Editors' Note: This Week's Backpage, August 1st

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On the Scene: Art's Healing Powers in Tornado-Ravaged Tuscaloosa

 

I wasn't planning to do any “On the Scene” reporting until I move to Chicago. After all, I’m living in Tuscaloosa, AL for the summer and the market is not exactly a major one. However, I was watching “Parks and Recreation” on Netflix the other day and changed my mind. This piece is much longer and more personal than I foresee any future piece in Chicago being. You see, in the episode Pawnee’s local government was having a murals contest, and Tom Haverford is talking about a particular piece of abstract art when he says in a very shocked tone, "A piece of art caused me to have an emotional reaction. Is that normal?" I laughed, and I loved that Parks and Rec poked fun at ignorance over art. Of course it is supposed to make you feel something! A recent tragedy in Tuscaloosa has made us feel all sorts of things, and naturally art intertwined with that.

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On the Scene: Shakespeare, Boston Common and the People

"This is our 16th year of bringing free Shakespeare to the public."

It is a common theme in discussions of Shakespeare (his plays and his personage) to talk of bringing Shakespeare to the people or, as an organizer at last night's Shakespeare on the Common referred to them, "the public." Americans and much of the English-speaking world revere Shakespeare. His work is considered by many to be the apotheosis of high culture. As columnist Gerald Nachman famously noted (not without sarcasm) in 1979, Shakespeare is "theatrical spinach: He's good for you. If you digest enough of his plays, you'll grow up big and strong intellectually like teacher."

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Editors' Note: Kid Savant and Missing New York

None of our "On the Scene" writers will be in New York on Thursday, July 28th. It's a shame. The second annual Chelsea Art Walk will take place that day from 5pm-8pm. Aside from missing film screenings, artists talks and live performances, we'll also miss Kid Savant performing at the RARE Gallery. If you happen to stumble into Chelsea around 7pm this Thursday, let us know how it goes and if any pianos fall from the sky.

Interview: Dan Gurney, Musician and Entrepreneur

24-year-old Dan Gurney, born in upstate New York to artist parents, first picked up an accordion by chance in a toy store. He learned Irish music from Galway-born concertina player Father Charlie Coen. Over the years he has also been heavily influenced by Billy McComiskey, John Whelan, Joe Derrane, and John Nolan, among many others. After graduating from Harvard University in 2009, he lived in Galway for a year playing with the likes of Dolores Keane, Johnny Ringo McDonagh, Mick Conneely, Ronan O'Flaherty, and Brian McGrath. He has appeared on Public Radio International, at the International Accordion Festival, and has won nine medals at various Fleadh Cheoil music competitions.

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On the Scene: Tolstoy, The Harvard Bookstore and Nina Sankovitch

The event was a discussion and reading by Nina Sankovitch of her memoir Tolstoy and the Purple Chair: My Year of Magical Reading. Early, I took a seat near the front and waited, watching as young, well-dressed summer school students consumed an entire row with their giggles and a few elderly people with hearing aids hobbled to seats in the very front row. Oh, the typical Harvard reading.

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