ARTSEDGE: The Kitchen Sink
264 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 7 years ago - ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsEverything we've done, all in one place.
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The Festival of Japan: Koji Kakinuma 2
December 21, 2008 20:41 - 3 minutes - 36.8 MB VideoCalligraphy artist Koji Kakinuma began studying traditional Japanese monochrome brushwork at the age of five. In 1989, Kakinuma arrived on the national stage when he became the youngest person to win the coveted Dokuritsu Shojindan Foundation prize. His rise through the Japanese art world has since been meteoric. For the festival, Kakinuma presented one of his trademark innovations, Trancework, in which he paints countless repetitions of a simple, powerful phrase, producing a giant ...
The Festival of Japan: Koji Kakinuma 1
December 21, 2008 20:41 - 3 minutes - 35.7 MB VideoJAPAN! culture + hyperculture was marked by a festive Otsukimi (Japanese moon-viewing) evening featuring a special Millennium Stage performance of “Trancework” and “Eternal Now” by shodo performing artist Koji Kakinuma, accompanied by the taiko group AUN. The event took place outside under the full moon on the Kennedy Center's South Plaza. Koji Kakinuma is an artist. He began studying traditional Japanese monochrome brushwork at the age of five. Kakinuma’s rise through the Japanes...
The Festival of Japan: Tadao Ando
December 21, 2008 20:41 - 3 minutes - 40.5 MB VideoWith his buildings sprawling all corners of the globe, world-renowned architect Tadao Ando has won virtually every award Japan can bestow for architecture and the arts, as well as major international prizes, including the 1995 Pritzker Prize and the Gold Medal of Architecture from the French Academy of Architecture. He works primarily in reinforced concrete, but he also utilizes steel and glass. His projects define spaces in unique ways that allow for constantly changing patterns of...
Culture of Greece: Music of Contemporary Greece
September 13, 2008 02:38 - 14 minutes - 19.2 MBThough Socrates and Plato died 2,500 years ago there is, of course still a country called Greece. And many modern Greek musicians will tell you that their art is influenced by the ideas of the ancients. Join us as we explore whether or not this is true. Two modern Greek musicians and scholars of ancient Greece talk about the twisting road Greek culture has taken to bring us to the music of Greece today. The podcast is narrated by John Franklin, professor in the Department of Clas...
Culture of Greece: Influence of Greece
September 13, 2008 02:34 - 15 minutes - 21.5 MBThough the ancient Greek culture was destroyed thousands of years ago, Greek ideas continue to influence us today. That's particularly true in music. Join John Franklin, professor in the Department of Classics at the University of Vermont to hear the impact that the ancient Greeks had on the creation and development of Opera, Classical music and Jazz.
Culture of Greece: Fill in the Blanks: Ancient Melodies
September 13, 2008 02:31 - 10 minutes - 14.7 MBThere are only a handful of pieces of music remaining from ancient Greece. And we do mean pieces; tiny scraps of papyrus and bits of stone with musical notes that are thousands of years old. Come with John Franklin, professor in the Department of Classics at the University of Vermont to meet the people who bring this ancient music back from the dead. Learn how they come to understand the slashes and squiggles that they see and translate them into music. And find out what they do ...
Artfully Speaking: Daniel Pink: A Whole New Mind
March 12, 2008 01:32 - 1 hour - 80.9 KBIn this episode we join Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind, for his plenary speach at the Annual Meeting for the Kennedy Center's Partners in Education.
Artfully Speaking: Roger Tomhave: A Whole New Education
February 01, 2008 02:18 - 59 minutes - 82.2 KBIn this episode we join Dr. Roger Tomhave, Fine Arts Coordinator for Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia, for his lecture A Whole New Education.
Artfully Speaking: Roger Tomhave: A Whole New Education, slides
January 31, 2008 01:50 - 313 Bytes application/pdfThese are the slides that accompany Roger Tomhave's lecture in episode 9. He frequently refers to the images, quotes, and other information included here.
