If classical music puts you to sleep..

If classical music puts you to sleep, then you might be excited about Max Richter's new piece. "Sleep" is an eight-hour piece (apparently the longest classical composition ever) that's meant to be played while people sleep. The premiere will happen at an overnight performance where the audience will listen in beds, presumably asleep.

(By coincidence, I put on a Richter album last night to help me fall asleep. I can vouch for this guy's talent.)

Really old advice

I know it's June and the time for graduation speeches is over. But consider--no matter when you graduated and at what level--this open letter of advice to the class of 2015. It's advice so old it seems really fresh and interesting.

The cutest art ever?

It's interactive, and it's made from 450 rotating penguins!

Suits (almost) as amazing as the paintings

How does Kehinde Wiley get awesome suits that look so similar to the backgrounds of his paintings? Well, he uses material for the suit that he buys to model for the paintings. Check some great ones out here.

Anish Kapoor at Versailles

During the school year I would hesitate to post this link, but if you're reading this now then you're almost certainly a legal adult whose parents aren't going to complain or get me fired or whatever.

Anish Kapoor, he of the monumental sculptural works, is the latest contemporary artist to show at the historic Versailles Palace. And, of course, he's made quite a stir by referring to one sculpture as "the queen's vagina."

More graphs about art

Here are some charts documenting the still-small acceptance of women in art.

Palettes of famous artists

This is what the paint looks like before it's on the canvas.

Yoko Ono at MoMA

While I never thought of Yoko Ono as "the woman who broke up the Beatles," I must admit that I only thought of her as John Lennon's wife. That was silly of me, because a) no person's identity should be limited to their spouse, and b) she's an accomplished artist.

Her show to MoMA will (hopefully) help to break the limiting label. You can read this synopsis of her career to help not make the same mistake so many of us have made.

For what it's worth...

...the school district internet filters are now keeping me from Blogger at work. So posting here has been difficult. I don't know if moving to a new host site will solve the problem or only delay.

Why is the timpani player smelling his drum?

Here's a quick rundown of some funny questions you might like to read before going to a classical music concert.

If you do go to one, let me know! I love to talk about concerts, but rarely get the opportunity.