- John Stoehr
Arts Editor
There's more to art than you think. It's not just theater, paintings, books and dance. It's the enterprise of human creativity and it takes vastly different shapes and forms. Here you'll find my thoughts about the arts in Charleston and beyond. Neither of us knows what to expect.
Category Archives: Journal
Journal: A possible end to writers strike this week
February 3, 2008 – 9:58 am
From today’s AP. Maybe we’ll start getting some decent television to watch now. — J.S.
A breakthrough in contract talks has been reached between Hollywood studios and striking writers and could lead to a tentative deal as early as next week, a person close to the ongoing negotiations said Saturday.
The two sides breached the gap Friday […]
Journal: Street art is crap, he says
February 2, 2008 – 10:04 am
From the Times of London — J.S.
Do you like adolescent entertainment? Do you have the mentality of a teenager? Do you find Cézanne a bit overrated? If the answer is yes, yes and yes, then I don’t know what to do with you. You are a childish philistine literalist. Get down to Bonhams (one of […]
Journal: Emerson on Transcendentalism
January 23, 2008 – 1:36 pm
From Harper’s . . . .
“The Transcendentalist adopts the whole connection of spiritual doctrine. He believes in miracle, in the perpetual openness of the human mind to new influx of light and power; he believes in inspiration, and in ecstasy. He wishes that the spiritual principle should be suffered to demonstrate itself to the […]
Journal: More on the NEA
January 17, 2008 – 2:28 pm
For those interested in analysis of the National Endowment for the Arts, you might spend some time with Michael Lewis’ piece this month published in the conservative monthly Commentary. He reflects on the past and possible future of the National Endowment for the Arts.
“In brief, the NEA has withered in a matter of decades from […]
Journal: Attitude Adjustment
January 12, 2008 – 9:55 am
There are lessons here.
I used to joke with a friend who wrote about religion that she dealt with crazy people. She saw it differently. As an arts journalist dealing with artists and their temperamental ways, I was the one dealing with the crazies. She had it lucky.
There’s some truth to it. Artists are indeed passionate […]
Journal: An old interview with Herbie Hancock
January 11, 2008 – 12:27 pm
From an interview I did a while back for the Sacramento News & Review —J.S. |
After nearly 40 years of composing, performing and recording masterpieces of the American music canon, jazz keyboardist Herbie Hancock is unquestionably a singular icon, a living legend.
Hancock was a pianist for five years in one of the great jazz ensembles, […]
Journal: Trad, not fad
January 11, 2008 – 12:15 pm
From a March article I wrote about how young people are increasingly turning to old music and old-time instrumental styles. On reflection, it’s interesting (and logical) how this trend is unfolding in light of the music industry’s scramble to renew itself and in light of the growing conversation about how mass media and mass culture […]
Journal: Leaving Piss Christ behind
January 9, 2008 – 4:26 pm
The day after Christmas, President Bush signed an appropriations bill that included $144.7 million for the National Endowment for the Arts.
The amount was about $20 million more than NEA funding for 2007: $124.5 million.
According to this report by the Akron Beacon […]
Journal: New tax forms, more transparency
January 9, 2008 – 3:20 pm
Lee Rosenbaum, the ever-vigilant cultural journalist and author of CultureGrrl, wrote today about the new 990 tax forms, released on Dec. 20, that all nonprofit organizations are required to submit to the Internal Revenue Service.
The new forms, as Rosenbaum notes, come as Congress is investigating abuses by top administrators at the Smithsonian Institutes and the […]
Are economic impact studies good for the arts?
December 31, 2007 – 11:38 am
Here’s a version of a June report I wrote about the specious nature of “economic impact” studies for a daily newspaper in Georgia. I hope you find it edifying. I wrote it when I was beat reporter covering arts and culture — everything from puff pieces to annual fiscal reports to the intersection between arts […]
