These principals of the architectural firm WORKac found it challenging to design their own home. The psychological complexity of domestic life? The culmination of years of thought? “The hardest thing about designing our house was that we just haven’t designed a lot of houses.” Produced with the Center for Architecture. Photo: Harry Willks.
The artistic director of the Paul Taylor Dance Company summarizes his aesthetic: “The curtain goes up, twenty minutes happen, the curtain comes down, and it is transformative.” Easy to say, brilliant to achieve. And they do.
He’s done graphic design for Nike, Apple, and the Denver Nuggets, and is happy to confer with clients. Up to a point. “What you can get is design by committee, which to me is the most terrible thing.” (“Short of design by belligerent, knife-wielding committee,” he did not add.) He spoke from Spain, courtesy of … Continue reading »
She’s a witty jazz singer, an astute comedian, an admired actor (Orange Is the New Black), and she has an economic policy: “Support your local dyke bar. Go. Spend a little bit of money. Have some fun.” She has my vote, and she’s not even running for anything. Presented with 54 Below. Music: Arcoiris Sandoval, … Continue reading »
This writer—Let the Great World Spin, American Mother—advocates the radical act of talking to our adversaries: “We do not need to love each other, we do not even need to like each other—although we hope that we could—but we absolutely need to understand each other.” Produced with the American Irish Historical Society. Continue reading »
Just after his team rebuilt Central Park’s Sheep Meadow, it turned completely brown. Why? “How do I know? I’m not an arborist. I’m not a horticulturist. I can’t tell an elm from an oak. That wasn’t my job.” His job was Parks Commissioner; his solution was to water the lawn. It worked. Produced with the … Continue reading »
Flor de Toloache, a mariachi band cofounded by this Latin Grammy winner, is not just all women, it’s all world: “We had women from Australia, Korea, Egypt, Japan.” Which means it could only be formed in New York City. Additional music: Daniel Espiliz, guitar, Shae Fiol, vocals. Produced with Greenwich House School. Continue reading »
“We do bare feet, we do singing, we do dancing, we do point shoes,” declares the Joffrey’s artistic director. “The company combines techniques of ballet and modern,” explains this former Joffrey dancer at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Range! Continue reading »
This conductor, the music director of the Colorado Music Festival, loved his boyhood summers in Spain. “It was a beautiful place to practice undisturbed and a fantastic place to play soccer, because soccer was my great love, violin and soccer. And then we discovered water skiing.” Mozart, same way: violin, soccer, water skiing. The making … Continue reading »
At 96, the author of The Women’s Revolution: How We Changed Your Life, declares, “After thousands of years when women were in servitude to men, we changed it. I hope we’re going to have a woman president. I take some credit for that.” Rightly so. I’m writing her a thank-you note. So should you. Continue reading »
This Kenyan gay rights activist is adept at working with her adversaries. “You have to keep pushing, and getting friend and allies.” But she’s no softy, adding: “and sue some people.” I generally go right to that last tactic. I’m an American. Continue reading »
When this graphic designer worked at Sony Music, the handwriting was already on the wall, the tiny, tiny wall: “It was no longer LPs; it was CDs. The canvas kept shrinking.” And now with digital music, there’s no canvas at all. “It’s not the end of the world; it’s a different paradigm.” Disconcerting optimism, great … Continue reading »
Does use determine design, or does design shape behavior? This architect asserts the latter: “A certain object does make you behave a certain way or do certain things.” For example, a simple lime-squeezer lured her and her family into more lime squeezing than anyone—or any lime—anticipated. Produced with the National Academy of Design. Continue reading »
Among his many productions, he directed A View from the Bridge and West Side Story on Broadway and collaborated with David Bowie on the musical Lazarus. “It turned out to be—I didn’t know, of course, when we started—the last work that he ever made.” And a surprisingly happy experience. Continue reading »