The Arts Fuse Newsletter, February 14
Sonic Youth, Literary Fist-Fighting, Coming Attractions, and Hard Truths
From The Editor's Desk:
In a recent New Yorker newsletter, Matthew Goldstein, a media consultant, is quoted about what the tidal wave of 2023 layoffs in broadcast, print, and digital news media will mean. He sees “a potential extinction-level event in the future.” Why? “Goldstein cited several factors for this prediction: consumers are burned out by the news, social-media sites have moved away from promoting news articles, and Google’s rollout of A.I.-integrated search threatens to further reduce site traffic.”
For arts journalists, this is old news — extinction has come and gone. Over the past two decades a tsunami in the mainstream media has swept away arts writers and critics. Nobody — artists, readers, publishers — seemed to care all that much about their departure. The consensus: let algorithms dictate our leisure time activities. Will vacant news rooms generate more anger? It should — if we want a healthy democracy, among other reasons.
Has the end of substantial cultural critique been good for the arts? In 1891, Oscar Wilde warned that an age without criticism is “either an age in which art is immobile, hieratic, and confined to the reproduction of formal types, or an age that possesses no art at all.” Oscar may have been a prophet as well as a wit. This week, Bob Abelman comments on the besieged state of arts criticism, while I draw connections between the downturn in the fortunes of local theaters and the fact that there is no serious criticism of our stages in the Boston media.
—Bill Marx, Editor-in-Chief
Coming Attractions: February 11 through 26 — What Will Light Your Fire
Compiled by the Arts Fuse Editor
Our expert critics supply a guide to film, visual art, theater, author readings, and music. More offerings will be added as they come in.
Album Review: “Will Anybody Know That I Was Here? The Songs of Beulah Rowley” by Mary Lee Kortes
By Jason M. Rubin
The album suggests an earlier time, but most of the music is modern, relevant, and timeless.
Book Review: “The Fine Art of Literary Fist-Fighting” — Punching For Respect
By David Daniel
Over the years, Lee Gutkind has been one of the most persistent and impassioned voices making the case for the value of creative nonfiction.
Rock Album Review: Sonic Youth’s “Walls Have Ears” — Intimations of Sounds to Come
Sonic Youth’s fans remain passionate enough to justify the release of a slew of live albums.
Music Commentary: In Memoriam, Seiji Ozawa (1935-2024)
By Jonathan Blumhofer
Taking in the totality of Seiji Ozawa’s life and career, it seems clear that Boston got him in his prime and that he largely returned the favor, ingratiating himself with the community, at times truly elevating the Boston Symphony Orchestra while conveying a lot of joy and energy in the process.
Book Review: Filmmakers and Their Opinions — as Told to Critic Gerald Peary
By David D’Arcy
New cinematic mavericks have come along. All the more reason that the views of earlier rebels be collected and preserved, given the short historical memories of young filmmakers and their audiences.
Arts Commentary: The Declining State of the Art of Arts Journalism
By Bob Abelman
Theater critics, film reviewers, A&E editors, and arts columnists have been stripped from our dailies and weeklies. Why should you care? Oscar Wilde warned that an age without criticism is “an age that possesses no art at all.”
Theater Commentary: Facing Some Hard Truths
By Bill Marx
The time is overdue for a serious discussion of what is happening (or not happening) in Boston-area theaters. Just don’t expect to see anything in our sheepish mainstream media.
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Editor-in-Chief
Bill Marx
wmarx103@gmail.com
