First Nighter: Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk Has Her Way at the Met
When in 1934 Dmitri Shostakovich, not yet 30, composed Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, he provided music for all sorts of special occasions. For just a sampling, he wrote music to have sex behind a...
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Daniel Leighton's Painting Hack
That which withers in the age of mechanical reproduction is the aura of the work of art. In permitting the reproduction to meet the beholder in his own particular situation, it reactivates the object...
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Why I'll Never Stop Reaching Out to a Brother Who Doesn't Care
This story was written and performed by Blake Friis for the live, personal storytelling series Oral Fixation (An Obsession With True Life Tales) at the Wyly Studio Theatre in Dallas, on April 14,...
View ArticleA Conversation With Anastasia Zannis
Groomed for stardom from childhood, from the tennis court to the operatic stage, Anastasia Zannis chose a varied musical path. She has sung in places as geographically diverse as Calgary, Canada, where...
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Robert Mango Speaks Out
Robert Mango, Krishna Passing the Wheel of Fortune on the River Ganges 1993, oil with mixed media on canvas, 46 X 34 inches Robert Mango, artist and denizen of Tribeca, NY and former medal winning...
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Find Veterans Day's Roots at Kansas City's National WWI Museum
(All photos courtesy: National World War I Museum) Long before it was ever called Veterans Day, the annual holiday in honor of America's armed forces was known as Armistice Day. Taking effect on the...
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Women in Art: 5 Rising Art Stars
As a person who spends a great deal of time visiting and scouring artist's studios all over the world, I have been very fortunate to locate five rising stars in the art world that just happen to be...
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Yuna at Stage 48: The Sweetest Taboo
The Lincoln Tunnel connects New York City to New Jersey by a 1.5 mile passage under the Hudson River. It enters Manhattan in Midtown on the West Side, and since 1937 it has served as a punishment for...
View ArticleThe Healing Power of Lucas Hnath's 'Red Speedo:' Visit Philly and See It ASAP
For any who many still require it, last Tuesday's election offered proof that people are talking different languages and vilifying each other -- with no interest in an interpreter or understanding...
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This Three-Word Poem By Jesse Damiani Just Changed Everything
Several days ago, I received permission from colleague and poet Jesse Damiani to republish his extraordinary poem "Knock Knock" on Ink Node, a publishing platform for literary artists. I asked to...
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Terrifying, Unsettling, Beautiful
If you love the art of photography, and if you know its major players of the last 50 years, then the name Josef Koudelka will certainly ring a bell. And if you go through the retrospective exhibition...
View ArticleA Purveyor of Truth: The Writer's Life (Part 2)
The way Notes From the Underground was written itself marked a shift in both personal and professional philosophies for Dostoevsky. It must be remembered that at this point in history, what we now know...
View ArticleDonald Saddler: A Man Who Lived for the Dance
Donald Saddler died 10 days ago at the age of 94. For some inexplicable reason the lights were not dimmed in his honor. (I asked the Broadway League yesterday to confirm that they would not be, and I...
View ArticleA Conversation With Daniel Burity
"¡Hola Kitty!" is an upcoming production by Brazilian filmmaker Daniel Burity. The film was shot in New York City, mainly in Times Square, and addresses the challenges faced by undocumented immigrants...
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BONAPARTE & Tim Fite Usher in Brave Neue Welt
INTO THE WILD is not simply a spectacular moment in rock history. It is a bottled message of a crucial rebirth for rock, with powerful political messages seamlessly woven into an elegantly embodied...
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Flying Colors
Ron Burkhardt Notism LetterScapes: DUBAI, 2014, Oil on canvas, 30 x 40 in. Ron Burkhardt's curiously handsome and codified new geometric-inspired works create a zigzag jigsaw puzzle of communicative...
View ArticleWim Wenders: Advice to the Young
"Do what nobody else can do except for you." Such is the unflagging advice from German filmmaker Wim Wenders, who in this video gives us his take on how to become a successful artist. According to...
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Jesse Hazelip's "Mark of Cain" at Known Gallery Highlights Prison Injustice
With his first solo Los Angeles show, "Mark of Cain," artist Jesse Hazelip confronts injustice with a powerful weapon, his art. Hazelip addresses issues surrounding the United States' increasingly...
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Creating Haiti's Future Leaders Through Art
Photo credit: Fedno Lubin, ACFFC alumnu The 2010 earthquake in Haiti took an estimated 316,000 lives and destroyed buildings and entire towns. One such city, Jacmel, began a very special phase of its...
View ArticleVisual Art Is Vibrant at Life Is Beautiful Festival 2014
"Love is Power. Power is Life. Life is Beautiful." The words are scrawled in red, encircling a cut out of a large, purple cactus flower. Pasted to the wall, the flower is surrounded by hundreds of...
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