A Year After The Emmett Till-Whitney Biennial Furor, Dana Schutz Is Back At Work

“Now, Ms. Schutz admits that she is ‘guarded’ about the controversy …, saying only that [painting Open Casket] was an attempt to ‘register this monstrous act and this tragic loss.’ But she acknowledged that may have been an ‘impossible’ task.” Even so, she doesn’t regret having painted the piece or the subsequent conflict: “It’s good those voices were heard.'” — The New York Times

Was Modernist English Literature Deliberately Written To Keep The Riff-Raff Away?

Yes, argues scholar Jonathan Rose. “The intelligentsia was driven to create literary modernism by a profound loathing of ordinary common readers. The intellectuals feared the masses not because they were illiterate but because, by the early twentieth century, they were becoming more literate, thanks to public education, adult education, scholarships, and cheap editions of the great books.” — JSTOR Daily

When J Edgar Hoover’s FBI Declared Writers Enemies Of The State

Reading through dossier after dossier on 16 American writers contained in Writers Under Surveillance: The FBI Files, what strikes you immediately is the terrifying absurdity of Hoover’s obsession with anyone who didn’t follow his patriotic party line and dared to express critical concern about the national psyche in well-written words.  – New Statesman

Oscars Will Go On Without A Host This Year: Report

“As it stands, no new offers are out, nor are any expected to be made to a single potential host to fill the void left by [the] Kevin Hart [debacle]. … [Instead,] producers will select a crop of A-listers to introduce various segments instead of relying on one marquee name to kick things off in a monologue filled with Trump zingers, said the insiders.” — Variety

So Now Detroit’s Cool Again, Who Gets To Call Themselves A Detroit Artist?

“I mean if you are a Cranbrook student or AIR, you are not a Detroit artist. If your studio practice is based in Pontiac, you are not a Detroit artist. If you just moved to Detroit, you are not a Detroit artist. Why is this false narrative being pumped? We all have a place of origin why aren’t you repping that? I got one real question though, Where were you when we were shooting in the gym?” – Hyperallergic

Why Did All The Bells On Philly’s Avenue Of The Arts Stop Ringing?

In 1996, when a multimillion-dollar renovation of South Broad Street was completed, sound artist Robert Coburn attached 39 small bronze bells to lampposts along the newly-christened “Avenue of the Arts.” For a year or so, they played melodies fed from an electronic terminal, but they’ve been silent for two decades now. A reporter found out why. — The Philadelphia Inquirer