The Artist Behind Those Airplane Bathroom Flemish Style Selfies

Nina Katchadourian and her husband fly a lot, hence the airplane bathroom selfies – but the Flemish recreations are a small part of her work. She says her work is funny partly because “it’s seriously difficult for people to reconcile humor and art co-existing, which points to an old-fashioned or romantic expectation about art that is selling humor short. Humor is sometimes the only way to speak intensely serious things.” – The Cut

Things Can Go Badly Awry When A President Inspires Satirical Art

That is to say, when the current U.S. president, and his family, are satirized or otherwise memorialized in art, it’s often not very good art. “A lot has appeared over the past few years — Mr. Trump as an animatronic fortuneteller, a portrait of Mr. Trump made from pornographic images, a presidential double locked in a jail cell (in a Trump hotel) — but little of it has been memorable. I’m grateful that artists are responding creatively to the current moment, but why do so many of their efforts miss the mark?” – The New York Times

How Did Las Vegas Become Such A Hot Music Town?

The town used to be known for casinos, and then for being “a musical retirement village,” but now it’s getting “residencies” from stars like Britney Spears and, suddenly, both Drake and Cardi B. That says something about Las Vegas, but “it also says they are at the forefront of the next stage of hip-hop’s total cultural dominance, with a Vegas residency the ultimate in infiltrating middle America.” – The Guardian (UK)

A Paris Art Gallery Cancels The Show Of An Artist Accused Of Plagiarizing Basquiat

Guillaume Verda, a French artist, has scrubbed his website, set his Instagram to private … and lost a prestigious gallery solo show after being accused of plagiarizing Jean-Michel Basquiat. “One thing is certain: the artist’s style bears a striking resemblance to Basquiat’s. But does that make it a tribute or a cheap knock-off?” – France24

Remembering Composer Dominick Argento

Argento was always a force apart. He belonged to no compositional school, preferring a distinctly eclectic language that appealed both intellectually and emotionally to his audiences. At a time when most of the celebrated American composers were based on either the East or West coasts, where they could work together and help promote one another’s music, Mr. Argento lived and worked in Minneapolis throughout his career, teaching composition at the University of Minnesota and working closely for many years with the director Sir Tyrone Guthrie at what became the Guthrie Theater. – Washington Post

‘Empire’ Producers Write Jussie Smollett’s Character Out Of Script

“While these allegations are very disturbing, we are placing our trust in the legal system as the process plays out,” said a statement from the series’s producers at 20th Century Fox. “We are also aware of the effects of this process on the cast and crew members who work on our show and to avoid further disruption on set, we have decided to remove the role of ‘Jamal’ from the final two episodes of the season.” – The Washington Post