The art market is tied to the system of uniqueness. It is still hard to sell digital files on sticks. But uniqueness contradicts with the nature of digital work, as digital files are identical and can be copied endlessly. This cries out for a new attitude towards digital art and its value that does not lie in uniqueness. It is the opposite. It lies in the accessibility of the works for everyone, from every part of the world. – The Observer
Tag: 02.13.19
The Viral Influencer Market – How Organizing Attention Works
Sociologists Jennifer Earl and Katrina Kimport have studied the ways that protest tactics and schemes have spread out of political culture and into other spaces, especially entertainment. They coined the phrase “ubiquitous movement practices” to describe how petitions, boycotts, and the like—once tactics used solely for political goals—are now deployed across all kinds of social and cultural concerns from trying to ensure Family Guy remains on the air to trying to get the Postal Service “to issue a Marx Brothers stamp.” – The Atlantic
Steven Soderbergh On How The Movies Have (Are) Changing
“What I don’t understand is why everyone in this business thinks there is one template that is gonna be the unified field theory of “windowing” [or how long a movie screens in theaters]. The minute that I knew, which is usually around Friday at noon, that Logan Lucky wasn’t going to work and that Unsane was definitely not gonna work—as soon as that happens, the studio should let me drop the movie on a platform the next week.” – The Atlantic
For Black Talent Agents, It’s Hard Out There In Hollywood
“Pushes for greater diversity onscreen have been mirrored in some Hollywood corridors of power with varying degrees of effort and success. But the number of partners and department heads of color at talent agencies, those hypercompetitive firms where careers traditionally start in mailrooms or assistants’ pools, remains vanishingly low. … Here, seven black agents — six with major agencies, one who runs her own boutique company — speak candidly about the barriers they have faced, the isolation they have felt, and the changes they are beginning to see.” – The New York Times
Star Singer/Songwriter Ryan Adams Accused Of Manipulation, Abuse
Adams has seven Grammys and 16 albums, and was seen as a champion of women artists’ careers. But some now say that Adams’s rock-star patronage masked a darker reality. In interviews, seven women and more than a dozen associates described a pattern of manipulative behavior in which Adams dangled career opportunities while simultaneously pursuing female artists for sex. – The New York Times
The Thriving Theatre Scene In Mexico’s Prisons
“There are fifteen professional theatre companies in Mexico within detention centers, and hundreds of inmates participate. Two companies — the one at Santa Martha Acatitla prison and one called A Shout of Freedom — regularly present shows inside the jails for their fellow inmates, their families, and even the general public.” – HowlRound
Fox News Rejects Ad For Oscar-Nominated Anti-Nazi Documentary, Calling It “Inappropriate”
The documentary focuses on a 1939 pro-Nazi rally in New York and warns that fascism could happen here. The movie – A Night At The Garden – is competing in the documentary category and the ad for it – a 30-second spot was called “It Can Happen Here.” Producers had wanted to buy a spot on the Sean Hannity Show. – The Hollywood Reporter
Postcard From The Edge (Of Elko): A Report From The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering
“The event has come here for 35 years, but it feels much older. At moments, it seems like 1884, when the trail drives were still happening … But cowboy poetry is more contemporary than it wants you to believe.” – Literary Hub
Could Daniel Harding Finally Hit It Big In The US?
The English conductor, who started out as a wunderkind protégé of Simon Rattle in Birmingham, has a solid career in Europe, but he had a difficult time when he debuted with the big American orchestras in the ’00s. Now 43, he’s in the States leading the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra on its tour. Can he find success here? Zachary Woolfe talks to Harding, and to such observers as Rattle and Deborah Borda. – The New York Times
What Are Museums To Do About The Sackler Name They Have Everywhere?
The Sackler family has been giving millions to art institutions for half a century. Now they, and the recipients of their generosity, are coming under heavy pressure from activists protesting the opioid crisis, because the Sacklers own Purdue Pharma, which has made and marketed OxyContin for 23 years. Thing is, many different Sacklers have been donors, and not all of them have had any involvement with OxyContin. Reporter Peggy McGlone looks into the issue. – The Washington Post