Staff writer Andrew Ferguson: “By play’s end, it’s become clear that if the young [Heidi] Schreck did indeed love the Constitution, it’s because she misunderstood it; and if her passion for the document has cooled as she’s gotten older, it’s because she’s transcended her earlier misunderstanding to misunderstand it even more.” – The Atlantic
Tag: 08.28.19
Composer Mario Davidovsky, Electronic Music Pioneer, Dead At 85
“Like many of his fellow composers in the 1950s and ’60s, Mr. Davidovsky was drawn to the new possibilities offered by technology. But he was uneasy with the prospect of music that was immune to human interpretation. Beginning in 1963 with Synchronisms No. 1 for flute and tape, he coaxed electronic sounds into partnership with traditional instruments to create musical pas-de-deux that were full of mystery and drama.” – The New York Times
A Campaign In London For A New Museum Of Slavery
The proposal, which has the support of London mayor Sadiq Khan, comes from the Fabian Society, a socialist organization that dates back to 1884. The Fabians say that a slavery museum would educate the public about the “centuries-old tropes about racial inferiority” that feed racism to this day — and that both London’s financial industry and the UK government “have a moral obligation” to fund the project. – BBC
How A Priceless New Orleans Musical Archive Lost After Katrina Wound Up In A Storage Locker In Southern California
“These are some of the founding documents of New Orleans funk. These tapes were part of that incredibly rich creative period that laid the groundwork for a lot of New Orleans music that followed, and by extension, impacted decades of popular music to come.” – Los Angeles Times
This Person Doesn’t Exist And Never Said That. (The Growing DeepFake Crisis)
As political advertisements already twist candidates’ words and manipulate the truth for the perfect soundbite, can you believe anything you hear when it can all be manufactured on any laptop you can find at Best Buy? – Shelly Palmer
American Cities With The Most Creative Workers
“The leading city, Washington, D.C., has nearly three times the concentration of the creative class of the most lagging city, Detroit. In the four leading cities, the creative class makes up between half and 60-plus percent of the workforce; in the bottom five, it makes up less than 30 percent.” CityLab
Richard Booth, Who Created The Book Town Movement, Dead At 80
He almost single-handedly turned the fading Welsh village of Hay-on-Wye into one of the world’s secondhand book capitals and a model followed by towns in more than a few other countries. – The New York Times
In The Public Glare, Museums Think About Who Gets To Give Them Money
“In the case of working with particular individuals, it’s clear there is a line. We would not accept donations from high-level visible criminals, or organisations that are egregious and violate our own values or mission,” he says. “At the same time, we are fundamentally supported by and we operate on the basis of philanthropy. That’s the American model.” – The Art Newspaper
How Wealthy Collectors Now Collect Museums
“At the highest levels of art collecting, board memberships and other institutional affiliations are table stakes: it can be almost impossible to collect the most coveted art without them. In other words, increasingly we live not in a world where museums collect collectors, but rather in a world where collectors collect museums.” – The Art Newspaper