ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

Today's Stories

The Art Of Memory: Forgetting Might Be A Tool For Remembering

Thinking of memory as an adaptive trait has a less obvious and perhaps more interesting corollary: “Viewed through this lens, it is apparent that what we often see as the flaws of memory are also its features.” - The New Yorker

Like, These Filler Words Have A Purpose

They call it “filler,” and it’s hard not to regard it as something bordering on the sublinguistic, an almost intolerable torturing of the magnificent instrument bequeathed to us by Shakespeare and his successors. - Hedgehog Review

Saxophonist David Sanborn, 78

Sanborn was known for luxurious saxophone melodies on songs including "Maputo," but his sound — informed by R&B and global funk— and his legacy extended far beyond his jazz roots. Often perceived as a "smooth jazz" artist, Sanborn loathed that term. - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

New Visions For Broadway Choreography

This broader vision of theatrical choreography is worth noticing and applauding. - The New York Times

Kathleen Battle Returns To The Met. Tim Page Reports

Ms. Battle was greeted with an immediate and prolonged standing ovation—the first of many—from her eager audience as she walked onstage in a black dress with a long, turquoise-colored wrap. - The Wall Street Journal

Alice Munro, 92

A spokesperson for publisher Penguin Random House Canada said Munro, winner of the Nobel literary prize in 2013, died Monday at home in Port Hope, Ontario. Munro had been in frail health for years and often spoke of retirement, a decision that proved final after the author's 2012 collection, "Dear Life." - Washington Post (MSN)

The Bedazzling Bookbinders Of TikTok

"The videos often begin with … a person ripping the covers off a book. They are not vandals, however; they are bookbinders, taking part in a growing trend for replacing the covers of favourite works to make unique hardback editions, and posting about their creations on TikTok and Instagram." - The Observer (UK)

The Underground World Of Collecting Movie Memorabilia

It used to be an underground hobby. People did it, but nobody talked about it—not only because it was embarrassing to admit that you coveted Charlton Heston’s slave collar from Planet of the Apes but also because, since such things were studio property, it was illegal to own them. - Wired

In Search Of Two Lost Shakespeare Plays

We'll never know what scripts by the great playwright disappeared forever because they were never printed and their manuscripts didn't survive. Yet there is solid evidence, including titles, of two currently lost Shakespeare plays. One of them, Love's Labours Won, was definitely printed, so there were once at least 200 copies. - Artnet

TV Advertising Is Dying

TV commercials have long stood as the cornerstone of modern advertising. This dominance was owed, in part, to TV’s capacity to reach vast and diverse audiences through ads that leverage sound, sight and motion to evoke emotional responses. These vast audiences aren’t tuning in anymore.  - The Wall Street Journal

When Real Estate Developers Actually Help Dance Companies (Yes, It Can Happen!)

"It's true that developers’ motives are rarely altruistic: Many have found tax and other benefits to pairing up with dance companies. And not all of these unusual developer–company marriages have been entirely happy. Still, participants in four recent partnerships say their deals have offered remarkably good solutions to longstanding problems." - Dance Magazine

Why Hasn’t The Seattle Symphony Chosen A New Music Director?

Krishna Thiagarajan, president and CEO of Seattle Symphony, said the Symphony’s search for Dausgaard’s successor began in earnest between one-and-a-half and two years ago, and today, it’s “really close announcing somebody.” - Seattle Times

Turkey Arrests Curator At American Museum Of Natural History For Allegedly Smuggling Dead Spiders And Scorpions

"Lorenzo Prendini, an expert on arachnids at the New York-based museum, was held by police at Istanbul Airport while allegedly trying to take about 1,500 samples out of the country. … Prendini said the police had disregarded permits from the Turkish government." - AP

The Art Of Collecting Classical Music Memorabilia

That signed Stravinsky photo will set you back £1,850. For a collection of eight lavishly illustrated Ballets Russes souvenir programmes or a copy of Porgy and Bess signed by George and Ira Gershwin, author DuBose Heyward and director Rouben Mamoulian – these cost £7,500 and £8,500 respectively. - Classical Music

Things Are Still Dire For Hollywood Scriptwriters A Year After The Writers Guild Strike

"The Times checked in with multiple writers of varying experience levels spanning film and TV. … All said that they or their colleagues have struggled to find work for at least 12 months amid a contraction that has led to unstable production and employment levels across the industry." - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

