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A.J. Sabatini is Arthur J. Sabatini. For decades I wrote and worked in the arts in Philadelphia. I taught at Drexel University and The University of the Arts, worked with Relâche and The Yellow Springs Institute, wrote for the Inquirer and a bunch of publications that are no longer around.
I live in both in Philadelphia and Arizona and am associate professor of performance studies in interdisciplinary arts and performance at Arizona State University. Most of my writing is academic and focuses on the avant-garde and experimental artists. I also perform, have written a play and keep working on other projects. Nearly everything I know can be traced to some conversation in or related to Philadelphia. More at: www.public.asu.edu/~ieajs/Welcome.html
More articles by AJ Sabatini, newest first
| Our dreams, our movies, and ‘Inception’ |
July 25 2010 |
Films with dreams, like dreams themselves, continue to fascinate us, mainly because dreams, like language, are at once common, immediate and identifiable, yet ultimately unexplainable. They seem to be meaningful. But are they?
Inception. A film directed by Christopher Nolan.
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| Opera Company’s ‘Orphée et Eurydice’ (1st review) |
June 19 2010 |
The Opera Company of Philadelphia’s Orphée et Eurydice, with its orchestra and 26-member chorus, along with dance by choreographer Amanda Miller, is a tightly-wound and satisfying production, albeit with a few strings attached.
Orphée et Eurydice. Opera by Christof Willibald Gluck (Hector Berlioz adaptation) directed by Robert B. Driver; Corrado Rovaris, conductor. In French with English supertitles. Opera Company of Philadelphia production through June 25, 2010 at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 732-8400 or www.operaphila.org.
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| Mithen’s ‘Singing Neanderthals' |
June 12 2010 |
Archaeologist Stephen Mithen opened up a music-filled box of speculation about the ways humans think, dance, sing and speak. He says we owe it all to our much-maligned Neanderthal ancestors.
The Singing Neanderthals: The Origins of Music, Language, Mind and Body. By Stephen Mithen. Harvard University Press, 2007. 384 pages; $18.00. www.amazon.com.
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| The meaning of Havel’s ‘Leaving’ (4th review) |
June 01 2010 |
Some critics have attacked Vaclav Havel’s Leaving for ridiculing his own heroic political career. On the contrary, Havel is deeply concerned about what it means to be human in a globalized world. Leaving is his critique of uncritical language and careless thinking that allow scoundrels to leap into the void.
Leaving. By Václav Havel; translated by Paul Wilson; directed by Jiri Zizka. Through June 20, 2010 at Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad St. (at Spruce). 215-546-7824 or www.WilmaTheater.org.
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| Hidden City Philadelphia (2nd review) |
June 29 2009 |
The recent Hidden Cities Arts Festival is an art experience that’s about much more than the effect of individual work. It also exemplifies the sort of current socially immersed art that’s too often hidden in favor of showier work.
Hidden City Philadelphia. Through June 2009 at various locations in Philadelphia. www.hiddencityphila.org. Sonambulo (1998-2009), by Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle, at Shiloh Baptist Church, 2040 Christian St. inigomanglano-ovalle.com. Running True, by John Phillips and Carolyn Healy, at Disston Saw Works, 6795 State Rd. terragizmo.net/Healy&Phillips/H&P-Installations.html
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| Bruce Nauman at the Venice Biennale (1st review) |
June 14 2009 |
The in-your-face multi-media artist Bruce Nauman has been much feted since his Venice Biennale entry won the Golden Lion Prize for best national pavilion early this month. Would it be churlish to ask what his work means?
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