Author Archives: Alexa Lempel

Posts by Alexa Lempel

Comments by Alexa Lempel

"Such an awesome post idea! Kudos."
--( posted on Dec 14, 2010, commenting on the post A Semester’s Worth of Stubs )
 
"I appreciate the innovation involved in being an early adopter of a style like minimalism, but I've always felt sort of gypped by artists who then make a career out of capitalizing on a "signature style" like minimalism. It's one thing to be the first person to do something, but when each new piece is essentially just a carbon copy of your last even being the originator of a style stops being an adequate excuse for lazy art. I feel like this kind of work just isn't contributing anything fresh anymore."
--( posted on Dec 12, 2010, commenting on the post Minimalism: Creative or the Easy Way Out? )
 
"I don't really see the problem with extending shows into the theaters they're being showed in. In fact I think the idea that shows or plays should be required to "stand on their own" is unnecessarily minimalist. After all, we don't mind jazzing things up with elaborate on-stage lighting and set pieces; what's so different about expanding those enhancements to cover an extra few square-feet of theater around the stage? As far as I'm concerned, if (admittedly gimmicky) immersion tactics like this enhance the audience's experience, then the more the merrier."
--( posted on Dec 11, 2010, commenting on the post The Exploding Art of Set Design )
 
"I'm definitely another fan of the Cosi fan Tutte set pieces! Ditto to Katherine about the bit with Despina lugging in the house being hilarious, and using nothing more than revolving doors and a subtle change of lighting to switch the setting from inside to outside the cabin was brilliantly clever. In response to Prof. Jonchnowitz, I think it's worth mentioning that the supposed "true loves" that the women fall for in place of their fiances don't actually exist. The men are only playing dress-up, and the so-called "love duet" that Jonchnowitz dramatically cites as evidence for why the couple-swap should be made permanent is, at least halfway, certainly a lie. That being said, I'm wholeheartedly in favor the traditional staging, which I find to be an altogether truer fit to the "cosi fan tutte" philosophy of Don Alfonso that is the tongue-in-cheek moral of the opera."
--( posted on Dec 6, 2010, commenting on the post Cosi fan Tutte )
 
"No offense to his act of bravery, but I'm pretty sure that's not what Dodson is famous for. At the risk of being mean, I think the real catalyst of his celebrity is how shockingly (and apparently unknowingly) ridiculous he is in what would otherwise be an incredibly serious situation."
--( posted on Nov 1, 2010, commenting on the post Celebrity-Worthy? )
 
"Awesome :) Art and history go hand in hand, so it's always cool to see a that acknowledged and celebrated by institutions dedicated to keeping the past alive. Nothing makes history feel quite as relevant as seeing the creative output of the people who lived through it first-hand."
--( posted on Oct 8, 2010, commenting on the post Before the Spanish Came to Harlem )
 
"http://www.last.fm/music/The+Section+Quartet/Strung+Out+on+OK+Computer:+The+String+Quartet+Tribute+to+Radiohead"
--( posted on Sep 16, 2010, commenting on the post Rap Like You’ve Never Heard it Before )
 
"One of my absolute favorite albums is a classical string orchestra cover of the Radiohead's Ok Computer "
--( posted on Sep 16, 2010, commenting on the post Rap Like You’ve Never Heard it Before )
 
"title="please ignore, i'm just curious if this title tag works"> Of all the art forms, music in particular is most often associated with "lifestyles," and it seems inevitable that those who use music to show that they subscribe to an "alternative" lifestyle will be miffed when their quintessentially Alternative music becomes mainstream. The music itself need not be involved when it comes to the whole "selling out" debate."
--( posted on Sep 13, 2010, commenting on the post What Cost Popularity? )
 
"Also if anyone figures out how to indent...."
--( posted on Sep 13, 2010, commenting on the post Overpainted and Understated )
 
"Ask the folks at MoMA how much the @ symbol is worth. Or better yet, for a piece of art that will literally sell itself after you've paid for it see "A Tool to Deceive and Slaughter." http://cgi.ebay.com/Tool-Deceive-and-Slaughter-2009-Caleb-Larsen-/290468711459"
--( posted on Sep 2, 2010, commenting on the post “Priceless” Art in Tough Times )