Time was you couldn’t get into college without doing well on the standardized tests. Now you almost can’t get out of grade school without excelling at them. Education reform in the US has meant a battery of new standardized testing, and the stakes are high for both schools and students. “Unsurprisingly, test-prep companies see the law, and especially its provision for federal tutoring vouchers, as a vast new opportunity. ‘The market for test preparation is on fire’.”
Tag: 12.02
Wouldn’t You Like To Be A Philosopher Too?
Not so difficult. Here are 12 easy tips to get you started… “Think of a matter of great importance to life. Reduce it unequivocally to three concepts. Enumerate them. Analyze each concept by distinguishing two independent notions in each. Continue with further analysis (preferably speculative) until you have developed a maze of distinctions that bear no resemblance to any topic of any importance to life at all.”
End of Abstraction?
Abstract art is so imprinted on our conciousness that it seems odd to question its ongoing viability. Yet Hilton Kramer believes there are important reasons that “the place occupied by abstract art is now so radically diminished not only on the contemporary art scene but in cultural life generally… I mean its power to set the kind of agenda that commands the attention of new and ambitious talents—and at times, indeed, even the emulation of established talents.” Can that even happen anymore?
Why The New York Times Needs Another Architecture Critic
Architecture is one of the most important arts. Unfortunately it doesn’t get a lot of thoughtful attention in the world’s daily press. The New York Times’ Herbert Muschamp is a vigorous and effective critic. But he’s only one voice – and one with a very specific point of view. “Another talent could write in parallel with Muschamp, counterbalancing aggression with desire, particles with waves—someone to cover the subject when he cannot or isn’t interested, one who will reach outside Muschamp’s territory and complete a column when he does not. The time is right; the subject of design, on everyone’s lips, deserves the commitment.”
Digital Art Accepted – Now What?
Digital art is finally gaining acceptance and finding its way into museums. But “the very existence of a market for digital work, with pieces priced as high as $150,000, is creating conflict among practitioners in a medium that was, until recently, a proud part of the artistic fringe. The ability to ‘objectify’ digital art and make it as palpable, and salable, as a sculpture or painting is raising questions as to whether a genre based on the community-focused ethics of open-source computer programmers has lost the edge that made it exciting in the first place.”
How To Stand Out In A Crowd (Maybe):
“I have heard estimates that there are over 10,000 living composers in the United States today, which is ironically a number larger than most audiences for the majority of new music concerts and recordings. So, how to stand out from the crowd and be noticed? A good start is to be included in a book.” The question is – which book, and where does it count?
Do Dumbed-Down Audiences Require Dumbed-Down Opera?
Opera audiences have grown, sure, but are they any smarter? No one would agree with that. So “does deepening musical illiteracy really affect the health of opera?” Matthew Gurewitsch talks with four of America’s top opera managers about the problems of having to pay attention to audiences that may not know much about your art…