And BMG doesn’t mean “in historical times,” but since 2008. “Although it did not identify the labels in question, BMG said black musicians’ royalties were up to 3.4% lower than those of non-black artists.” The inquiry at BMG will continue. – BBC
Author: ArtsJournal2
Stanley Cowell, Versatile And Innovative Jazz Pianist, 79
Cowell “had one foot firmly in the jazz tradition and another in the avant-garde. He often performed standards and jazz classics, but in new and unexpected ways.” – Washington Post
The Head Of Americans For The Arts Steps Aside After Many, Many Workplace Complaints
The powerful arts advocacy nonprofit had many successes – but workplace culture wasn’t one of them. “The move comes after a growing chorus of criticism, from current and former AFTA employees and advisory council members, who said that the organization was failing its mission with respect to diversity, equity and inclusion. There were also complaints of sexual harassment, and of a management culture that was built on intimidation instead of transparency.” – The New York Times
There’s A What In This Year’s Vatican Nativity Scene?
That’s right, an astronaut. Italian and other Catholic media have not been kind. But, says a ceramics teacher from Castelli, Abruzzo, where the original crèche figures were made: “It is rich in symbols and signifiers that offer a non-traditional reading of the Nativity scene.” – Hyperallergic
Yes, It Absolutely Is A Big Deal To Have Queer Christmas Movies
Why would anyone want to join that schlocky tradition? Well, ask screenwriter Michael Varrati. “‘Movie Christmas is a lot different than real Christmas,’ Varrati said. ‘Not everybody has a great relationship with their family or has pristine memories of yesteryear.’ In holiday movies, he added, queer people ‘get to live in the Christmas they always wanted or didn’t get to have.'” – The New York Times
The Creative Team Of ‘Ma Rainey’ Used Horsehair To Reflect Actual Hairstyles Of The 1920s
Honestly, the head of the hair department deserves several medals. “In my mind, it was close to human hair, and when I got that box, it was nothing like human hair at all. They tie thread from the top to the bottom of the tail, and they chop it off and mail it to you. And you know where that tail lies, there was manure and lice eggs. Nothing was alive and active, but it was crusty, wiry and coarse. … I ended up building that wig, strand by strand. And every time I pulled those little hairs through, I had to scrape off the manure.” – Variety
The Art Of This Summer’s Protest Movements
How to preserve the murals, protest slogans, and art painted mostly on plywood this summer? At Minneapolis’ George Floyd Square, a caretaker says, “Each piece holds within itself the energy of the uprising, of the person who wrote that letter or who drew that painting or who crafts that sculpture or picked out that rock or laid that t-shirt or their helmet or that plant or that flower. … So every piece is sacred!” – NPR
Is Making Movies Worth It Right Now?
That’s really what Tom Cruise’s rant was about, and it’s also about the concentration of power during the pandemic, while studios are paying millions to try to keep their productions afloat: “In the short term, this means more projects in the pipeline to keep Tinseltown busy. In the long term, though, the shift only widens Hollywood’s power imbalance, creating an industry dependent on the wealthiest studios and celebrities.” – The Atlantic
Another Delay For The Film Academy’s Museum
Announced in 2012, supposed to open in 2017, and … what now? “Setbacks have included sparring architects, the discovery of mastodon fossils by excavation crews, a budget that ballooned by roughly 90 percent, the ouster of its founding director and now, for the second time, the coronavirus pandemic.” – The New York Times
Wood’s A Great Building Material, Except For That Little Thing Called A Legacy
Take Stonehenge, for example. “Stonehenge too might once have been largely a wooden structure. The central bluestones and the rings of sarsen stones that surround them are surrounded in turn by several rings of postholes, just as at Woodhenge. The stones could therefore originally have been covered or surrounded by a huge ring-shaped wooden building. The archaeological blogger Geoff Carter has even suggested that the sarsen stones themselves and their lintels could have acted as load-bearing structures in a huge wooden temple that completely covered the bluestones.” – LitHub