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Words to Live By: Artists We Lost in 2019
Sara Aridi and
At their best, the artists who died this year could make us see the world in new ways — even as they made us laugh and cry. Here is a tribute to some of them, in their own words.
“A writer’s life and work are not a gift to mankind; they are its necessity.”
— Toni Morrison
Author, born 1931 (Read the obituary.)
“Architecture is the very mirror of life. You only have to cast your eyes on buildings to feel the presence of the past, the spirit of a place; they are the reflection of society.”
— I.M. Pei
Architect, born 1917 (Read the obituary.)
“In my films I always wanted to make people see deeply. I don’t want to show things, but to give people the desire to see.”
— Agnes Varda
Filmmaker, born 1928 (Read the obituary.)
“I felt like I belonged on a screen. I don’t know why. I guess because I related to the people up on that screen much more than the people around me.”
— Luke Perry
Actor, born 1966 (Read the obituary.)
“It may be a waning art, the art of reading closely, lovingly, scrupulously with the excitement of seeing how the text will unfold.”
— Harold Bloom
Literary critic, born 1930 (Read the obituary.)
“I believe that my dancing is the most eloquent testament that I shall leave.”
— Alicia Alonso
Ballet dancer, born 1920 (Read the obituary.)
“There is never a question of what to paint, but only how to paint. The how of painting has always been the image — the end product.”
— Robert Ryman
Painter, born 1930 (Read the obituary.)
“I really don’t spend time thinking about the past. I think about the future.”
— Hal Prince
Theater producer and director, born 1928 (Read the obituary.)
“I write these lyrics, and sometimes I read them afterwards on the album sleeve and think to myself, ‘God, what an attitude!’”
— Ric Ocasek
Singer, guitarist and songwriter, born 1944 (Read the obituary.)
“Different films resonate with viewers for different reasons, but the common thread seems to be that my films are uplifting.”
— Doris Day
Actress, born 1922 (Read the obituary.)
When it’s over, I want to say: all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.
— Mary Oliver, “When Death Comes”
Poet, born 1935 (Read the obituary.)
“The job of a drummer is to make the singer or guitarist sound really good. So it’s all about listening, and it’s all about improvising, responding to what’s going on around you.”
— Ginger Baker
Drummer, born 1939 (Read the obituary.)
“How many actresses receive a call at 50 to play an overdressed black bitch on an international hit show like ‘Dynasty?’”
— Diahann Carroll
Actress, born 1935 (Read the obituary.)
“The desire to reach for the sky runs very deep in the human psyche.”
— Cesar Pelli
Architect, born 1926 (Read the obituary.)
“What a long, strange trip it’s been.”
— Robert Hunter, “Truckin’,” the Grateful Dead
Lyricist, born 1941 (Read the obituary.)
“We had the right to vote as American citizens. We didn’t have to be granted it by some bunch of guys.”
— Cokie Roberts
Journalist, born 1943 (Read the obituary.)
“I have thought of myself as a star since I was about 15.”
— Mable Lee
Tap dancer, born 1921 (Read the obituary.)
“The cinema saved me from being a delinquent.”
— John Singleton
Filmmaker, born 1968 (Read the obituary.)
“I am not a decorator. The only place I decorate is my own house.”
— Florence Knoll Bassett
Designer, born 1917 (Read the obituary.)
“Let the other guys do the crybaby stuff. Go for the laughs.”
— Rip Torn
Actor, born 1931 (Read the obituary.)
“I’m having an affair with dance, and it’s the best thing I ever could have done. It’s like water to a duck; it’s natural.”
— Mel A. Tomlinson
Ballet dancer, born 1954 (Read the obituary.)
“You know, if you’re lucky enough to have two smash hit shows, the traffic of the world goes through your dressing room.”
— Carol Channing
Actress, born 1921 (Read the obituary.)
“My films are the celebration of reality, of life, of my friends, of actual daily life that passes and is gone tomorrow.”
— Jonas Mekas
Filmmaker, born 1922 (Read the obituary.)
“I have always believed that opera is a planet where the muses work together, join hands and celebrate all the arts.”
— Franco Zeffirelli
Opera and film director, born 1923 (Read the obituary.)
“Rhoda, like most of us, was a victorious loser.”
— Valerie Harper
Actress, born 1939 (Read the obituary.)
“In many instances I am reminding actors of things that they knew but had forgotten, and in other instances I am asking them to forget that they have learned beforehand if it is obstructing a way forward.”
— Jonathan Miller
Theater and opera director, born 1934 (Read the obituary.)
“Jazz to me is a lifelong quest, because you never finish searching for that high you can reach when everything’s clickin’ and the audience is right there with you.”
— Clora Bryant
Musician, born 1927 (Read the obituary.)
“I don’t feature myself as being the head man. I would much rather stand in the background and make small, funny things go than be up at the head of the class.”
— Tim Conway
Comedian, born 1933 (Read the obituary.)
“I don’t think any musician plays anything that is new. Everything musical has been played.”
— Dr. John
Musician, born 1941 (Read the obituary.)
“I like to write for the so-called pedestrian people.”
— C.Y. Lee
Author, born 1915 (Read the obituary.)
“You have to judge a director by his very best work, and then get it out of him.”
— Robert Evans
Film producer, born 1930 (Read the obituary.)
“You no longer have to do just Broadway shows, or movies, or conduct — you can do any or all of them.”
— André Previn
Musician, born 1929 (Read the obituary.)
“I never thought I was shocking. I say this all the time and it sounds disingenuous, but I always thought: ‘This is something they need. My culture is going to recognize it’s missing something.’”
— Carolee Schneemann
Performance artist, born 1939 (Read the obituary.)
“I’ll never be able to explain why these vibrating frequencies have the power to transport us to levels of consciousness that defy words — I simply accept the fact that music has this miraculous power for me and for myriad other people I have known.”
— Christopher Rouse
Composer, born 1949 (Read the obituary.)
“Every person can look back on their life and see a great opera.”
— John Giorno
Poet, born 1936 (Read the obituary.)
Stepping Into the World of Dance
The choreographer Emma Portner, who has spent her career mixing genres and disciplines, comes to ballet with an eye on its sometimes calcified gender relations.
In Irish dance, precision is prized. But perfection is beside the point at Gayli, a series of L.G.B.T.Q.-friendly ceili classes during March at Mary’s Bar, a queer Irish pub in Brooklyn.
A childhood encounter with an American soldier in Iraq led Hussein Smko to become a dancer. Now the artist performs on New York stages.
“Deep River” is in many ways an apt title for a dance work by Alonzo King, a choreographer fixated on flow.
Robert Garland has held many positions at Dance Theater of Harlem over many years. At long last, he has caught the most prized title: artistic director.
Alexei Ratmansky, arguably the most important ballet choreographer today, has stepped into a new role at New York City Ballet with a deeply personal first work that reflected his Ukrainian roots.
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