Is Capitalism Going To Kill Off Art?

“The rise of art as investment commodity for the ultra-wealthy does seem to distort the process of art-making and -selling for everyone else. A painting was sold last week for $300-million (U.S.), probably to the feudal sheikdom of Qatar; meanwhile across the board, artists’ real incomes are declining. It is rather confusing.”

Jonathan Franzen Is The Book Internet’s Favorite Villain For A Reason

“This idea Franzen posits that literature teaches us you’re not the ‘heroic figure you think of yourself as, that you might be the very dubious figure that other people think of you as’ is as deeply embedded in many big YA novels as it is in Munro stories. To say these books are simplistic is to mistake grandness, ease of narrative, and breathless pace for mere shallowness.”

When American Malls Were About To Die, This Architect Rescued Them And Made Them Fantasylands Of Joy

Jon Jerde “constructed thrilling, multi-levelled worlds connected by spiral staircases and swooping ramps, supercharged urban stage sets that sampled styles from across time and place with promiscuous glee. His brand of ‘place making’ has become the ubiquitous strategy for retail-led urban regeneration around the world.”