Vatican Museums Staffers File Class Action Suit Against Vatican

"The complaint, dated April 23 and made public this weekend in Italian newspapers, alleged that staff faced health and security risks due to cost-saving and apparent profit-generating initiatives at the museum, including overcrowding and reduced security guards to keep tourists at bay." - AP

Iranian Filmmaker Who Was Sentenced To Prison And Flogging Escapes Iran

"The Iranian film director Mohammad Rasoulof has secretly fled Iran after he was sentenced to prison amid pressure over his latest film, The Seed of the Sacred Fig, which is due to premiere at the Cannes film festival this week." - The Guardian

Katharina Wagner Renewed For Five More Years Directing Bayreuth Festival

"Wagner, who turns 46 on May 21 and is a great-granddaughter of Richard Wagner, became co-head of the festival in September 2008, along with her half-sister Eva Wagner-Pasquier. Katharina then took over as sole head in 2015." A business manager will be hired to keep the festival within budget. - AP

Climate-Protesting Vandals Go After The Magna Carta

"(Two octogenarians) entered the British Library in London on Friday morning and 'smashed the glass enclosure that surrounds the Magna Carta.' After this, the pair glued themselves to the document’s enclosure and held up a sign that said 'The government is breaking the law,' Just Stop Oil said." - CNN

Rudy Giuliani Loses His New York Radio Show, Probably For Good

John Catsimatidis, the supermarket mogul and perennial New York state Republican candidate who owns news/talk radio station WABC-AM, canceled Giuliani's one-hour weekday radio show after he refused to stop raising now-refuted claims about voting machines in the 2020 election. - Inside Radio

By Topic

The Art Of Memory: Forgetting Might Be A Tool For Remembering

Thinking of memory as an adaptive trait has a less obvious and perhaps more interesting corollary: “Viewed through this lens, it is apparent that what we often see as the flaws of memory are also its features.” - The New Yorker

Wilderness, A Concept

Rooted in the thinking of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, John Muir and David Brower, this idea influences people who love wild places as well as those who consciously avoid them. - Hedgehog Review

Feeling Uncreative? Put Down Your Phone

"I still don’t believe any important work is done on mobile, I think an excess of this is a very clear signal of a distracted team looking to fill time, look busy and feel important. You can’t do big things if you’re distracted by small things." - HotTakes

50 Years Ago, A Modernist Despaired Of What Had Happened To Utopian Visions

Pretty soon the majority of Americans, and of people in other, industrialized nations, will be living in vast suburban tracts … our old downtown areas will become tourist attractions, probably operated by Walt Disney Enterprises, and kept much cleaner and safer and prettier by the Disney people than our present bureaucracies maintain them now. - The Atlantic

How Notions Of Apocalypse Shape Our Challenges

We have found that discussions of the apocalypse unite the ancient and modern, the religious and secular, and the revelatory and the rational. They show how a term with roots in classical Greece and early Christianity helps us articulate our deepest anxieties today. - The Conversation

Kids’ Interest in Reading Is Dying. What’s The Reason?

At least among one audience, books are dying. Alarmingly, it’s the exact audience whose departure from reading might actually presage a catastrophe for the publishing industry—and for the entire concept of pleasure reading as a common pursuit. - Slate

Climate-Protesting Vandals Go After The Magna Carta

"(Two octogenarians) entered the British Library in London on Friday morning and 'smashed the glass enclosure that surrounds the Magna Carta.' After this, the pair glued themselves to the document’s enclosure and held up a sign that said 'The government is breaking the law,' Just Stop Oil said." - CNN

Melinda French Gates Leaves Bill And Melinda Gates Foundation To Start Her Own Philanthropy

She leaves the foundation, which she started in 2000 with then-husband and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, three years after the pair announced their divorce. Bill is giving her $12.5 billion from his own fortune to continue charitable work on her own. - AP

Will Glasgow Ever Restore Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s Burned Out School Of Art?

“People wept in the street when the magnificent Mackintosh building was nearly destroyed by two fires. So why, 10 years on and despite overwhelming support for restoration, is there still no plan—or funding—for its repair" - The Observer (UK)

Colson Whitehead Withdraws As Commencement Speaker After UMass Admin Call Police On Protesters

On Bluesky, the author wrote, “Calling the cops on peaceful protesters is a shameful act. ... I give all my best wishes and congratulations to the class of ’24 and pray for the safety of the Palestinian people, the return of the hostages, and an end to this terrible war.” - LitHub

The Formerly Missing Star Trek Enterprise Model’s Fate Will Be Decided In Court

“The starship model and its celebrated return is now the subject of a lawsuit alleging fraud, negligence and deceptive trade practice, highlighting the enduring value of memorabilia from the iconic sci-fi TV series.” - Los Angeles Times

A Secret List Of Abusers Is Set To Go Public At This Year’s Cannes Festival

“Rumours have been widespread … of the existence of a secret list of 10 men in the industry, including leading actors and directors, who have been abusive to women. The names, described as ‘explosive,’ are believed to have been sent anonymously to the National Centre for Cinema.” - The Observer (UK)

Why Hasn’t The Seattle Symphony Chosen A New Music Director?

