These days more and more artists are challenging the bohemian stance that artists should shun economic capital in favor of pursuing art for art’s sake. Artists and creative workers increasingly lick their low-income wounds publicly and vent about the elaborate dance of self-reinvention in the digital age. It’s become trendy to discuss and even quantify exactly how little money is being made from creative projects. Mathematics has never looked so hip.”
Tag: 07.02.15
Almost A Third Of The Great Wall Of China Has Disappeared – So Far
“About 2,000 kilometers, or 30%, of the ancient fortification built in the Ming Dynasty era has disappeared due to natural erosion and human damage … And the situation could worsen, experts are warning, as not enough is being done to preserve what remains.”
Suddenly, Ai Weiwei’s Art Is All Over Beijing – Is His Pariah Status Over?
Since his notorious 2011 arrest, China’s most internationally famous artist couldn’t show his work at home and couldn’t travel abroad. Galkleries and the press weren’t even supposed to mention his name. Now he has four solo shows going in the capital. Is the government rehabilitating him?
Rare Book Theft Is A Big Problem, And Booksellers Are Complicit
“Spectacular recent heists from European libraries have exposed something rotten at the heart of the international rare book trade. … What has stunned the book world is not just the scale of the thefts, but how easily the stolen goods were fenced and resold.”
Watching Male Strippers With Sociologists
“And, as it turns out, there’s been lots of [sociological study] done on male strippers who dance for women. With the opening of Magic Mike XXL yesterday, we thought this would be a good time to review the research.”
Classical Critic Edward Greenfield, 86
“He began his journalistic career in 1953 as a political writer for the Manchester Guardian, taking up reviewing recordings for the paper in 1955 (he was later appointed the Guardian‘s chief music critic in 1977, retiring in 1993).” He also spent 55 years as a contributing critic for Gramophone.
‘I’m The Most Influential Composer In The Last 50 Years,’ Says La Monte Young
“What’s more, when I die, people will say, ‘He was the most important composer since the beginning of music.’ It’s not just a work of genius – I did things no one ever dreamed of and I set up an approach to sound that parallels universal structure.”
Thanks To A Gang Rape Scene, This Opera Broadcast Has A Different Age Rating
“Director of Opera Kasper Holten defended the controversial scene saying it ‘puts the spotlight on the brutal reality of women being abused during war time, and sexual violence being a tragic fact of war.'”
How One ’90s Movie Remains (Sadly) Unique In U.S. Media
“Nair’s insistence on casting Indian actors in lead roles was a deal-breaker for many Hollywood studios. Only when rising star Denzel Washington was cast in the role of Demetrius did the film get studio backing in the U.S.”
Making Music Out Of Seizures And Smog
“If you had programming skills, you could re-associate number 60 with any sound – real or imagined – from the plink of a woodblock to the bleep of a computer. In the most basic sense, this is what Chafe does. With a free, open-source, downloadable program for music called ChucK, he transforms eye-glazing data: clarinets to represent carbon dioxide levels, for instance, overlaid with GDP data rendered in violins.”