempting to make long-standing franchises sustainable by amplifying their inclusiveness.” – The Daily Beast
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New York City Ballet Moves To Get Alexandra Waterbury’s #MeToo Lawsuit Against It Dismissed
“‘Finlay’s sexual relations with (Waterbury) were not even remotely connected to his employment as a dancer for the Ballet,’ declared the court documents filed Wednesday. ‘Indeed, Plaintiff does not and could not allege that anything about Finlay’s job as a dancer required him to engage in a sexual relationship with her. … Even if the Ballet knew that Finlay had engaged in [‘partying and alcohol use’], they hardly suggest knowledge of a propensity for the distribution of intimate photographs alleged in the Complaint.'” – New York Daily News
Does Voice Dictate Gender In Music?
Elspeth Franks is just one of an increasingly visible number of trans singers in the classical world who are challenging long-accepted notions about the intersection of gender and music. Operatic and choral singers, long segregated into rigid categories by vocal range, tonal qualities, body type and even simply gender, have begun to push back. – San Francisco Chronicle
The Leviathan Of Piano Concertos
“At over seventy minutes, [Busoni’s Piano Concerto of 1904] may be the longest concerto ever written for any instrument. It may also be the most challenging. It demands nearly superhuman stamina and virtuosity of its soloist, who plays almost continuously throughout and whose part is fiendishly difficult.” – New York Review of Books
“Workism” – The Idea That Work Defines Us (And It’s Making Us Miserable)
The economists of the early 20th century did not foresee that work might evolve from a means of material production to a means of identity production. They failed to anticipate that, for the poor and middle class, work would remain a necessity; but for the college-educated elite, it would morph into a kind of religion, promising identity, transcendence, and community. Call it workism. – The Atlantic
Art Acne: When Paintings Develop Pimples
“These are happening on works of art throughout the generations — since oil paint was created,” says a Smithsonian conservator. They’ve appeared on paintings ranging from Rembrandt to van Gogh to Chagall to O’Keeffe. Turns out they’re made of soap — and no, that’s not because anyone has tried to wash the canvases. – Smithsonian Magazine
Publishers Fight Libraries Over Scanning Books
“If you thought the controversy over library book scanning ended with the Google case, think again. This week the National Writers Union became the latest organization to join the outcry over a practice known as “controlled digital lending” (CDL), by which a library (or a nonprofit, like the Internet Archive) scans a print copy of a book they have legally acquired, then makes the scan available to be borrowed in lieu of the print book, using a DRM-protected one user/one copy model, and, crucially, taking the corresponding print book out of circulation while the digital copy is on loan.” – Publishers Weekly
Ex-Professor Sues ACT For Racial Discrimination
Stephen Buescher, former head of movement for the San Francisco theater’s MFA program and choreographer for several of its mainstage productions, says that he was underpaid for his work and denied access to the building on several occasions, along with other factors that “created a hostile, discriminatory work environment for him and for other employees and students of color.” – San Francisco Chronicle
Breakdancing Could Become An Olympic Sport
“The head of the planning committee for the Paris 2024 games, Tony Estanguet, announced today that break dancing was one of the four new proposed events. Its inclusion is contingent upon approval from the International Olympic Committee, which is expected to make a decision after the conclusion of the Tokyo 2020 games.” – Dance Magazine
Ken Nordine, Creator Of ‘Word Jazz’, Dead At 98
“You may never have heard the Ken Nordine name, but there is no doubt you have heard him. … [He was] one of the few people in the history of radio to use the medium to its fullest potential, rather than as a forum for blather, confrontation, inanities and noisy nonsense. He made a kind of vocal music as the voice of thousands of commercials and as the force behind a new art form he created and called ‘word jazz.'” – Chicago Tribune