Krishna Thiagarajan, president and CEO of Seattle Symphony, said the Symphony’s search for Dausgaard’s successor began in earnest between one-and-a-half and two years ago, and today, it’s “really close announcing somebody.” - Seattle Times

The Art Of Collecting Classical Music Memorabilia

That signed Stravinsky photo will set you back £1,850. For a collection of eight lavishly illustrated Ballets Russes souvenir programmes or a copy of Porgy and Bess signed by George and Ira Gershwin, author DuBose Heyward and director Rouben Mamoulian – these cost £7,500 and £8,500 respectively. - Classical Music

Katharina Wagner Renewed For Five More Years Directing Bayreuth Festival

"Wagner, who turns 46 on May 21 and is a great-granddaughter of Richard Wagner, became co-head of the festival in September 2008, along with her half-sister Eva Wagner-Pasquier. Katharina then took over as sole head in 2015." A business manager will be hired to keep the festival within budget. - AP

AI Can Now Create Music On Demand. What This Means For Music

"To me this highlights something sometimes missed about musical expression: AI doesn’t need to experience emotions and life events to successfully express them in music that resonates with people." - The Conversation

Needed: A Revolution In Music Metadata

Since the era of Napster, digital music has lacked robust metadata frameworks, leaving compositions vulnerable to misattribution and exploitation. I believe we urgently need comprehensive databases containing metadata. - Music Business Worldwide

A Crisis Of Leadership And Transparency At San Francisco Symphony

With the institution now in a state of crisis, the administration and the board face a crucial test: They must stabilize the organization, reassure worried donors like me and set a clear, positive direction forward. - San Francisco Standard

Turkey Arrests Curator At American Museum Of Natural History For Allegedly Smuggling Dead Spiders And Scorpions

"Lorenzo Prendini, an expert on arachnids at the New York-based museum, was held by police at Istanbul Airport while allegedly trying to take about 1,500 samples out of the country. … Prendini said the police had disregarded permits from the Turkish government." - AP

Vatican Museums Staffers File Class Action Suit Against Vatican

"The complaint, dated April 23 and made public this weekend in Italian newspapers, alleged that staff faced health and security risks due to cost-saving and apparent profit-generating initiatives at the museum, including overcrowding and reduced security guards to keep tourists at bay." - AP

AI Determines Renoir And Monet Works Are Almost Certainly Fakes

After downloading a variety of pictures, Carina Popovici discovered that a supposed Monet, titled Forest With a Stream and with a price of $599,000, was almost certainly counterfeit. - Artnet

Rethinking The Impact Of Impressionism At 150

As widely loved as Impressionism remains today, its overexposure has some rolling their eyes at museums now rushing for the opportunity to spotlight what skeptics tend to reduce to “pretty pictures” and “a plaything for rich people and fancy museums." - Artnet

Christie’s Cyberattack And A Jittery Art World

Over the next week, more than 1,700 modern and contemporary artworks are expected to come under the hammer through the three dominant houses – Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips. Between them, art estimated at $1.2bn to $1.8bn is expected to be auctioned soon. That’s a decline of roughly one-third over two years. - The Guardian

Art World Wonders: Where Is The Next Generation Of Art Collectors?

Given a 10 percent decline in the art market — from $30.2 billion in 2022 to $27.2 billion in 2023 — and general concern about the long-term financial health of museums, questions have become urgent regarding the next generation of art collectors and donors. - The New York Times

Like, These Filler Words Have A Purpose

They call it “filler,” and it’s hard not to regard it as something bordering on the sublinguistic, an almost intolerable torturing of the magnificent instrument bequeathed to us by Shakespeare and his successors. - Hedgehog Review

The Bedazzling Bookbinders Of TikTok

"The videos often begin with … a person ripping the covers off a book. They are not vandals, however; they are bookbinders, taking part in a growing trend for replacing the covers of favourite works to make unique hardback editions, and posting about their creations on TikTok and Instagram." - The Observer (UK)