Art/Space: Music and Space: The Performers
October 23, 2007 19:24 - 9 minutes - 22 KBAstronaut Carl Walz summed it up: "Taking musical instruments on a ship for an expedition is a tradition, if you will. It’s what makes us human is because we bring some of our home with us." Listen as we explore the intersection between the human drive to explore and the ability to create.
Art/Space: Music and Space: The Composers
October 22, 2007 19:27 - 11 minutes - 25.9 KBWhat does space sound like—and who decided that? Composers have toyed with themes of space, stars and discovery in music—describing through music the ideas of open space, travel, mystery and majesty, as well as imagining what "outer space" might sound like if you could hear it. Narrated by Roger Launius of the Space History Division of the National Air and Space Museum, this piece features Miles Hoffman, commentator for NPR's Morning Edition, John Dennis, who created the music fo...
Artfully Speaking: Rob Horowitz: Arts Education Research Part 2
August 15, 2007 00:45 - 26 minutes - 30.6 KBIn this episode we rejoin Rob Horowitz, of the Center for Arts Education Research, for the final part of his lecture on Arts Education Research.
Artfully Speaking: Rob Horowitz: Arts Education Research Part 1
July 26, 2007 00:40 - 1 hour - 72.4 KBIn this episode we join Rob Horowitz, of the Center for Arts Education Research, for the first part of his lecture on Arts Education Research.
Artfully Speaking: Rob Horowitz: Learning In and Through the Arts, slides
July 20, 2007 00:35 - 3 KB application/pdfThese are the slides that accompany Rob Horowitz's lecture in episodes 5 and 6. He frequently refers to the data, quotes, and other information included here.
Artfully Speaking: Dick Deasy: Why Arts Education Part 4
July 14, 2007 00:33 - 15 minutes - 17.4 KBIn this episode we rejoin Dick Deasy, director of the Arts Education Partnership, for the final part of his lecture, "Why Arts Education?" where he answers questions from the audience.
Artfully Speaking: Dick Deasy: Why Arts Education Part 3
July 11, 2007 00:28 - 54 minutes - 62 KBIn this episode we rejoin Dick Deasy, director of the Arts Education Partnership, for the third of four parts of his lecture, "Why Arts Education?" where he summarizes the findings in Third Space.
Artfully Speaking: Dick Deasy: Why Arts Education Part 1
June 23, 2007 00:26 - 19 minutes - 22 KBWe are kicking off this podcast with a four part lecture presentation by Dick Deasy. In this first episode we join Mr. Deasy, director of the Arts Education Partnership for the first part of his lecture, "Why Arts Education?" where he discusses why the arts aren't in schools.
Artfully Speaking: Dick Deasy: Why Arts Education Part 2
June 23, 2007 00:25 - 24 minutes - 27.7 KBIn this episode we rejoin Dick Deasy, director of the Arts Education Partnership, for the second of four parts of his lecture, "Why Arts Education?" where he summarizes the research in Critical Links
The Power of Theater: Marcia Norman on the unique tools of the playwright
April 28, 2007 17:34 - 4 minutes - 50.1 KB Video"When you're in a piece of wonderful theater your whole body responds to what's on the stage." In this Power of Theater podcast, part of the Kennedy Center Education Department's American College Theater Festival's summer intensive for playwrights, playwright Marcia Norman discusses the different forms and forums for storytelling, and what is thrilling about working for the stage. For more information on the American College Theater Festival, visit http://www.kennedy-center.org/ed...
Blues Journey: A Lasting Legacy
March 27, 2007 20:30 - 5 minutes - 6.83 KBBlues musicians who moved north tailored their music to reflect their new urban surroundings. Acoustic guitars gave way to electric; drums and standup bass rounded out the sound. This "new" blues had a huge impact on modern music - influencing early rock and roll artists like Elvis Presley and 60s British artists like the Rolling Stones. Today, the innovative adaptations of the blues can be heard in the music of artists as diverse as Cat Power and Gnarls Barkley.
The Power of Theater: Lee Blesssing on the role of the playwright
March 25, 2007 17:31 - 3 minutes - 39 KB Video"A playwright...first and foremost has to compel people." In this Power of Theater podcast, part of the Kennedy Center Education Department's American College Theater Festival's summer intensive for playwrights, playwright Lee Blessing discusses the difference between writing for the theater and writing for television and film. For more information on the American College Theater Festival, visit http://www.kennedy-center.org/education/actf/. ArtsEdge, the Kennedy Center's arts ed...
