Dazzle was, of course, the very essence of the Steiner sound. The magisterial tone, the cosmopolitan content, the very assumption that the reader was as intimately familiar with the history of European literature and philosophy as he was: it all went to form the “aura” of his criticism. Names were dropped like confetti, sprinkled from such a height that at times they inevitably missed their target. But he was interested in big pictures, not small incisions. – Times Literary Supplement
Tag: 03.10.20
This New Museum Is The First Entirely State-Funded Arts Institution In Africa
“[The Palais de Lomé in Togo] is a remarkable achievement for one of the world’s poorest countries, where almost 70 percent of the rural population lives below the global poverty line. … The new museum is also an unexpected signal of cultural openness by the historically repressive Togolese government.” – Frieze
Marcelo Gomes Gets First Full-Time Position Since Resigning From ABT
The Brazilian-born star will become, along with Sofiane Sylve of San Francisco Ballet, principal dancer and ballet master of the Semperoper Ballett in Dresden. In late 2017, Gomes was pressured to resign from ABT over what the board chairman called a “highly concerning” accusation of (unspecified) sexual misconduct in 2009 that was unconnected with the company or anyone in it; Gomes has since worked freelance as dancer and choreographer, most notably with former ABT colleague Julie Kent at The Washington Ballet. – Pointe Magazine
Nelson Leirner, One Of Brazil’s Most Influential Artists, Dead At 88
“Pop culture imagery and canonical works from art history were frequent subjects of Leirner’s painting and collages; think Velázquez’s court ladies swarmed by flies or a football stadium packed with Incredible Hulk cartoons and Power Rangers. Little in the zeitgeist was safe from Leirner’s ironic translation, which was rendered with a keen attention to composition and color.” – ARTnews
Robots Will Change Everything
The day is coming when practically anything that a human can do—at least anything that the labor market is willing to pay a human being a decent wage to do—will soon be doable more efficiently and cost effectively by some AI-driven automated device. If and when that day does arrive, those who own the means of production will feel ever increasing pressure to discard human workers in favor of an artificially intelligent work force. They are likely to do so as unhesitatingly as they have always set aside outmoded technology in the past. – Boston Review
Clarinetist Bill Smith, 93
Known as Bill Smith to the jazz world and William O. Smith in classical circles, Mr. Smith served on the University of Washington faculty from 1966-1997. He was a founding member of the Dave Brubeck Octet, which in 1947 pioneered a blend of classical music and jazz later known as Third Stream and had a profound influence on the development of West Coast, or “cool,” jazz. – Seattle Times
Why The Novel Is Being Superceded
The novel represented a maturation of storytelling—the adulthood of fiction, taking the reader into the interior of the human person. Now, the form is on its deathbed. Lingering readers are seeking in it something other—diversion, entertainment—than what the readers of Jane Austen or the Brontes, Dickens or Kafka, were seeking back in the day. – First Things
‘The Infectious Pestilence Did Reign’: Shakespeare And The Plague
“‘Plague was the single most powerful force shaping his life and those of his contemporaries,’ wrote Jonathan Bate, one of his many biographers. … But the plague was also Shakespeare’s secret weapon. He didn’t ignore it. He took advantage of it.” – Slate
Broadway Producers Cuts Ticket Prices For Hit Shows To $50
Starting at noon Thursday, remaining seats for five of the hottest tickets on Broadway will be going for a fraction of their normal price, selling for just $50 apiece at all performances through March 29. Producer Scott Rudin today announced the extraordinary measure of establishing the deep-discount flat rate for all five of his shows, all of which have been playing to sold-out houses or close to it. – The Hollywood Reporter
Trey McIntyre Comes Back To The Company Where He Learned To Choreograph
“During his time at Houston Ballet as choreographic apprentice in 1989, and later as choreographic associate from 1995 to 2008, he created seven ballets … Although the company has returned to his popular full-length Peter Pan several times over the years, and In Dreams in the 2017/18 season, [Pretty Things] is McIntyre’s first new work for the company in nearly two decades.” – Dance Magazine