Tag: 01.13.20

Reconsidering Cole Porter

Though he was born into genuine if provincial affluence, with second-tier European royalty filling out the family’s dance card on vacation, he chose to become a working stiff. Reversing the usual American ascent from labor to leisure makes for a more strenuous, and more moving, story. The labor produced a new kind of American lyric, and language. – The New Yorker

Could The Walls Of Notre-Dame Cathedral Really Collapse? Yes, It’s Quite Possible

Says the former master builder (i.e., chief preservation officer) of Cologne Cathedral, “The risk of further collapse is quite realistic. The vault is unlikely to collapse as a whole, but more parts could come down. What most people don’t realize is that heat can also damage stone. Intense heat dissolves — simply put — the structure of the stone.” What’s more, the scaffolding that was in use for a restoration project before last April’s catastrophic blaze “was completely welded into place by the intense heat generated by the fire” and the stone walls could be damaged further as that scaffolding is removed. – Deutsche Welle

Director Ousted At Erie Art Museum Following High-Profile Reports Of Sexual Harassment

Just one business day after articles were published detailing accusations that he propositioned subordinates in Erie, Pa. and in his previous post at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and after a petition demanding his ouster attracted hundreds of co-signers over the weekend, 31-year-old Joshua Helmer is “no longer employed at the Erie Art Museum,” according to a brief statement on the museum’s Facebook page. – The Philadelphia Inquirer

News Reports Of Joshua Helmer’s Behavior ‘Barely Scratched The Surface’, Say Philadelphia Museum Of Art Staffers

A statement signed by hundreds of current and former employees says that “the reporting in the New York Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer seems to barely scratch the surface of the abuses perpetrated by this man.” Helmer, who left the Philadelphia Museum abruptly in 2018 and was later banned from the building, has been ousted as director of the Erie (Pa.) Art Museum in the wake of those reports. – The Philadelphia Inquirer

Is Our Theatre Training System Broken?

“If we don’t reinvent drama training to reflect the different needs of students from much more diverse backgrounds – and that includes those from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds – it’s like holding the door open so that they can get in the room, then blaming them when they leave quickly because they feel uncomfortable or can’t afford to stay.” – The Stage

Critic Roger Scruton, 75

Scruton, who died after a short battle with cancer, was a controversial figure throughout his career as a right-wing philosopher. Author of The Aesthetics of Architecture and The Classical Vernacular: Architectural Principles in an Age of Nihilism, he delivered lectures and wrote extensively on his contempt for the work of modern architects and his passion for traditional architecture. – Dezeen

Is Fiction Lying?

Is fiction more like the covert violation of the liar, or like the overt violation of the ironical speaker? Unlike the liar, the fiction author doesn’t hide her untruthful intentions: they’re on the book’s cover, or announced by a library classification sticker. However, unlike in the case of irony, the fiction author’s words have their regular meaning. The apparent flouting doesn’t trigger the expected nonliteral reinterpretation of the author’s words in order to restore adherence to the maxims. – Aeon

China’s Movie Box Office Just Set New Records. But Things Are Cooling

Top-line figures obscure “hidden secrets” plaguing the film industry. Chief among these is the fact that the average occupancy rate of theaters across the country has hit a new five-year low, at a time when the movie-going of audiences in third-, fourth- and fifth-tier cities — previously hailed as the driving force of future box office growth — has stagnated. -Variety