“What Pompeii presents is thus the ruin of a reconstruction of a ruin, an intellectual nonsense. The visitor sees 20th-century concrete and steel rusting and collapsing. A re-erected column in the House of the Faun looks fit to fall again and is propped by scaffolding. Replicas abound. Ugly temporary roofs are jammed on top of courtyards, stripping them of ancient atmosphere or modern purpose. Only the streets seem fit for purpose.”
Tag: 09.30.11
Why Doesn’t Australian Aboriginal Art Have Wider Appeal?
“Aboriginal art promoters and enthusiasts, Australian and foreign, have tried repeatedly in the past two decades to overcome the indifference of the fickle, shifting contemporary culture establishment and stage breakthrough shows that would put the indigenous tradition on the map: regularly, a landmark exhibition is held, word spreads, then ebbs away, and all the optimism dies.”
When It Really Is All About The Play
“Sometimes the play really is the thing, to the exclusion of almost everything else, most notably in comedies that explore the joys, perils and humiliations of mounting a show and the sublime self-centeredness of those involved in the process.”
Just How Freely Should A Translator Render Homer?
“In various versions of Homer’s nearly 3,000-year-old epic poem The Iliad, the Trojan warrior Hector is referred to as ‘glorious,’ ‘flashing helmeted,’ and ‘man-killing.’ But he’s probably never been described as a ‘son of a bitch’ before.”
What’s the Point Of Being A Playwright?
“Theater, after all, is no longer a central part of the American cultural conversation, the way it was when Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams walked the earth.” Even Tony Kushner can’t support himself just from writing for the theater. But Terry Teachout “can think of one excellent reason: You meet the nicest people.”