King Lear Had A Happy Ending For 140 Years

OK, bring back the 18th century: "Cordelia gets a romance. ... She gets her love, Edgar. King Lear gets to rule. The bad people are punished. The good people get rewarded." - Happy Dancing

Colm Toibin On Writing An ‘Intimate’ Sequel To Brooklyn

“Tóibín is a master of silence and shadows; his subjects are abandonment, loss and denial – the things not said, the feelings not acted on.” - The Guardian (UK)

Alice McDermott’s Writing Mantra

“It is a piece of sage advice, a writer’s mantra, that I have made good use of through the years and that I now pass on to you: Ah, fuck ‘em.” - LitHub

The 500-Year History Of English Dictionaries

The earliest were Renaissance glossaries. “These forerunners did not set out to define every known word. Instead, they set a narrower goal of annotating technical terms circulating in particular professions.” Then things heated up. - Hyperallergic

The Underground World Of Collecting Movie Memorabilia

It used to be an underground hobby. People did it, but nobody talked about it—not only because it was embarrassing to admit that you coveted Charlton Heston’s slave collar from Planet of the Apes but also because, since such things were studio property, it was illegal to own them. - Wired

TV Advertising Is Dying

TV commercials have long stood as the cornerstone of modern advertising. This dominance was owed, in part, to TV’s capacity to reach vast and diverse audiences through ads that leverage sound, sight and motion to evoke emotional responses. These vast audiences aren’t tuning in anymore.  - The Wall Street Journal

Things Are Still Dire For Hollywood Scriptwriters A Year After The Writers Guild Strike

"The Times checked in with multiple writers of varying experience levels spanning film and TV. … All said that they or their colleagues have struggled to find work for at least 12 months amid a contraction that has led to unstable production and employment levels across the industry." - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

Rudy Giuliani Loses His New York Radio Show, Probably For Good

John Catsimatidis, the supermarket mogul and perennial New York state Republican candidate who owns news/talk radio station WABC-AM, canceled Giuliani's one-hour weekday radio show after he refused to stop raising now-refuted claims about voting machines in the 2020 election. - Inside Radio

Every New Streaming Bundle Is A Reminder Of What We’ve Lost

“If bundles are back, why did we ever give up cable in the first place" - Slate

Nerdy, Unscripted Voice Actors Are Going Big By Playing Dungeons And Dragons For The World

The team that started Critical Role years ago would be shocked by their "transmedia kingdom of novels, comic books, animated series and original games, as well as a new membership program for fans launched Thursday,” all as D&D goes way more mainstream. - Washington Post

New Visions For Broadway Choreography

This broader vision of theatrical choreography is worth noticing and applauding. - The New York Times

When Real Estate Developers Actually Help Dance Companies (Yes, It Can Happen!)

"It's true that developers’ motives are rarely altruistic: Many have found tax and other benefits to pairing up with dance companies. And not all of these unusual developer–company marriages have been entirely happy. Still, participants in four recent partnerships say their deals have offered remarkably good solutions to longstanding problems." - Dance Magazine

The Choreographer Of Bridgerton

"I’d rather take people to a place where they have to be very brave through a terminology that they’re used to, rather than a terminology that scares the pants off them. I would ask them what would they like to nonverbally portray to the audience." - Dance Magazine

Why Gregory Dolbashian Up And Moved His Dance Company To Dallas

"In the four years since making the seemingly counterintuitive decision to leave his native New York for Dallas — moving his DASH Ensemble dance company along with him — the former child actor, born risk-taker and master networker has become a go-to collaborator on the Dallas dance scene." - The Dallas Morning News (MSN)

She’s Been Lighting Contemporary Dance In Downtown Manhattan For 46 Years

Carol Mullins, now 85, has been designing and operating the lighting for Danspace Project since 1978. "When people ask her why she has stayed there so long, she replies that she’s still learning, 'and there’s a new set of problems every couple weeks.'" - The New York Times

Silent Disco And What We’ve Learned About The Power Of Moving Together

So what does the “silent disco” phenomenon tell us about dance? Researchers have used it to study social dynamics, finding that it interferes with the social bonding effects of dance. Silent disco may even help us to better understand the evolution of musicality and our rhythmic abilities. - The Conversation

In Search Of Two Lost Shakespeare Plays

We'll never know what scripts by the great playwright disappeared forever because they were never printed and their manuscripts didn't survive. Yet there is solid evidence, including titles, of two currently lost Shakespeare plays. One of them, Love's Labours Won, was definitely printed, so there were once at least 200 copies. - Artnet

Three Chances To Play A God

"If you’re a performer, you have that little spark of magic that makes you watchable, right? When you play a god, it’s like, how do you tap into that part of yourself and turn it way up, and let that be okay?" - American Theatre

One Of The Great Black Broadway Musicals Premiered 50 Years Ago And Then Disappeared. Why?

