“The most enjoyable part of leading the art division of a private bank is working with the great characters of the art market. In my experience, serious collectors tend to fall into one of four ‘tribes,’ each with their own behaviors, insecurities, strengths, and motivations for seeking, acquiring, and appreciating art.” Herewith, Evan Beard of Bank of America taxonomizes The Connoisseur, The Enterprising Collector, The Aesthete, and The Trophy Hunter.
Tag: 01.22.18
Connie Sawyer, Hollywood’s Oldest Working Actress, Dead At 105
She spent most of her career playing bit parts – something she said she was glad of. Yet that career stretched from opening for vaudeville and radio legend Sophie Tucker, through notable spots in the films A Hole in the Head, True Grit, Dumb and Dumber, and Pineapple Express, to her final TV appearances at age 102.
The Russian Politician Using His Country’s Politics As Satire
Plenty of politicos write novels; but not many write eviscerating self-satires. It was as though Karl Rove had taken the knife to his and George W. Bush’s America in, say, 2005. Surkov, however, wasn’t, and isn’t, simply a Rove. The documentary filmmaker Adam Curtis calls him “a hero of our time” (in praise and opprobrium) for turning Russia’s political reality into “a bewildering, constantly changing piece of theater.”
The Taj Mahal Is Getting Its First-Ever Deep Cleaning – With A Mud Bath
“For more than 350 years, monsoon rains in Agra, the bustling city where the monument sits, were enough to wash dirt off the structure’s walls. But pollution has worsened over the last couple of decades, and parts of the marble facade have turned yellow and black. … Cleaning the monument is time-consuming and challenging. To remove discoloration, workers suspended on scaffolding are caking Fuller’s earth – a mud paste that absorbs dirt, grease and animal excrement.”
The Antidote To Fake News Is…?
We should be clear that when we lament the ‘fake news’ take over we are talking about media illiteracy, not actual fake news. Fake news was originally reported in our current public discourse to describe actual false information knowingly posted by bloggers in Macedonia who were gaming the system to get more clicks to make money from ads on their websites, as reported by Craig Silverman and Lawrence Alexander in Buzzfeed. Facts may be framed within a news story in interpretations that are biased. Fake news has come to be used to dismiss news that has a bias with which we disagree thanks to Trump’s co-opting of the term.
We’re Fascinated By Dystopias. But Why? They’re So Dull!
“We have seen a marked diminution in the production of new utopias over the last decades (along with an overwhelming increase in all manner of conceivable dystopias, most of which look monotonously alike).”
World War I Footage Restored, Colorized By ‘Lord Of The Rings’ Director
“[Peter Jackson] admitted even he had been surprised by what was possible using the latest technology. ‘We can make this grainy, flickery, sped-up footage look like it was shot in the last week or two,’ he said. ‘It looks like it was shot with high-definition cameras … It is so sharp and clear now.'”
Why Russians Are Churning Out Dozens Of Parodies Of A 15-Year-Old Music Video
It started when just over a dozen cadets at the air transport academy, wearing very little, did a lip-synch cover of Benny Benassi’s “Satisfaction.” The effect was rather Tom of Finland, which got them in trouble when the powers-that-be found the video online. Masha Gessen recounts what happened next – “a story of spontaneous solidarity, self-organization, and, ultimately, just possibly, the triumph of freedom over bureaucracy.”
When The Parthenon Was A Riot Of Color
There are plenty of people now who find the notion of painted marble or bronze an affront to their impression of the past as an austere, unadorned place. Yet ancient art would have been a riot of colour and glitzy decoration.
‘Duplitecture’ – How The Chinese Are Using And Adapting Their Towns That Replicate European Cities
Bianca Bosker: “I’ve spent the past decade tracing China’s ‘duplitecture’ – the replica White Houses, Versailles Palaces, and even foreign cities, from Venice to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, that have multiplied through the country – and from the start of my research, planners and architecture critics have assured me the movement was on its last legs.” Turns out, ten years on, that just isn’t so.