In this week’s Current Distractions – sexism, crime, nudity and wild animals. Plus, classical music.
Sexism in Classical music
Nicola Benedetti has spoken out about her frustration at being told “sex sells” and argued that performers should be judged on their work, rather than their looks. In an interview with the Radio Times, the violinist rightly said that “If women have long enough to gain authority, experience and expertise, they’ll excel in any profession….Sixty years ago the world’s top violinists were overwhelmingly male. Today, we have Julia Fischer, Janine Jansen, Lisa Batiashvili, Vilde Frang, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Alina Ibragimova… in fact I could possibly list more top female violinists than males”. Nicola went onto say “it really p—es me off when people attribute their rise to the ‘sex sells classical music’ thing….Sexism is a worldwide problem, but I think that classical music can be prouder of its integrity than many industries”.
On an unrelated note, when searching for images of Nicola, I found this. If anyone can explain it I’d be grateful.
Mood Paintings
Artist Nastya Nudnik has created these charming adaptations of Edward Hopper by giving them a modern touch. You can see more here.
Street Art
In light of the recent Elgar street art controversy, Classic FM have compiled a slide-show of classical music related street art. Click here to see more.
‘Kids say the funniest things’
Below are some brilliant test answers from school children. Find more at Boredpanda.
Bear Naked Ladies
Think animals can’t pose? Check these guys out. Katerina Plotnikova has been taking pictures of humans posing with animals. I bet the girl who got allocated ‘naked with tiger’ loved it when she saw her mate got ‘holding racoon’. I don’t know if America’s Next Top Model is still on, but it would be at least six times better if they were forced to risk their lives by mauling dangerous animals. I’d like to see them ‘smize’ through that.
Here’s a look at how they captured the magic.
Matthew Grindon
Press & Marketing Officer
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