“Instagram is absolutely shaping the theatre industry,” says Jay Armstrong Johnson, who recently played Raoul in Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. Johnson notes that Instagram has become “a necessary app, a connecting device” not just for fans and those without access to the arts, but also “to other artists, which has often led to new projects and/or collaborations.” – American Theatre
Blog
Could “Parasite’s” Oscar Win Change The Way Movies Are Distributed Internationally?
International filmmakers and distributors are now eying Bong Joon Ho’s triumphs with hope and hunger: hope that Parasite‘s success will open the door to global cinema, giving other non-English-language movies shots at the world’s No. 1 film award; hunger for the sort of global box office returns that, with few exceptions, have been beyond the reach of films made outside Hollywood. – The Hollywood Reporter
Carlos Acosta’s Big Plans For Birmingham Ballet
The new artistic director says: “I want the level of the dancers to be raised dramatically, and the repertoire I’m bringing is crucial. I want a company that is strong, that is not predictable, that is energetic, that takes risks, but stays true to tradition at the highest level. I’m up for big crazy ideas. I’m never going to say no to anything that’s new and bold.” – The Guardian
Why Anonymous Is A Bestselling Author, And Why That’s A Problem
“For readers, the anonymous author holds a simple and compelling promise. Here is someone who – by concealing their identity – can reveal the complete and shocking truth. … [Yet] this is truth-telling predicated, after all, on a lie – perhaps the biggest lie possible, the denial of who you are. There is plenty of room for fiction to sneak in under the cover of the original fib.” – The Guardian
“Wasteful & Unnecessary” Spending: Trump Dumps Arts & Humanities, IMLS, Public Broadcasting (again)
Don’t be lulled into false complacency, art-lings, on the theory that Congress will again resist the President’s call to ax support for NEA, NEH, IMLS and CPB. Contact your Congressional representatives. – Lee Rosenbaum
What AI Will Never Be Able To Do
Will an AI system ever deliver a translation of a literary text, say, that is not only accurate but also sensitive to meaning, unless it has a genuine understanding of what the story is about? But what would such understanding amount to? AI researchers like to talk about “human-level” intelligence… Yet we don’t even know what that means unless the system is conscious of itself; certainly it won’t be attained simply by making systems excel at the imitation game. – Prospect
How Dorothea Lange Changed America
“[Her work] did nothing less than heighten the stakes of what we expect from a photograph, expectations that persist. … She was an artist under the guise of a journalist and an activist under the guise of a dispassionate civil servant, and it would be impossible to think of any of these roles today without her influence.” – T — The New York Times Style Magazine
New Study Contests When Easter Island Collapse Happened
The research, which appears in the Journal of Archaeological Science, contests the accepted timeline that the Easter Island society was already in decline by the year 1600 and its massive stone statues left to fall into disrepair. Conducting radiocarbon dating on 11 sites on Easter Island, the authors determined the timeline of each monument’s construction. Their findings indicate that Easter Islanders were still actively building new Moai figures, and maintaining existing ones, up until at least 1750. – Artnet
What’s An ASL Interpreter’s Most Difficult Job? Stand-Up Comedy
Obviously, the challenges of rendering timing, tone of voice, and wordplay into a silent medium are daunting. Worse (since comedians aren’t exactly known for respecting boundaries) is when a comic starts directly interacting with the interpreter. – Vulture
When Karl Ove Knausgaard Met Anselm Kiefer
“Aha, a Viking!” he shouted and gave a chuckle. I said it was an honor to meet him. He waved it off and said something to Forelli in German, turned to me and, speaking English, said that we would soon be seeing each other for lunch. Then he sat down on his bicycle and rode off. – New York Times Magazine