The history of ideas, in fact, suggests the opposite… The assumption that the last 50 years or so have marked some unprecedented break with a previous age of truth reflects both an inattention to history and an attitude that might be labeled “pessimistic narcissism,” since it yet again focuses attention on the generation that came of age in the 1960s and ’70s. — The Nation
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So The Artist Has Misbehaved. Do S/He And The Work Now Have To Disappear?
Lionel Shriver: “For reasons that escape me, artists’ misbehavior now contaminates the fruits of their labors, like the sins of the father being visited upon the sons. So it’s not enough to punish transgressors merely by cutting off the source of their livelihoods, turning them into social outcasts, and truncating their professional futures. You have to destroy their pasts. Having discovered the worst about your fallen idols, you’re duty-bound to demolish the best about them as well.” – Harper’s
TV Is Exploding Right Now – And No End In Sight
“I haven’t seen a dumbing down of anything – at least not yet. Looking at new projects, you have to think about who is writing it and who is going to be involved. But I see the rising competition as a positive thing. It’s good for actors but I think television as a whole has been enriched.” – The Guardian
One Of The Biggest Technological Breakthroughs Of The Past 50 Years? Weather Forecasting
“A modern five-day forecast is as accurate as a one-day forecast was in 1980,” says a new paper, published last week in the journal Science. “Useful forecasts now reach nine to 10 days into the future.” – The Atlantic
Hollywood Needs Saving. This Year’s Sundance Has Some Ideas About That
In 2019, Sundance is arguably more mainstream than ever. Many options at the festival this year are the kinds of projects major studios used to make all of the time—crowd-pleasing comedies, true-story adaptations, and teen romances. With Hollywood now consumed by brand management, major franchises, and mega-budgeted blockbusters, independent producers have become the caretakers of the midsize movie. – The Atlantic
How An Out-Of-Work Ballerina In The Great Depression Became One Of America’s Most Famous Women
The young lady née Helen Gould Beck found herself stranded in Chicago when the ballet company she was touring with collapsed, and the only job she could get was as a stripper at a nightclub in the Loop. She ended up as a star attraction at the 1939 World’s Fair, known for her fan dance and her “bubble dance” with a 65-inch balloon (and nothing else) — an act she toured with for years afterward as Sally Rand. — The Oregonian
Bang on a Can composer Julia Wolfe ignites the New York Philharmonic
The new Julia Wolfe multi-media oratorio Fire in my mouth commemorates the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in a spirit that can make critics cringe preemptively. How many socially responsible pieces have implored us to weep, pray and feel guilty to what amounts to a pathos-laden film score? Instead, this piece was a breakthrough, something perfectly in step with 2019, with smartly-channeled passion that carries the promise of speaking to listeners well beyond our time. — David Patrick Stearns
Monet In Series — A Love Story
When it comes to paintings by Monet, there are many to love. But I especially appreciate his series (poplars and Rouen cathedral are probably my favorites). — Judith H. Dobrzynski
How Good is the Hood? Dartmouth’s Expanded Art Museum Reopens
After a much delayed $50-million renovation and expansion, Dartmouth College’s 65,000-object Hood Museum of Art at last reopened on Jan. 26 with six new art galleries, three new study galleries and three classrooms equipped with “the latest object-study technology.” — Lee Rosenbaum
9 Deformed Sonnets for My Old Friend
The artist Norman Ogue Mustill was an extreme dissenter. Nothing pleased him more than reaming out the human race. His collages stopped you dead with their vicious satire.. But Mustill is little known, his work unseen, his praise unsung. — Jan Herman