Art

Using Social Media To Preserve The Uyghur Language — And Keep It Up To Date

Uyghur, a Turkic language that uses the Arabic alphabet, has about 10 million native speakers, most of them in the Xinjiang province of northwestern China. With the Chinese Communist Party engaged in a campaign to suppress the Uyghur minority and their language (including scrubbing Uyghur websites based in China from the Web), a WeChat group of academics, translators, and other professionals called “Tilchilar” (Uyghur for “linguists”) is doing crucial work to document the language and make sure ...
Tags: Art, China, Chinese communist party, Words, Xinjiang, 02.20.21

Clarion

Someone’s calling, maybe me. C. C sharp? D? My scalp tightens, which makes me wonder where I am, and who, too. But this voice today is a shell’s, of a conch from a Pyrenees cave, assigned as Paleolithic, 17,000 years old. – Jeff Weinstein
Tags: Art, Ajblogs, 02.20.21

Jeff Alexander Shares the Importance of Live Orchestral Music

The President of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra speaks about the importance of live, in-person concerts and the day-to-day leadership of a major symphony orchestra. – n
Tags: Art, Ajblogs, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, 02.20.21, Jeff Alexander Shares the Importance

Los Angeles Group Plays Its Way To Diversifying The Orchestra

The Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles is the largest Black-majority orchestra in the country. But it doesn’t want to be alone. The ICYO founder’s mantra “is that there needs to be an inner city youth orchestra in every city where there’s an NFL team.” – NPR
Tags: Art, Music, NFL, Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles, 02.20.21, Los Angeles Group

How Boredom Is Changing Us

Another way the pandemic has had an impact on the economy is by making people bored. By limiting social engagements, leisure activities and travel, the pandemic has forced many people to live a more muted life, without the normal deviations from daily monotony. The result is a collective sense of ennui — one that is shaping what we do and what we buy, and even how productive we are. – The New York Times
Tags: Art, Ideas, 02.20.21

In Canada, The Supreme Court Is Facing A Major Case About Comedy And Freedom Of Speech

At issue: Whether the comedian Mike Ward harmed a disabled teenager by mocking his disability, calling him “ugly,” saying that the youth would die soon and if he didn’t, the comedian would drown him. Comedians in Canada are not laughing about this case. One asked, “Will I need to have my every comedy routine reviewed by a lawyer, or think before every joke whether I am going to find myself in front of the Supreme Court?” – The New York Times
Tags: Art, Supreme Court, Canada, Issues, Mike Ward, 02.20.21

If You’re A Special Effects Artist, You Might As Well Make Pandemic Isolation More Fun

Peter Quinn, VFX artist, has been making homemade special effects movies, and posting them online. “The whole quarantine and lockdown aspect, I find that useful because it means I’ve got all this spare time and I’ve got the gear, I’ve got the lights … all I need is to think of a little idea I can do without leaving the house.” – BBC
Tags: Art, Media, Peter Quinn, 02.20.21

Bust Of Black Member Of Lewis And Clark Expedition Appears In A Park In Portland

York was enslaved by William Clark and remained enslaved after the expedition returned. The memorial bust, which is on a pedestal where a statue of a conservative newspaper editor used to stand until it was torn down last summer, was a surprised to Portland’s Parks & Recreation Department. The city’s Parks Commissioner, Carmen Rubio: “We should regard this installation for both the important piece that it is, as well as a much-needed reminder to city leaders to hasten our work of rooting out wh...
Tags: Art, Portland, Visual, Lewis, Clark, Parks Recreation Department, William Clark, Carmen Rubio, 02.20.21

Director Lee Daniels Says His Movies Are Independent Because Hollywood Studios Don’t Fund Black Films

You’d think the director of Precious, The Butler, and more could get funding. But … “‘Studios will give you about $10 to make a black movie. I’m exaggerating, but you get the point,’ he says.” – The Guardian (UK)
Tags: Art, Media, Lee Daniels, Butler, 02.20.21, Hollywood Studios Do n't Fund Black Films

Where Did All Of Hollywood’s Women Go?

In 1917, Warner Bros. had eight films directed by women. In 2017, it had … one. What the heck? Well, for one thing: “Female-focused stories that perform well at the box office are repeatedly seen as flukes rather than proof that audiences want films about women. … Every summer they would write these stories like these films were sleeper hits – Eat Pray Love was a sleeper hit, and The Devil Wears Prada and Mamma Mia. How are they still surprised by this, year after year?” – Irish Times
Tags: Art, Hollywood, Media, Prada, Warner Bros, 02.20.21

The Latest Front In A Music Copyright Battle: Superhero Cartoons

Members of De La Soul were, suddenly, characters on Teen Titans Go!, where in one episode, “the plot revolves around a fraught real-life issue: the ownership and availability of the group’s back catalog.” And honestly, that’s wild (and could bring change). “A major network show tailored for kids can get away with including more didactic lessons and explanations than … countless documentaries and online entreaties read by their fans would.” – Slate
Tags: Art, Issues, 02.20.21

The Music And Life Lessons Of Piano Teacher Cornelia Vertenstein

Vertenstein, a Holocaust survivor, was 93 when she died earlier this month. She “began giving lessons at age 14 in war-torn Romania. She did not stop for nearly 80 years. Toward the end, adapting to the pandemic, Ms. Vertenstein gave lessons on FaceTime from her home in Denver.” – The New York Times
Tags: Art, Music, Romania, Facetime, Denver, Cornelia Vertenstein, 02.20.21, Vertenstein

Scorsese Says Streaming Algorithms Are Ruining Film

True? Film has always had marketing, PR, and of course ratings: “It would be a mistake to present the old gatekeepers in romantic colours compared to new technology companies. In both cases, we are talking about powerful institutions that define, control and manage the boundaries of what is art and culture.” – BBC
Tags: Art, Media, 02.20.21

As The Tonys Remain Undetermined, Where Are Previous Nominees Now?

A Broadway stage manager who’s now in graduate school for (logically) organizational leadership project management: “I initially thought, well, I’ll get a class or two under my belt and then we’ll be back. Well, now it appears that I will be graduated before.” – NPR
Tags: Art, Theatre, Broadway, 02.20.21