Despite Nietzsche’s pointed, if sporadic, political commentary, there’s a debate among scholars about the political relevance of his thought. On the one side are those who think Nietzsche’s concerns were largely apolitical. If you comb through his texts, you don’t find much that speaks directly to traditional political concerns. And when he does touch the political, it’s never in any systematic way; there’s no unified theory. On the other side are those who see in Nietzsche a deeply political thinker. It’s true that much of his writing is about morality and the role of art in society. But if you believe, as I do, that ethics and culture are inseparable from politics, Nietzsche’s ideas are inescapably political.
Tag: 06.19.17
YouTube Can’t Actually *Ban* White-Supremacist Or ISIS Recruiting Videos – But It Can (And Will) Bury Them
Videos that promote abhorrent ideas or ideology don’t violate YouTube’s terms of service if they don’t actually encourage acts of violence, and blocking content based on the ideas it contains is a slippery slope the company would rather avoid. But that doesn’t mean that it can do nothing …
Leonardo DiCaprio Turns Over His Picasso And Basquiat Paintings To U.S. Gov’t For Massive Malaysian Corruption Case
It’s the same case – the alleged theft of $540 million from 1MDB, the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund – that has the Justice Dept. trying to acquire the rights to such films as Dumb and Dumber To and The Wolf of Wall Street (which starred DiCaprio).
The New BBC Cardiff Singer Of The World Is –
Catriona Morison, a Scottish mezzo who didn’t win any of the semi-final rounds and made it to the final in the wild-card slot. Morison, the first Briton ever to win this competition, also shared the Song Prize (the main prize is for operatic repertoire) with Mongolian baritone Ariunbaatar Ganbaatar.
Forger Arrested For Selling Fake Damien Hirst Prints – For The Third Time
Vincent Lopreto, one of three men arraigned for the counterfeiting scheme on Monday, has already been convicted twice of selling fake “limited edition” prints of Hirst’s dot paintings.
The Kennedy Center May Honor JFK, But It’s LBJ’s View Of The Arts That Prevailed
The upcoming expansion of the D.C. arts center is making an extra point of paying tribute to the president it’s named after. And yet, Philip Kennicott writes, John F. Kennedy was no aesthete himself, and what he valued in the arts isn’t what became national policy after he died.
John Avildsen, 81, Director Of ‘Rocky’ And ‘The Karate Kid’
He made a wide range of other films, from early exploitation flicks like Turn On to Love to the Jack Lemmon vehicle Save the Tiger to the George C. Scott-Marlon Brando thriller The Formula to the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd comedy Neighbors. He was nominated for a second Oscar for, of all things, a short documentary, Traveling Hopefully, about the founder of the ACLU.
Italian Court Reinstates Five Ousted Museum Directors – For Now
“On 15 June, Italy’s highest administrative court, the Council of State, suspended the decision by the Lazio regional administrative tribunal (TAR) that voided the appointments” of museum directors in Modena, Mantua, Naples, Taranto, and Reggio Calabria. “It is the latest twist in a legal saga that threatens the Italian culture ministry’s ongoing reform of the country’s bureaucratic museums sector.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 06.19.17
On “looky-loos” and the institutions who are desperate for them and desperate for them to behave
Reading [Dave] Hickey’s memoir this past week I was suddenly struck by the way arts organizations have set themselves up for this very situation.. … read more
AJBlog: Jumper Published 2017-06-19
Disinterest, distance, and the artist-manager
One of the core actions of aesthetic/artistic attention is to step back. To make a little space between yourself and the object of your attention, so you can see it as it is, rather than see it as you are. … read more
AJBlog: The Artful Manager Published 2017-06-19
Too Much Contemporary? Too Little What Came Before?
That is a prospect we–American consumers of art exhibitions–face, and it is that subject and its consequences for our culture … read more
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts Published 2017-06-19
Audiencing: Joining the Resistance at Donmar Warehouse?
Last week in London I was able to see the much discussed Donmar Warehouse production of … The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. It’s not hard to see why Brecht’s satirical account of the rise of a clownish American dictator would find its moment now, … read more
AJBlog: We The Audience Published 2017-06-19
AAMD’s Response to Metropolitan Museum’s Renegade Reorganization: “Guidance to Consider”
In last week’s post, I noted that Met President Daniel Weiss‘ designation as his museum’s CEO, with the yet-to-be-named new director as his subordinate, ran contrary to the professional guidelines of the Association of Art Museum Directors. I also predicted that AAMD’s reaction to the Met’s going rogue would be to ignore it. … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2017-06-19
How Technology Is Changing Composing Movie Music
“The fact that it’s so easy to edit and change both movies and music is something I think has caused some of the creative process to suffer a bit. By doing mock-ups of everything, you’re not allowing for some of the performance creativity that happens, some of the magic that used to happen when you’re out there working with the orchestra.”