“It’s not just that the likes of Spike Lee and Hal Hartley have had to go to Kickstarter to fund their projects: Frederick Wiseman and Abel Ferrara have seen their recent crowdfunding campaigns fail. “Having lived and worked in an era with fewer players and a lot more money, many of these artists are now faced with shrinking budgets and crowded release windows … If they want to continue making features, it seems they’ll have to get used to it. Which begs the question, is it still worth it?”
Tag: 08.18.15
The High-Tech Designer Handbag That Plays Contemporary Classical Music
Diana Broussard’s dbCHRONICLE not only has a customizable LCD screen, it has a soundtrack: Pulitzer Prize-winner David Lang’s optimism, performed by So Percussion. (includes video trailer)
Woman Discovers She Bought Back Picasso Vase Stolen From Her Two Years Ago
When Patricia Specter saw the serial number, “Naturally I let out a huge scream of delight – and immediately called police.”
Visiting The Harlem Renaissance – Via Virtual Reality
For instance, there’s “an avatar that could be programmed with biographical information on W. E. B. Du Bois, whmo users could ask questions to find out about his history. In the surrounding blocks Ethel Waters might be singing the debut performance of ‘Stormy Weather’ at the Cotton Club, and crowds are gathering at the Apollo Theater.”
The Tyranny Of Algorithms: How Our Choices Are Being Narrowed
“Cyberspace is no longer an escape from the ‘real world’. It is now a force governing it via algorithms: recipe-like sets of instructions to solve problems. From Google search to OkCupid matchmaking, software orders and weights hundreds of variables into clean, simple interfaces, taking us from query to solution. Complex mathematics govern such answers, but it is hidden from plain view, thanks either to secrecy imposed by law, or to complexity outsiders cannot unravel.”
Why Pablo Neruda Is So Very Hard To Translate – And Why That’s Okay
“All translators create their own reality, which may or may not reflect the intentions of the writer. After all, if you make the decision to cut out six cantos in a 12-canto series (as my edition did), to what extent are you even trying to keep faith with with the original work? I found some sort of an answer in Neruda’s own argument for’ an impure poetry’.”
ISIS Beheads 82-Year-Old Scholar Who Refused To Lead Them To Antiquities
“Islamic State militants beheaded a renowned antiquities scholar in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra and hung his mutilated body on a column in a main square of the historic site because he apparently refused to reveal where valuable artefacts had been moved for safekeeping.”
Muslim Drag Queen Featured In Documentary Faces Death Threats
“Asif Quaraishi, an activist for the so-called ‘Gaysian’ community who performs in clubs as the glamorous Asifa Lahore, has received death threats in the past and is concerned about the public reaction to Muslim Drag Queens when it airs [on Britain’s Channel Four] on Monday night.” (includes video)
Kansas City Art Institute Receives Record $25 Million Donation
“The gift to KCAI is critical to increasing need-based and merit scholarship funds, Jones said. Six million dollars of the gift, in the form of a two-for-one challenge grant, will be used for student scholarships, endowed professorships and visiting professors.”
Two Drunken Audience Members Come Backstage During Show, Asking For Ladies’ Room
And one of them walked onstage to get there. Said one cast member, “As soon as I got back offstage, I asked my crew member, ‘Did that really happen? Did someone really come back here and ask me where the bathroom was?'”