The Power of Theater: Kathleen Turner from Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
March 21, 2007 17:28 - 2 minutes - 26.8 KB Video"When you sit in a theater, you're sitting closer to a complete stranger that you ever would in your own living room. You haven't just seen a show, you've been part of something." Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is the story of George and Martha, two of the most famous roles ever written for the stage. Over the course of one wickedly hilarious evening, the cocktails come out and the gloves come off as this riveting duo takes their two young guests on the ride of the...
Blues Journey: Spreading the Joy
March 14, 2007 20:30 - 5 minutes - 6.17 KBThe blues sound was captured by Alan Lomax, who was among the first to record folk songs in the 1930s. Because of Lomax's recordings, people across the country could hear the unique music of blues artists like Huddie Ledbetter ("Leadbelly") and Muddy Waters for the first time. In addition to Lomax's work, the rise of the commercial recording industry (particularly Chess Records) and advances in recording technologies allowed blues to have a wider distribution and as a result, gain a ...
Blues Journey: A Blue Melody, a Shufflin' Beat
March 10, 2007 22:00 - 5 minutes - 6.36 KBBlues is a vocal and instrumental form of music based on the use of blue notes—a note that is sung or played at a lower pitch than the rest of the song that gives the blues its characteristic, often sad sound. The lyrics usually have a predictable rhyme, and the music also has a repetitive pattern that typically follows a twelve-bar structure. While the blues may tackle serious subjects, it also brings joy to the singer and audience.
Blues Journey: Got Them Blues: A History
March 07, 2007 21:30 - 6 minutes - 7.31 KBAs black slaves toiled in the fields, they often sang to communicate with each other and pass the time. These work songs, spirituals, and field hollers formed the basis of blues music as it became an important sound of the American South in the early 20th century. In the 1930s, faced with extreme poverty and laws that discriminated against and segregated them, thousands of African Americans migrated to northern cities, taking the blues with them— where both the songs and the singers...
The Power of Theater: Richard Thomas and Randle Mell from Twelve Angry Men
February 27, 2007 18:24 - 2 minutes - 23.1 KB Video"Theater at its best is always a mirror. It's a reflection of who we are." Twelve Angry Men deals with issues of prejudice and fear of "the other" but also promotes the ideas of debate and reasonable doubt. The characters in the play argue opposing positions with plausible conviction, and the audience members are left to decide their interpretation of truth and fact, despite what others may believe. In this podcast, part of the Power of Theater series, actors Richard Thomas (The W...
Jazz in DC: Unsung Heroes
February 23, 2007 21:03 - 7 minutes - 10.4 KBWashington, DC saw an influx and outflux of some of Jazz's greatest talent. In the final episode the series, Taylor and Wess talk about the relative anonymity of some originators, including Billy Eckstine and others who enjoyed only a short-lived celebrity.
Jazz in DC: Neighborhoods
February 23, 2007 20:59 - 5 minutes - 10.4 KBThe Crystal Caverns, the Howard Theatre, and other venues in Washington, DC allowed the teenage Wess and Taylor opportunities to see their idols in concert. In this episode, they discuss the great musicians who frequented these monuments of jazz history.
Jazz in DC: Bringing Jazz to Europe
February 23, 2007 20:57 - 5 minutes - 7.79 KBTeacher Mary Reese Europe was the sister of James Reese Europe, who brought jazz to France in WWI. In this episode, jazz legends Billy Taylor and Frank Wess expound upon the influence of the two siblings, and Mary Reese Europe's teachings about singer Roland Hayes in prejudiced Germany prove an inspiration to her students.
Jazz in DC: Life in Segregated Washington, DC
February 23, 2007 20:54 - 7 minutes - 10.5 KBJazz legends Billy Taylor and Frank Wess talk about the upsides and down-sides of being African-American in the segregated Washington, DC of their childhood. Segregated theatres and restaurants, racist neighbors, and predujiced law-enforcement made life in Shaw difficult. Despite this, African American-owned establishments in DC afforded a respite from some of these hardships— one of these havens being the prestigious Dunbar High School.
