“As the 2020s dawn, it is crucial to understand the sources and contours of this skepticism toward science and scientists. We stand on the brink of revolutions in fields from biotechnology to robotics to computing, even as global warming accelerates. As a result, arguments over science underlie some of our most divisive and consequential policy debates.” – Boston Review
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Auction Houses Surprised How Well Their Business Went Online
“Despite the technological challenges, Europe’s leading auction houses say they have weathered the crisis well as customers adapted quickly, in some cases making online purchases in the millions for art they had only viewed virtually.” – The Art Newspaper
Trump Threatens To Veto COVID Funding If Funding For Cultural Institutions Isn’t Removed
He “reeled off items he deemed to be egregious, including foreign aid and wildlife research. Prominently featured on his list was “$40 million for the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, which is not even open for business; $1 billion for the Smithsonian, and an additional $154 million for the National Gallery of Art—likewise, these facilities are not open.” – Artnet
Legislation For A New Federal Writers Project?
David Kipen started lobbying for a new Writers’ Project in opinion columns and letters to lawmakers. One US congressman—Rep. Ted Lieu, a California Democrat—wrote back to Kipen expressing interest in the idea, and now hopes to introduce a bill in the next Congress. The timing and exact details of the bill have yet to be finalized, but Lieu’s office says that a new project could be anchored within the Department of Labor or a cultural agency, and run as a grant program administered through existing community institutions, including news outlets. – Columbia Journalism Review
15 Objects That Symbolized 2020
Some of these objects are troubling, a few are ridiculous, many are ambiguous (though some, to be sure, are delightful). These are the objects that caused us to see the world in a new way this year — or the objects that this singular year forced us to consider anew. – Medium
A James Baldwin Music Playlist
Ikechúkwú Onyewuenyi, a curator at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, hopes to rouse a new generation of writers with “Chez Baldwin,” a 478-track, 32-hour-long Spotify playlist based on Baldwin’s vinyl record collection. – Hyperallergic
Tutus: A Brief History
“What is the history of this strange protruding skirt which allegedly gets its name from the French children’s word cucu, meaning ‘bottom’? Pointe took a look back at some important moments in innovation,” from Marie Taglioni’s bell-shaped skirt in the 1832 premiere of La Sylphide to the ten-foot-wide social-distancing tutu that the Dutch National Ballet developed this year. – Pointe Magazine
Conan Doyle Estate Settles In Enola Holmes Copyright Case
“The Enola Holmes case hinged on Sherlock Holmes’ complicated copyright status. Most Holmes stories sit in the public domain, and stories like Enola Holmes — which reimagines Holmes (played by Henry Cavill) having a younger sister — can freely repurpose their elements. But 10 of Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories are still protected by copyright, and the Doyle estate argued that they depict a meaningfully different version of the character.” – The Verge
How The Vienna Philharmonic Has Pushed Through The Pandemic
They went on a tour of Japan last month; since they got home, they’ve started a Bruckner symphony cycle under Christian Thielemann and played Strauss and Webern program under Zubin Mehta. Chairman Daniel Froschauer and general manager Michael Bladerer talk with a reporter about the orchestra’s commitment to playing together live and why it’s important. – The New York Times
New “Wonder Woman” Flops At the International Box Office
After months of delays, “Wonder Woman 1984” finally hit theaters over the weekend in 32 international markets. But the movie floundered at the box office. The Warner Bros. sequel earned just $38.5 million internationally over the weekend ahead of its debut in the US on Friday, when it will play in theaters and stream on HBO Max simultaneously. – Business Insider