Category: From the Editor

  • The Arts, The Work and the Gift Economy

    The Arts and the Gift Economy. How do we value the work that we do in the arts?

  • The Silly Consensus

    In Alastair Macaulay’s review of Ann Liv Young’s CINDERELLA he refers to the “silly consensus” of an audience complicit with the antics of the performer. Culturebot editor Andy Horwitz expands on this idea.

  • Let’s Get Small

    Recent trends include webcasting theater to gain new audiences and mirroring the participatory culture zeitgeist, but is getting bigger and broadcasting wider the answer to what ails the theater?

  • On Writing

    I was talking to an ambitious young playwright the other day and it started me thinking about what are the hallmarks of a truly exceptional writer

  • You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'

    Gary Steuer has written a thoughtful and provocative blog post on the impact of being an art worker on actually appreciating the arts.

  • Culturebot Wants You!

    Culturebot Wants You to help us cover America (and beyond)! We are looking for a few good correspondents to help us expand our regional coverage. Do you think you have what it takes? Click through to read more.

  • Why “Live” Matters

    You may have noticed that several of the past few posts referenced recent articles about the impact of the information age on cognition. Basically, they argue that we are thinking in a more scattered way, a shallower way, one that is characterized by distractibility. Those of you who follow this blog know this is something…

  • Will Eno, Brian Eno

    Alastair Macaulay gives Unrelated Solos a mostly good review. However, he misattributes text by Will Eno to Brian Eno. Someone should drop him a line and let him know.

  • The Valuation of Art vs. Performance

    Just got back from the Intersections with Art and Performance panel discussion at MESTC. It was a really fascinating panel and discussion but we didn’t get to the one thing that always gets my goat, which is the disparity in valuation of live art performance and theater-as-performance. There is a huge infrastructure around museum culture…

  • Park Avenue Armory Foolishness

    In this article in the NY TIMES,  Charles Isherwood suggests that the Park Avenue Armory be turned into a grand scale permanent home for classical theater. This is just plain wrong on so many levels I hardly know where to begin. Just because the Royal Shakespeare Company will install a classical theater inside the Park Avenue Armory…

  • Howdy from Los Angeles

    Sorry for the paucity of posts. Have been in L.A. for work. Just a few quick notes – saw the incredible Nick Cave (not the rock musician but the visual artist) exhibit at The Fowler, which is really something to behold. Here’s a video about his work: Then we went to the Frederick R. Weisman…

  • Hello 2010

    Just a random observation that the phrase I seem to have heard the most in 2009, and don’t recall hearing too often before, is “The perfect is the enemy of the good.” It seems like I’ve been hearing it about health reform recently, but I’ve also heard it in software development workshops, in artistic enterprises and…