Talking About the Arts: Faster, Stronger, Louder
Arts fans need a way of venting, sharing and raising questions -- just like sports fans have.
- One of the first comments came from @Joe_DePaolo, a sports writer and former radio producer, who felt that the team-versus-team nature of sports lends itself to radio, as does the us-versus-them nature of political radio. But the diffuse nature of the arts would make things more complicated.
@PiaCatton Takes more than passion to produce compelling radio. There's nuance in the arts. And nuance has no place in talk radio.- Performing arts fans can banter about performances with *zero* nuance. But it could all devolve into my-favorites-are-better-than-your-favorites.
@PiaCatton I know a group who does something like this in Argentina about opera. It's fun, but often devolves into pure gossip and cattiness- The funniest part of this whole concept has been the Tweets from sport fans making points in a brawny New York accent like well-known sports radio host Mike Francesa:
Pacino shoulda stuck wit Romo in Glengarry. Backaftadis. MT @PiaCatton There's no arts equivalent of @MikeFrancesaYES. on.wsj.com/SepUzE
@PiaCatton "Arts Tawk, yer on the air." "D'ya think it's time Mamet hung up his spikes? That new play of his--whatta waste of Patti Lupone."- On a serious note, the following exchange, between two performing arts-world denizens, helped illustrate my larger point that even with technology, the current mode of arts journalism does not allow for a significant voice for the fans.
@HESherman @PiaCatton @wsj Do the many arts-related podcasts play into the state of arts chatter on the "radio"?
@SimsJames @PiaCatton How many of them allow listeners to call in? Or are they still essentially one-way?- One visual arts critic, who has a podcast, hoped to figure out a way to create a call-in feature -- and wondered if artists themselves would be willing to be involved
@PiaCatton If I had more hours in day, maybe I'd figure out how to do it. The big Q: Would the Leah Dickermans & Francis Alyses be game?!- I don't know if artists would be willing, but the fact that so much discussion was generated between people who love the arts suggests that there is plenty of room for more.
