A Masterpiece That Needs More Attention
On Saturday, The Wall Street Journal published my latest entry in its Saturday Masterpiece column, about Enguerrand Quarton’s Pietà of Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, … Many people have told me that they’ve never noticed the work in the Louvre. Yet is it a large work, more than 5 by 7 feet. … read more
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts Published 2017-06-12
A Better Idea for the Guggenheim
One of Frank Lloyd Wright’s fantasies for his design of the Guggenheim Museum was to color it pink. … But Richard Hamilton had a better idea: … read more
AJBlog: Straight|Up Published 2017-06-12
Tag: 06.12.17
This Year’s Documenta In Greece: Little More Than “Crisis Tourism”?
After a controversial 2010 bailout package brought relations between Germany and Greece to a new low, organizers had said they hoped the festival would help mend relations between the two countries. However, the undertaking has largely failed to appeal to locals, and in the process has even alienated some. According to Yanis Varoufakis, the enigmatic former Greek finance minister who stepped down after pressure from European leaders forced Greece to accept harsh austerity measures in exchange for an international bailout package in 2015, Documenta’s arrival was nothing more than “crisis tourism.”
In Defense Of The Public Theatre’s Trumpian “Julius Caesar”
“The effect of watching Caesar-as-Trump is outrageous, comical, and—especially if you number among those for whom the election of this President has felt like an appalling and dangerous swerve into farce—cathartic in its use of satire.”
The Arts-And… Movement
“In part, this policy of promoting relationships with other fields and interest areas stems from our strategy that our alliances with other sectors is a way for us to advance our interests and our agendas, and demonstrate our value over and apart from the intrinsic value of the arts. And while those who decry that too much emphasis is placed on the value of the arts as a handmaiden to other values, and perhaps not enough emphasis on what the arts do for individuals, communities and society by just being the arts, the advance of the promotion and involvement of the arts where they intersect with other areas, and where they spur partnerships, is a genie not likely easily put back in the jar.”
Tonys Broadcast Ratings Way Down Without “Hamilton”
This year’s ceremony drew a 0.9 rating in adults 18-49 and 6 million viewers, airing on CBS from 8 p.m.-11 p.m. That is compared to a 1.6 and 8.7 million viewers in 2016, which represents a drop of approximately 44% in the demo and 31% in total viewers.
How Hacking Culture Has Spawned A Cult Of BS
“In the field of self-improvement, there have always been snake oil salesman ready to promote gimmicks disguised as legitimate answers. But the internet age has ushered in a whole new era: The maddening proliferation of hope — clouded in broscience. The 7 ways to transform your sex life. Use polyphasic sleep to hack your energy levels. Dump a stick of butter in your coffee to energize your breakfast and keep you feeling full all day (no shit — you just dumped a stick of butter in your coffee). All of these hacks carry a similar message: If only we did XYZ, then our bodies, minds, and entire lives will transform for the better.”
Can A Nearly Extinct Language Be Saved By Making A Movie?
Fewer than 20 fluent speakers of Haida are left in the world, according to local counts. For the Haida themselves, the destruction of their language is profoundly tied to a loss of identity.