Painted Pigeons (Yes, Live Birds) At Venice Biennale

“In recent days, visitors to the city have been surprised to see pigeons sporting plumages that would do credit to a tropical parrot: green and yellow pigeons; pigeons whose feathers radiate electric blue or strident vermillion; even pigeons that seem to be robed in imperial purple. … [The] coloured birds were the work of a Swiss artist, Julian Charrière, and a German photographer, Julius von Bismark.” Some animal rights activists, however, are not charmed.

Should Government Fund The Arts?

This week a debate at The Economist: “It is not the cost of funding that is the problem, but the cost to the arts themselves of government intervention. There is no ‘right’ form of art. The arts market is well-functioning–people tend to get what they want. That what they want is not what the elite want is a problem for the elite, not the people.”