“What has changed, and will continue to change, is the library’s appearance. The way the library looks today is drastically different from the way it did 50 years ago. Many of the visual cues of library-ness are vanishing.” See some of those visual cues in the slideshow.
Tag: 10.16.11
Elaine May, Ethan Coen and Woody Allen Walk Into A Theatre …
Slight verbal mayhem ensues when Elaine May interviews filmmakers and fellow playwrights Ethan Coen and Woody Allen. Of course, she could have made the whole thing up.
Why Invent An Artist, Or A Movement? A Hoaxer Explains
“The naivety of the art world is oft exposed and curiously celebrated, with hoaxers and fraudsters gaining the celebrated status of the anti-hero, perceptively beating the establishment at its own game. I can take pleasure from a good hoax, but more sinister applications leave you contemptuous, resentful and out of pocket.”
The Seduction Of Pop Versus The Demands Of Art: A Critic’s Legacy
Film critics A.O. Scott and Manohla Dargis debate Pauline Kael’s legacy – and sharply disagree on her writing. Scott: “A lot of people read her for the pleasure of disagreement, and the resentment she was able to provoke — in critical targets and rival critics — is surely evidence of power. “
Bohemias – And Bohemians – Don’t Just Spring Up Out Of Tax Breaks
USC urban planning prof Elizabeth Currid-Halkett takes a look at the history of arts districts in light of the NEA’s new funding initiatives. “Using art as a development tool is like working with quicksilver: it’s hard to know which path it might take, and a tough proposition when dealing with taxpayers’ money and foundation grants.”
A Story That Never Ends: Art Spiegelman And MetaMaus
“The book features hundreds of images, by Spiegelman and others; there are charts, page breakdowns, fascinating discussions of structure — but even more, the sense that the work itself was anything but inevitable, that it was an epic struggle to produce.”
Taking Over A Cultural (Experimental) Treasure, And Figuring Out How To Change It
As Mia Yoo takes over the famous experimental theatre company La MaMa from founder Ellen Stewart, she has the asset of history and downtown real estate. But “at the same time, she inherits a theater that often inspires more nostalgia than buzz.” What’s the next step?
A Conductor Slows Down, Just A Bit, But Keeps On Knitting
As the London Symphony Orchestra’s Colin Davis arrives at Carnegie Hall, he ponders what it means to lead an orchestra when he’s 84. “Conductors are paid to think, and that’s what the job should be about: sitting at home thinking, what is this piece? How can I set it up to sound its best and live on, because there’s nothing to replace it with just yet? This is what absorbs the mind. Especially in old age.”