Jazz in DC: Jazz Teachers, Jazz Masters
February 23, 2007 20:48 - 6 minutes - 9.39 KBHenry Grant was a music teacher who taught in Washington DC's black public high schools. Among his students count luminaries of Jazz history, including Duke Ellington‚ Billy Taylor and Frank Wess, who remember him here.
Jazz in DC: Incubating Jazz
February 16, 2007 20:44 - 6 minutes - 8.93 KBDr. Billy Taylor and Frank Wess share memories of growing up in music clubs around the region and reflect on the role DC had in the development of jazz.
Jazz in DC: Beginnings
February 07, 2007 20:42 - 8 minutes - 11 KBBilly Taylor and Frank Wess share memories of Dunbar High School, long-gone DC clubs... and jazz legends Jelly Roll Morton and Lester Young.
The Power of Theater: Alan Stanford and the cast of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot
February 07, 2007 18:19 - 3 minutes - 37.1 KB Video"Come to this play with an open and pure sense of imagination, and it will embrace you." Since its first performance in 1953, Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot has generated controversy with its unconventional plot and disturbing themes. Audiences have reacted strongly, with many embracing the play, others rejecting it, but all debating its meaning. The play, which interweaves a tragic sense with circus-like elements, remains popular and influential decades later as a piece of puz...
The Power of Theater: August Wilson and embracing the content of life
February 06, 2007 21:29 - 3 minutes - 40.1 KB VideoWhen asked to describe the work of August Wilson, actor James Earl Jones said, "...when he writes he leaves some blood on the page. You can't get that stuff out of yourself without hurt. It's not therapy; it's more like revelation." August Wilson was one of America's most significant and successful playwrights. Less than 20 years ago, he began an ambitious playwriting project: to chronicle the central issues African-Americans have faced by writing one play for each decade of the 20t...
Meet the Kennedy Center Education Department: Cuesheets
January 26, 2007 21:11 - 2 minutes - 34.3 KB VideoCuesheets, our free print performance guides, help kids and teenagers prepare for attending events at the Center (and on the road.) This informational piece, created by Fairfax County Public Schools, illustrates the ways Cuesheets help young people make closer connections to performances and events.
Meet the Kennedy Center Education Department: Overview of the Education Department
January 07, 2007 21:09 - 3 minutes - 43.2 KB VideoAs America's national center for the performing arts, the Kennedy Center is committed to arts education. For more than 30 years, our Education Department has provided quality arts experiences for students, teachers, families, and the general public in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan community and throughout the nation. Each year, the Kennedy Center Education Department directly serves more than 11 million people, with a focus on Performances and Events for Young People, Families,...
Gulf Coast Highway: Black Choral Music: Boys Choir of Tallahassee
October 17, 2006 21:31 - 8 minutes - 12.2 KBIn the 1600s, African-born slaves in the United States were prohibited from playing-or even possessing-musical instruments. Regardless, the plantation fields still swayed with music as Blacks sung a capella (without instruments) to the rhythms of work. Slaveowners strove to Christianize their slaves, and many Blacks sympathized with the struggle of Jesus and found comfort in the hope of heaven. Slaves were forbidden from gathering, but conducted religious services in secret. At th...
Stephen Schwartz: Pocahontas and working in the world of animation
October 16, 2006 21:01 - 3 minutes - 19.1 KB VideoStephen Schwartz discusses how he bagan working with Disney and elaborates on the differences between writing for the theater and writing for the movies.
Gulf Coast Highway: Gospel Quartet: Blind Boys of Alabama
October 10, 2006 21:30 - 9 minutes - 12.7 KBComposer Thomas A. Dorsey and other pioneers of gospel music helped open the church doors to music considered sinful by conservative churchgoers. In the 1930s, Dorsey livened up the hymnal by incorporating elements of blues and jazz. Early "Sanctified" churches also influenced the restrained environment of mainline churches. Sanctified preachers encouraged the congregation to spontaneously burst into improvised musical lines to express their faith. Following in the footsteps of thi...
