In addition to the articles listed below, Gresham Riley writes jointly with his wife, Pamela Riley. To view those articles, visit Pamela Riley’s bio page by clicking here.
| ‘Gruesome Playground Injuries’ by Theatre Exile |
November 19 2011 |
Gruesome Playground Injuries is a small play with a large theme: Nietzsche’s notion that “Whatever doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.” It’s an edgy and ambitious two-person play that ultimately fails to live up to Theatre Exile’s high production values.
Gruesome Playground Injuries. By Rajiv Joseph; Deborah Block directed. Theatre Exile production through December 4, 2011 at Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival, 2111 Sansom St. (215) 218-4022 or www.theatreexile.org.
|
|
| Max Frisch’s ‘The Arsonists’ (2nd review) |
September 10 2011 |
Contrary to its promotion as an “absurdist romp,” Max Frisch’s The Arsonists is a moral play with several morals. It deserved better than this heavy-handed trivialization.
The Arsonists. By Max Frisch; translated by Alistair Beaton; Tina Brock directed. Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium production through September 18, 2011, at the Walnut Street Theatre Studio 5, 825 Walnut St. (215) 285-0472 or www.phillyfringe.org.
|
|
| When museums sell art: A better way |
February 01 2011 |
For the sake of art and the public interest, museums are prohibited from selling art works to fund their operations. But in practice, many art works are stashed in basements where the public never sees them, while the museums themselves struggle for financial survival. The former president of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts proposes a solution for this quandary.
|
|
| Molière’s ‘Scapin,’ by the Lantern |
December 19 2009 |
Although Scapin was first staged in 1671 in Paris, the English adaptation of this archetypical French farce not only retains much of Molière’s original structure but also thrillingly engages a 21st-Century audience, adults and children alike.
Scapin. By Molière; adapted by Bill Irwin and Mark O’Donnell; directed by Aaron Cromie. Lantern Theater Co. production through January 10, 2010 at St. Stephen’s Theatre, 923 Ludlow St. (215) 829-0395 or www.lanterntheater.org.
|
|
| Moving the Barnes: A done deal |
October 26 2009 |
Amid the debate over moving the Barnes Foundation, Dan Rottenberg argues that very often the supposedly “done deals” of history wind up becoming undone. And he’s right. But many historical developments are irreversible. The Barnes move is a likely example.
|
|
| The Barnes debate is over (a reply) |
October 19 2009 |
Opponents of the Barnes Foundation relocation mistakenly think that because the design issue remains open, so does the move itself. Hello, is anyone listening? The latter debate is over, and has been since December 13, 2004.
|
|
| The real ‘soft power’: Cultural diplomacy |
February 24 2009 |
After eight years of Bush’s muscular diplomacy, Obama has embraced the virtues of “soft power” in theory. So why is the U.S. deliberately reducing its use of the arts as a foreign policy tool?
|
|
| Barnes on the Parkway |
October 19 2008 |
Whatever the merits of moving the Barnes Foundation, further argument is irrelevant. The new Barnes Museum will open on the Parkway in 2011, offering at last the kind of education programs Albert Barnes wanted.
|
|
| What the Barnes must do next |
June 10 2007 |
The bad news: Arts education in America, like public education in general, is increasingly treated like an unwanted stepchild. The good news in Philadelphia: At long last the Barnes Foundation has attracted the interest of three major foundations that possess the resources to change the face of arts education— if they so choose. Gresham Riley offers concrete suggestions.
|
|
| Eakins vs. Barnes |
December 16 2006 |
Is it hypocritical to support the Barnes Foundation’s move from Lower Merion while opposing The Gross Clinic’s move from Philadelphia? Not at all, argues the former president of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. The two owners in question are very different institutions with very different missions and ground rules.
|
|
| Public art, private ownership |
November 22 2006 |
Yes, “The Gross Clinic” belongs in Philadelphia. But the painting does not belong at Jefferson University and probably should have been moved elsewhere long ago. The onus is not on Jefferson; it’s on local public leaders and private wealth. Mayor Street’s well-intentioned rescue strategy will harm, not help, those efforts.
|
|
| Public art, private ownership |
November 22 2006 |
Yes, “The Gross Clinic” belongs in Philadelphia. But the painting does not belong at Jefferson University and probably should have been moved elsewhere long ago. The onus is not on Thomas Jefferson University; it’s on local public leaders and private wealth. Mayor Street’s well-intentioned rescue strategy will harm, not help, those efforts.
|
|
| Constitution Center's '9/11: A Nation Remembers' |
September 26 2006 |
Predictable patriotic symbols dominate this clichéd exercise in post-9/11 photojournalism. I found little related to victims, the war in Iraq, or even expressions of hope. But the sight of one tattered flag alone is worth the admission price.
“9/11: A Nation Remembers.” Photographs by Jonathan Hyman.
Through January 1, 2007, at the National
Constitution Center, 525 Arch Street. 215-409-6700 or www.constituti
|
|
| The arts and 9/11 |
September 06 2006 |
Have the arts failed us in our current crisis? The Inquirer’s critics seem to think so. But the long view of history suggests that the best responses to 9/11 are yet to come, and will amply justify the wait.
|
|
| Moving the Barnes: No Hobson's choice |
April 07 2006 |
Gresham Riley replies to Robert Zaller, who contended that the Barnes art collection “can only be preserved or destroyed.” Not so, says Riley. The real issue is: How can a collection (or any institution) retain its identity as the world changes around it?
|
|
| The case for moving the Barnes |
March 10 2006 |
What did Albert Barnes really want? And what is the public’s interest in his art collection? In a response to Robert Zaller, the Pennsylvania Academy's former president argues that moving the Barnes Foundation downtown will secure, rather than violate, its founder’s vision.
|
|
