Just last week, L.A. MoCA announced that it will eliminate admission charges; earlier this year, MoCA Cleveland did the same thing, while Toronto’s AGO made itself free for visitors under 25. Other cities have made their museums free for limited groups such as public benefits recipients or library card holders. Many museum administrators now find themselves torn between the public library model (“where you can walk in for free and learn something”) and “a gut feeling that people value things more when they have to pay for it.” – The New York Observer
Tag: 05.23.19
Where Everybody Knows Your Name: The Art Of The Regular Patron
“No matter the establishment — cafe, trattoria, dive bar, coffeehouse, doughnut shop, pharmacy, even — those who make themselves permanent fixtures almost all say the same thing about what makes a regular. When they walk in, the people behind the counter know who they are.” – The New York Times
Legacy: IM Pei’s Remarkable Concert Hall
Scott Cantrell: “Thirty years later, week after week, I still marvel at the acoustics of my favorite modern symphony hall — maybe my favorite of any age. The sound seems a physical, tactile presence in the room; one senses it moving around, expanding and exploring and inhabiting spaces both seen and unseen.” – Dallas News
Why Do Artists Get Exploited? (Hey – Work For Free!) New Study Explores The Causes
On one hand, passion for one’s work can lead to greater satisfaction. But the researchers’ new paper in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, “Understanding Contemporary Forms of Exploitation: Attributions of Passion Serve to Legitimize the Poor Treatment of Workers,” lays bare the unique ways passionate workers can be taken advantage of in a culture that encourages us to find our life’s calling at work. – KQED
Libraries Have Indeed Become Our New Community Centers
Libraries step in to fill gaps and offer help when normal channels are inaccessible. Pima County, Arizona, pays for a team of nurses to come to the library to help with medical questions for those who can’t or won’t go to a hospital, clinic, or doctor. In Charleston, West Virginia, librarians told me that they have launched searches for people to research health issues or concerns. In some libraries, librarians have Narcan training. – The Atlantic
In Praise Of Attending The Arts By Yourself
When it comes to fun activities done in public – having a drink in a bar, going to the opera – being alone becomes socially loaded. And it runs deep: entire Reddit forums are dedicated to the question of going to the movies alone. – The Guardian
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Unbuilt Projects Turned Into 3D Images
Spanish architect David Romero, has been using advanced techniques of 3-D representation over the last few years to transform those visions into images so detailed they almost look like contemporary photographs. – CityLab
Daniel Libeskind On Making Art At Auschwitz
The artist/architect, whose parents survived the Holocaust (though more than a dozen aunts, uncles and cousins did not), talks to Tim Teeman about Through the Lens of Faith: Auschwitz, an installation he opens this summer at the death camp-turned-museum and his work at the Ground Zero site in New York. – The Daily Beast
San Francisco Museums Offer Free Admission This Summer To All City Residents Receiving Public Assistance
“The program,” called San Francisco Museums for All and involving 15 institutions, “will run June 1 to September 2, with no limit to the number of institutions or times eligible participants can visit.” – Hyperallergic
I Tweeted As Susan Sontag
Starting in January 2018, Rebecca Brill started sending out short excerpts from Sontag’s published diaries on Twitter every day. And what happens when one does this? “You will start talking about Susan Sontag incessantly. You will bring her up at meetings … and in chats with your favorite bartender. … As hard as you try to refrain, you will constantly quote Susan Sontag’s journals and notebooks on dates. … You will not get many second dates. Another thing is that you will have trolls.” – Literary Hub