John McWhorter makes the case for Raisin — a 1973 adaptation of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun with book by her former husband, Robert Nemiroff (with Charlotte Zaltzberg), music by Judd Woldin and lyrics by Robert Brittan — and suggests a plausible explanation for why it was forgotten. - The New York...

A New Beckett Festival Is Coming To Liverpool

Co-curated by actor Adrian Dunbar, Beckett: Unbound 2024 is "a multiarts festival that juxtaposes familiar pieces by the Dublin-born author with new responses to his work. After Liverpool, the productions will transfer to Paris." - The Guardian

A Play About Sexual Assault Is Being Used To Train Judges

Playwright Suzie Miller's Prima Facie, a one-woman show about a defense attorney in sexual assault cases who is then raped by a colleague, starred Jodie Comer in the West End and on Broadway. A video of the play is being provided to judges in Northern Ireland who handle sexual assault cases. - BBC

After Eight Years Of Work, Broadway’s Palace Theatre Has A Beautiful, New, Very Blue Renovation

"The venue, owned and operated by the Nederlander Organization, will house Ben Platt: Live at the Palace for a limited engagement beginning May 28, 2024, and later this year will welcome the Broadway premiere of Tammy Faye." During the project, the entire theatre was lifted 30 feet in the air. - Broadway Direct

Saxophonist David Sanborn, 78

Sanborn was known for luxurious saxophone melodies on songs including "Maputo," but his sound — informed by R&B and global funk— and his legacy extended far beyond his jazz roots. Often perceived as a "smooth jazz" artist, Sanborn loathed that term. - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

Kathleen Battle Returns To The Met. Tim Page Reports

Ms. Battle was greeted with an immediate and prolonged standing ovation—the first of many—from her eager audience as she walked onstage in a black dress with a long, turquoise-colored wrap. - The Wall Street Journal

Alice Munro, 92

A spokesperson for publisher Penguin Random House Canada said Munro, winner of the Nobel literary prize in 2013, died Monday at home in Port Hope, Ontario. Munro had been in frail health for years and often spoke of retirement, a decision that proved final after the author's 2012 collection, "Dear Life." - Washington Post (MSN)

Iranian Filmmaker Who Was Sentenced To Prison And Flogging Escapes Iran

"The Iranian film director Mohammad Rasoulof has secretly fled Iran after he was sentenced to prison amid pressure over his latest film, The Seed of the Sacred Fig, which is due to premiere at the Cannes film festival this week." - The Guardian

Tony Nominee Sarah Paulson Enjoys Playing Tough – Some Might Say Unlikeable – Characters

"Some actors avoid playing objectionable people, concerned about being pigeonholed into villainhood, or that in the audience’s impressionable minds, their character’s likability might blur with their own. … Paulson said those kinds of thoughts haven’t occurred to her." - The New York Times

John Leguizamo Says Rejection Made Him The Actor And Activist He Is Today

"For clearly one of the hardest workers in show business with one of the longest resumes I've ever seen, it's hard to believe that rejection is still ever-present for Leguizamo. ‘They were never going to pick me — no matter how talented I was,’ he said.” So he’s going it on his own. - Salon

AJ Premium Classifieds

Premier Vocal Ensemble Seeks Dynamic VP of Marketing & Communications

As a member of the Master Chorale’s leadership team, the VP of Marketing and Communications (VPMC) plays the lead role in a broad range of deadline-driven and detail-oriented projects designed to extend the Master Chorale’s influence.

Do You Want More Audiences and Donors?

2 Arts Marketing, Development & Ticketing Conferences to Choose From! Deadline: May 17

Director of Special Events

Tennessee Performing Arts Center is seeking an experienced special events director to join our team.

Executive Director – Voices of Ascension

The Executive Director will collaborate with the Artistic Director and program chairs to ensure successful program delivery and with the Board of Directors

Executive Director – Opening Act

The Executive Director will steward the organization with a love for theater and arts education combined with a talent for strategic leadership.

Executive Director – Ballet Idaho

The Executive Director will work in a shared leadership relationship with the Artistic Director with both positions reporting to and working collaboratively with the Board of Directors.

