When Francis Lee first read about Mary Anning, he felt a connection to her. Then he did the work to make gritty Lyme come to life. “I did extensive research to make sure that not just the facts about Mary but the facts about the day and how people lived their lives and what it meant to have no money in this time. … All of that is very, very factual.” But the film’s detractors have fastened their (homophobic) outrage on the relationship at the heart of the film between paleontologist Anning and geologist Charlotte Murchison. – Los Angeles Times
Author: ArtsJournal2
What Should MoMA Do About Philip Johnson’s Massively Racist Legacy?
Truly, the man who was the founding director of architecture and design at MoMA is now a liability – or so says Harvard, which recently took steps to remove his name from the university’s buildings and official references. “His history with fascism, antisemitism and the Nazis is well documented. He tried to start a fascist political party in the United States, attended the Nuremberg rally of 1938 and described Hitler as ‘a spellbinder.'” – The Guardian (UK)
Modern Life Has Broken Human Brains
And that’s because our conception of time is driven not by the seasons, not by the light that exists during the day, but by a relentless clock and deadlines that won’t quit. – The Atlantic
John Le Carre, Chronicler Of The Internal And External Vicissitudes Of Spy Life, Has Died At 89
Le Carré, the pen name of David Cornwell, worked for the British Foreign Service, running his own spies, in the 1940s and 1950s. Then came the George Smiley books, including The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, and le Carré’s career rocketed up. He best “explored the gap between the west’s high-flown rhetoric of freedom and the gritty reality of defending it, in novels such as The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and The Night Manager, which gained him critical acclaim and made him a bestseller around the world.” – The Guardian (UK)
Reviving The Work Of A Once Highly Praised Writer
Who, of course, happens to be a woman, Gertrude Trevalyan. Her re-publisher: “I read it and I thought, ‘This is incredible.’ … If she was a bloke, she’d still be in print today, without question. All of Aldous Huxley’s books are still in print – some of them are amazing, some aren’t that great. He was doing interesting social commentary, and also experimental stuff. She was doing the same sort of thing and no one’s heard of her.” – The Guardian (UK)
Alert: Painted Portraits Are Not Photographs
Just in case you were inclined to think they were, which … apparently, people are. And by “people,” we’re talking about scientists. But there’s an issue: “Changing ideas about accuracy relate to an even deeper problem with these supposedly scientific approaches: The researchers are unaware that both portraiture and the ideas portraits express have a history.” – Hyperallergic
Designing The Ideal Library
You know, for when we can be together in person again. – The New York Times
After A Suitable Boy Was In Development For 25 Years, Mira Nair Brings It To The Small Screen
The director says she didn’t direct it as a series, though: “I actually treated it as long-form cinema. It’s about rhythm for me. It’s about trying to find that thread that takes us through. And of course, music for me … is really the oxygen that drives my cinema.” – NPR
LA’s Museum Of Latin American Art Defends Its Big Deaccession Auction
The museum had 59 works from its permanent collection on the auction block, but it says that was in pursuit of a larger goal. The museum’s chief curator claimed “the sale was not a response to economic hardship but part of a long-term initiative to diversify the collection, making it stronger, more relevant and balanced.” – Los Angeles Times
Making The Most Of The Sounds Of Home
Bella Chen takes ambient sounds from around the world – the world where musicians can’t travel at the moment – and turns them into inspiration for improvised, online performances. – BBC