“[The] United States in the first half of the 20th century is where industrial designers went mainstream. They put their stamp on telephones, refrigerators, typewriters, cars, and a variety of mass-produced goods. We are used to famous fashion designers branding otherwise undistinguished products, but these designers were different: They combined bold aesthetics with real engineering know-how.”
Tag: 10.12.11
‘Middlebrow’ – Is The Word Still An Insult?
David Haglund: “While unabashedly lowbrow art has long ceased to be disreputable, has the term ‘middlebrow’ also lost its sting? It may be a tougher category to rehabilitate: Neither quite one thing or another, ‘middlebrow’ suggests something mushy and unsure of itself – and this in-between-ness evokes status anxiety far more than the art on either extreme of the spectrum.”
In This Day And Age, Should Great Theatre Be Short And Tweet? (Sorry)
Alexandra Coghlan: “We are, as we’re forever being reminded, the iPod generation – restless and easily bored, seeking our fulfilment in snack-size portions. By rights this should be the era of the short play, our theatres filled not with three-hour Shakespeare but with more immediate, quick-fix theatrical highs, and there are signs that things are changing.”
Finalists Announced For National Book Awards
“The winners in fiction, nonfiction, poetry and young people’s literature will be announced at a ceremony in Manhattan on Nov. 16, hosted by the actor and author John Lithgow.”
Warning: UK Theatres Could Be In Danger Of Redevlopment
“Government planning proposals would put theatres at risk of being redeveloped into commercial properties if the scheme is implemented, Arts Council England has warned.”
Cuts To BBC Radio Could Be Devastating
Maintain quality? That will be very hard given the proposed cuts in budget. This will dismantle a national treasure.
Il Volo – The Boy Band That Seduces Opera
“For every knee-jerk comparison to the Three Tenors – even though Gianluca is technically a baritone – there has been another to New Jersey boy band the Jonas Brothers.”
The Science Of What We’re Paying Attention To
“The worlds of art, politics and business are attempting to find out what we really think about things by using new technology that, it claims, can track our emotions and attention.”
Is Writers-Writing-About-Writers A Bad Idea?
‘Peer reviewers’ tend to be gentler than full-time critics, particularly if they know each other – does this mean we should never write about each other?
This Museum Likes Having A Painting Alleged To Be Nazi Loot
“For many museums, the prospect of a United States attorney swooping in to seize a painting on loan from a foreign institution on suspicions that it had been looted by the Nazis would be a potential public relations and diplomatic nightmare. For the Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science in Tallahassee, Fla., it has been a fund-raising opportunity.”