“If you took all the clichés about horrible urban design and shoved them into 75 acres, you’d probably end up with something pretty close to Dallas’ Victory Park.”
Tag: 05.19.12
Vandals Steal Public Art And Replace It With Dog Poo
“Lynn Bennett-Mackenzie had placed 200 small wood houses in 19 locations along a forest trail at Inverewe Gardens, owned by the National Trust of Scotland. But a large part of her work in Wester Ross has been stolen – with bags of dog waste being put in its place among trees nearby.”
Hey UK, Let’s Send The Vestal Virgins Of The Parthenon Back To Greece
“To weigh the issue, you need only ask yourself if Elgin’s behaviour would be acceptable today. Of course it wouldn’t, and nor would we expect to keep the result of such looting. So why do we hold on to these ill-gotten sculptures now?”
Turkey Called. It Wants Its Cultural Hegemony Back – Now
Turkey is building new museums and throwing a lot of money toward visual art and archaeology. “Turkey’s cultural plans at home are coupled with an unprecedentedly bold campaign to bring back treasures that it believes were stolen, which now sit in Western museums. These plans enjoy political support across the spectrum and the backing of all Turkey’s museum directors. The campaign targets many more objects and museums than the government has so far let on.”
If Your Writing Life Was About Drugs, And You Stop Doing Them, Then What?
“Fun, of course, is something [Jay McInerney has] long been interested in. He had lots of it upon arriving in New York in the early 80s, when he spent his time going to gritty night clubs, snorting coke and squiring various models. These experiences formed the basis for his scabrous debut, Bright Lights, Big City, which was an immediate success when it appeared in 1984, making him both rich and famous. He was soon a member of the literary ‘brat pack’ – its two other chief members were Bret Easton Ellis and Tama Janowitz – and continued moving in glamorously debauched circles, plundering his life in his fiction.”
European Union Making Life Harder On Hollywood?
“The European Union has drafted film funding rules which, if approved, will cut coin for Hollywood productions shooting in Europe and create potential impediments for all co-productions in its member states.”
Thanks (Partly) To Social Media And The Internet, Battle Over Women’s Rights In Saudi Arabia
“Dissent over women’s status in society will remain at the heart of competing visions for the country for a long time to come. As facts on the ground evolve – with women making up the majority of college graduates, young generations connected in an unprecedented fashion to the internet and social media, and the need for a more competitive economy to support its burgeoning population – it will become increasingly untenable for Saudi Arabia to straddle both the 7th century and the 21st century.”