AJClassifieds

Engagement Manager, Moss Arts Center at Virginia Tech

Are you passionate about arts education for youth? Join the Moss Arts Center’s energetic, creative programming team!

Outreach Coordinator-Dance Data Project®

Founded in 2015, Dance Data Project® (DDP) is a global resource for the study and analysis of major national and international dance companies, venues, and choreographic awards.

Executive Director – Wenham Museum

The Wenham Museum seeks an experienced Executive Director to lead its team and advance its mission of preserving and sharing local history and culture.

Vice Dean for Finance and Administration, The New School

Imagine, develop, and implement overall vision, strategy, and tactics for the College along with the Dean’s Council, faculty, and staff.

Will Glasgow Ever Restore Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s Burned Out School Of Art?

“People wept in the street when the magnificent Mackintosh building was nearly destroyed by two fires. So why, 10 years on and despite overwhelming support for restoration, is there still no plan—or funding—for its repair" - The Observer (UK)

Print Isn’t Dead As Christie’s Relies On Print Catalog After Cyberattack Takes Control Of Website

The auction house said that “the marquee sales that account for nearly half of its annual revenue would continue, despite the company having lost control of its official website last Thursday in a hack that is testing the loyalty of its ultrawealthy clients amid its spring auctions.” - The New York Times

A Secret List Of Abusers Is Set To Go Public At This Year’s Cannes Festival

“Rumours have been widespread … of the existence of a secret list of 10 men in the industry, including leading actors and directors, who have been abusive to women. The names, described as ‘explosive,’ are believed to have been sent anonymously to the National Centre for Cinema.” - The Observer (UK)

One Of The Great Black Broadway Musicals Premiered 50 Years Ago And Then Disappeared. Why?

John McWhorter makes the case for Raisin — a 1973 adaptation of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun with book by her former husband, Robert Nemiroff (with Charlotte Zaltzberg), music by Judd Woldin and lyrics by Robert Brittan — and suggests a plausible explanation for why it was forgotten. - The New York...

Have American Universities Forgotten What, And Whom, They’re For?

For years, the numbers of fully-employed faculty have fallen as universities use poorly-paid adjunct professors instead. Yet tuition prices keep soaring. Why? Because the number of paid administrators keeps soaring, too. Maybe students and faculty should be eliminated so universities can be run by and for their bureaucrats? - The Atlantic (MSN)

Why The American Youth Symphony Orchestra Collapsed So Suddenly

"This is a cautionary tale of performing-arts nonprofits, of board burnout, of soaring costs in a post-COVID world, of the precarious state of philanthropy. The primary cause of death was that people — donors, audiences, players and board members — appeared to have taken for granted an institution they loved." - Los Angeles Times...

From The American Youth Symphony’s Ashes, A New Orchestra Quickly Arose

"Conductor Anthony Parnther and the Musicians at Play Foundation speedily formed a new training orchestra, Civic Orchestra of Los Angeles, and scheduled an inaugural concert for April 28, on the same weekend that AYS was supposed to play the final concert of its season." - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)

The Supposedly Centuries Old Society Seeking To Refocus Our Attention Spans

That’s “the Order of the Third Bird—supposedly a secret international fellowship, going back centuries, of artists, authors, booksellers, professors, and avant-gardists. Participants in the Order would converge, flash-mob style, at museums, stare intensely at a work of art for half an hour, and vanish.” - The New Yorker

The Power Of Student Protest Art

Those dismissing the protests as incoherent "should stand back and consider the iconography. … The students may be making inconvenient or even irrational requests of the institution and the country at large, but they are framing those demands as part of a continuum of American values." - Washington Post

UCLA Faculty Protest At The Hammer Museum Gala

The faculty "protested Saturday night outside the UCLA Hammer Museum’s celebrity-heavy gala, calling for amnesty to be granted to pro-Palestinian students arrested on campus this week and demanding that Chancellor Gene Block resign immediately." - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

Frank Stella, Master Of Artistic Reinvention, Has Died At 87

"Stella was a dominant figure in postwar American art, a restless, relentless innovator whose explorations of color and form made him an outsize presence, endlessly discussed and constantly on exhibit." - The New York Times

The Asian American Literature Festival Returns, Big – Without The Smithsonian

The collective putting it on could use an equivalent funder, but they don’t trust the Smithsonian after last year’s sudden, unexplained cancellation weeks before the kick-off. - Washington Post (MSN)
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