“Arabs often see MSA’s decline as the failure of their nations to uphold the legacy of Arabic, the language of the Qur’an and Islam. Though some rejoice in the strengthening of vernaculars, the so-called colloquials or dialects, as a sign of local identities gaining prominence, the withdrawal of MSA is in fact a warning about the weakening social infrastructure and declining education system.”
Tag: 05.21.18
Seattle Was Recently Named A UNESCO “City Of Literature.” So What Does That Mean?
“If this plays out right, people will be coming from all over. They’ll be looking for readings, visiting bookstores, making pilgrimages to our downtown library — they’ll know about all the things we have to offer. Once that positive reinforcement loop gets going, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
The Secret To Great Old Violins’ Sound? Human Vowels
Extensive research by Taiwanese scientists – who tested singers and Stradivari, Guarneri, and Amati violins with spectrometers – found that the old violins emit sets of frequencies that match those that form particular human vowel sounds. (The sound of Amatis matches the vowels of basses and baritones; Strads match tenors and altos.)
Authors Of Color Are Pulling Fantasy Fiction Away From Norse And Celtic Mythology Models – And Readers Are Following
“While the field was largely dominated by white men in decades past, today diverse writers are bringing new voices to the conversation, imagining futures based on more inclusive readings of the past, and creating multiethnic worlds that can help people understand their own. Certainly, speculative fiction writers since at least Octavia Butler – the first science-fiction writer to win a MacArthur grant – have looked beyond Europe for inspiration. But no longer can they be dismissed as niche. From the $1 billion-plus box office of Black Panther … to this spring’s breakout debut novel, Children of Blood and Bone, by Nigerian-American author Tomi Adeyemi, audiences and readers are flocking to well-drawn worlds inspired by African and Asian countries.”
How A Ten-Year-Old Funding Measure Has Transformed The Arts In Small-Town Minnesota
Legislation known as the Legacy Amendment, passed in 2008, has provided over $440 million for cultural projects in the state, and that money has had a powerful effect in rural communities like New London (pop. 1,355, about halfway between the Twin Cities and the North Dakota state line).
Time Inc. Was Once A Colossus. Now It’s Been Brought Low
The flush times went on for a while. But then, starting about a decade ago, the company began a slow decline that, in 2018, resulted in the Meredith Corporation, a Des Moines, Iowa, media company heavy on lifestyle monthlies like Better Homes and Gardens, completing its purchase of the once-grand Time Inc. in a deal that valued the company at $2.8 billion. The new owner wasted no time in prying the Time Inc. logo from the facade of its Lower Manhattan offices and announcing that it would seek buyers for Time, Fortune, Sports Illustrated and Money. The deadline for first-round bids was May 11.
That Jesus Painting In The Museum Basement Turned Out To Be A $30 Million Mantegna
“A painting that spent more than a century in the storerooms of a provincial Italian museum will be attributed Wednesday to one of the greatest artists of the Renaissance. The attribution to Andrea Mantegna (1431-1506) has the backing of Keith Christiansen of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the world’s leading expert on the artist. It means the painting, a wooden panel depicting Jesus’s resurrection, may be worth about a thousand times more than was previously thought: between $25 million and $30 million.”
Demand For Nigerian Art Is Growing – Not Just In The West, But In Nigeria, Too
“The newfound interest there is part of a larger cultural and economic revival. It wasn’t long ago that moving abroad or catering to outsiders’ perceptions of their country was the only way for artists here to survive. But as the economy has surged — diversifying from oil into manufacturing, telecommunications and a thriving film industry to give Nigeria the biggest gross domestic product in Africa — so has interest in fashion, music and art. That has fueled a rise in the number of galleries and auction houses. It has also allowed many artists to make a living at home.”
A New Project Gives Access To Digital Scans Of Endangered Or Destroyed Cultural Site. What Could Be Wrong With That?
War, natural disasters and climate change are destroying some of the world’s most precious cultural sites. Google is trying to help preserve these archaeological wonders by allowing users access to 3D images of these treasures through its site. But the project is raising questions about Google’s motivations and about who should own the digital copyrights. Some critics call it a form of “digital colonialism.”
Museum Sues, Wins, Fighting Brazilian Airport Fees Of $66k/Day To Store Art
In a new interpretation of the existing rules, the Campinas airport attempted to charge the museum 243,000 reais ($66,000) per day to store six paintings—Dorelia in a Black Dress (1903-4) by Gwen John, Coming Out of School (1927) by L.S. Lowry, The Bride (1949) by Sylvia Sleigh, Seated Figure (1961) by Francis Bacon, They Always Appear by Ibrahim El-Salahi (1964), and Head of a Man (1965) by F. N. Souza—based on their market value because they were deemed “import cargo of high specific value”. The museum avoided the charge after a court ruled that the works were of a “civic-cultural nature”