Stephen Schwartz: Stephen Schwartz collaborates with Leonard Bernstein
October 10, 2006 20:59 - 4 minutes - 28.1 KB VideoIn this selection, Schwartz discusses the influences that Leonard Bernstein had on him, beginning with their collaboration in 1971 on the Mass that opened the Kennedy Center.
Stephen Schwartz: Stephen Schwartz discusses and performs evolution of "The Wizard and I"
October 02, 2006 20:57 - 10 minutes - 59 KB VideoIn this insightful selection, Schwartz takes you through the genesis, adaptations, and final version of this Wicked hit song.
The Festival of China: Cai Guo-Qiang
October 01, 2006 20:29 - 21.4 KB VideoThis excerpt from Cai's Tornado: Explosion Project for the Kennedy Center includes both the dancing boats and the tornado itself. To get a behind the scenes look at the creation of this event visit The Art of the Explosion at http://www.artsedge.kennedy-center.org/fireworks/index.html
Gulf Coast Highway: Delta Blues: James "Super Chikan" Johnson
September 29, 2006 21:28 - 8 minutes - 11.4 KBIn the early 19th century, the fertile delta of northwest Mississippi gave rise to a thriving cotton industry. As White cotton planters turned profits, Blacks toiling in their fields turned to singing and hollering to lighten their load, pass the time, and communicate with each other. Early Mississippi Delta blues songs reflect Southern Blacks' struggle to cope with racial oppression, illiteracy, and poverty. As worksongs grew in length and complexity, blues music moved from the f...
Stephen Schwartz: Wicked in Hawaii: The creation of the musical, Wicked
September 25, 2006 20:56 - 3 minutes - 19.1 KB VideoStephen explains how he learned of the book, Wicked by Gregory Maguire, his quest to convert it to a musical and collaboration with librettist, Winne Holzman.
Gulf Coast Highway: Cajun: Michael Doucet
September 22, 2006 21:26 - 8 minutes - 11.4 KBLouisiana-based Cajun music has roots in unaccompanied, narrative ballads brought by European settlers. Sung at weddings and funerals as well as informal parties, these ballads told stories of love and death, humor and nostalgia. Cajun songs, traditionally sung in French, fused narrative balladry, Irish and Anglo-American reels and jigs, and Black and Native American folk traditions. The earliest instrument that typified Cajun music was the fiddle. In dance halls and house parties ...
The Festival of China: Shaanxi Folk Art Theater
September 22, 2006 20:24 - 3 minutes - 26.5 KB VideoThis side by side video shows the story of the turtle and the crane as seen by the audience and behind the screen as the puppeteers bring the story to life. To learn more about the art of shadow puppets, visit Playing with Shadows at http://www.artsedge.kennedy-center.org/shadowpuppets/artsedge.html.
Stephen Schwartz: Chanson
September 18, 2006 20:53 - 4 minutes - 26.8 KB VideoStephen Schwartz discusses and performs Chanson, from The Baker's Wife.
Gulf Coast Highway: Brass Band: The Tremé Brass Band
September 15, 2006 21:23 - 8 minutes - 11.3 KBFollow behind a parade in New Orleans and you'll still be a part of the show. Whether a parade was organized for a celebration or funeral, honorees and others in the main procession would be followed by a "second line" of participants hoping to get closer to the rhythms of the brass bands. The term "second line" would come to be associated with brass band music and the fancy footwork that accompanies it. New Orleans has a long tradition of brass bands, dating back to the early 20th...
The Festival of China: Terra Cotta Warriors
September 15, 2006 20:22 - 26.5 KB VideoCollections Manager Christa Deacy-Quinn of the Spurlock Museum at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana explains the steps that must be taken when handling valuable artifacts. The Terra Cotta Warriors are a collection of 8,000 statues that were buried over 2,000 years ago in the tomb of China’s first emperor Qin Shi Huang. Three of the statues - two soldiers and a horse - were sent to the Kennedy Center for display during the Festival of China. To learn more about the Spu...