The unsigned painting of a woman wearing an outfit with a plunging neckline has been a favorite at the Spencer Museum of Art on the University of Kansas campus for decades. “Over the years, it’s been attributed to a few different artists — first, William Hoare, and then, sometime before the 1980s, to Highmore. But museum curators had never been 100 percent sure of the 1720s-era painting’s true origin, until now.”
Tag: 07.23.18
Michael Ondaatje’s Booker Prize Wins Say Much About The Current State Of Global Literature
Ondaatje’s Booker wins are complicated. More than anything, Ondaatje’s Golden Booker win showcases the contradictions of literary value in the current context of the global commodifications of creative goods. His 1992 success can be examined within the broader context of the prize, its relation to postcolonial fiction and the globalization of Can Lit.
Carnegie Library Archivist Accused Of Stealing $8 Million Worth Of Rare Books Over Two Decades
“According to the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office, the library’s former archivist and an antique bookseller allegedly conspired to steal and sell over $8 million worth of rare books from the [Pittsburgh] library, including [Isaac Newton’s] Principia, valued at $900,000. The archivist, Greg Priore, and the bookseller, John Schulman, were arrested on Friday for the crime.”
We Think We Can Tell What Others Are Thinking (We Can’t)
The fate of democracy depends on our ability to grasp and accept differing mindsets – yet the seemingly near-universal absence of reasonable public discourse suggests that this rarely occurs. We accuse those with conflicting opinions of having character defects, subliminal prejudices, faulty education, cultural brainwashing and a myriad of other ‘if only they knew better’ flaws of reasoning. But there’s a more basic and frightening possibility. What if we really aren’t capable of a sophisticated reading of other minds?
‘How Could I?’ Richard Russo On Writing A Novel About A School Shooting
“The problem is that for the novelist the opposite question — How could I not? — also pertains. … Looking back on Empire Falls — both the novel and the fine HBO mini-series made from it — and trying to imagine what a novel on the same subject would look like today, I’m most struck by how innocent we all were.”
‘Honestly, I Feel Wonderful Here’: Yuval Sharon On Being An Israeli-American Working At Bayreuth
“That difficult history was of course a terrible tragedy, and it affected my family as well. But it’s clear that people here are coming to terms with that history and probing ever deeper into it. That wonderful exhibition Silenced Voices … portrays Jewish artists and theater personnel who once worked at the Bayreuth Festival and describes their fates. Every day I go by there and look at another one. I feel so honored to be able to stand on their shoulders and work here as an independent stage director without it being a major issue. My religion and heritage are irrelevant to my work anyway. It only comes up in conversation.”
What The U.S.-China Trade War Means For The Art Market
Until the latest round of tariffs, art could be imported here duty-free. “Dealers in Chinese art and antiques described the proposed tariffs as misguided and detrimental to cultural exchange, noting it would not serve to protect a domestic industry, since American artists — unlike American factory workers — are not competing directly with Chinese artists. Nor would it meaningfully harm the robust and growing Chinese and broader Asian fine art and antiques markets.”
Why Did Trey McIntyre Disband His Dance Company At Its Peak? His New Documentary Film Explains (Sort Of)
“‘The art was telling me that things had to change. And they had to change big. Something I created needed to die off. When the company was at its height, when it was at its most successful, I closed it down.’ These puzzling words are spoken by choreographer Trey McIntyre in Gravity Hero, his new documentary, which unpacks the rise and fall of his wildly successful dance company, Trey McIntyre Project.”
Italian Parliament Members Furious At Mozart Production
“A British opera director has been lambasted by [right-wing] Italian MPs after staging an ‘anti-racist’ performance of Mozart’s The Magic Flute featuring a bulldozer poised to raze a migrant tent camp. Graham Vick, of Birmingham Opera Company and a former director of Glyndebourne, revised the original plot in an experimental production at the Macerata opera festival.”
A Surge Of Interest In Jazz Among Younger Listeners?
Spotify told the BBC that in the past six months, the number of UK users aged 30 and under listening to their flagship Jazz UK playlist had increased by 108%. Smaller streaming platforms such as Deezer and Amazon Music reported similar increases. The growth has been attributed to a flourishing UK scene which fuses jazz with a variety of genres.