Use the long weekend to read this four-part series from RogerEbert.com, covering everything from exoticization to contemporary depictions of Muslims in the U.S.
Tag: 08.29.16
Inside The Head Of A Chief Curator
Nancy Spector, new chief curator at the Brooklyn Museum: “There’s all the essential work that we do to create our central product, and there’s all of the scholarship and thinking and educational components that are really critical to what we do, and then there’s the fact that you have to raise money for everything — absolutely everything. So that is just a parallel track that’s always there.”
Venice Is Screwed. Can It Be Saved?
“No effective provision on Venice’s behalf has been enforced so far by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, although protection of environment and cultural heritage is among the fundamental principles of the Italian Constitution. Nor are authorities developing any project whatsoever aimed not just at preserving the monuments of Venice, but at ensuring its citizens a future worth living.”
Debating The University Of Chicago’s “Intellectual Freedom” Letter
“To those who regularly campaign against what they see as political correctness, and to plenty of others, the letter was the message they have been waiting for—and that they think students need. But to many others, the letter distorted programs on which many students rely, ignored the hostility many students feel on campus, and belittled the sincerity of faculty members who work to make higher education more inclusive.”
Guardian Editorial: “Unacceptable” That Our Orchestras Aren’t Being Led By More Women
“London has five permanent symphony orchestras, all full of female players. Yet of the 20 conducting posts at these orchestras, just one is held by a woman – and the temporary post held by the London Symphony’s assistant conductor Elim Chan ends this season. It wouldn’t be acceptable in other professions. It isn’t acceptable here either.”
‘Birth Of A Nation’/Nate Parker Controversy Leaves Oscars Race Wide Open
“Months ago, insiders would have called Birth of a Nation a Best Picture lock … if everything went right. It hasn’t. … What remains to be seen is whether the film can still have an impact, and whether Oscar voters can separate the art from their feelings about the artist … But based on the buzz we’re hearing, we can start to take a closer look at the movies and performers that are expected to contend in the six biggest Oscar categories.”
Met Museum And Tate Join New Online Video Portal For Museums
This week Sotheby’s launched the online “Museum Network,” which will host video tours and other content from such institutions as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Tate galleries, the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow, and the National Palace Museum in Taiwan.
TV Ratings For MTV Awards Plummet 30%. But Streams Hit 68 Million
“Ratings for Sunday’s broadcast of MTV’s Video Music Awards plummeted, drawing an audience of 6.5 million viewers, about a 34 percent drop from last year’s total of 9.8 million.”
The Idea Of Multiple Universes Is A Poorly Thought-Out, Faith-Based Mess
Sam Kriss: “You might not like what I’m about to say about the multiverse. But don’t worry; you’ve already had your revenge. If there are an infinite number of parallel universes, there will be any number of terrible dictatorships, places where life has become very difficult for people who like to string words together. Somewhere out there, there’s a society in which every desperate little essay like this one comes with a tiny, unremarkable button: push it, and the author will be immediately electrocuted to death.”
Why The Age Of The Jingle Is Over
“Despite its effectiveness, the jingle has become a relic of the mid-20th-century commercials it once dominated.” (Even Oscar Meyer has retired its two classics.) “Meanwhile, marketers are focusing their efforts on licensing existing music from recording artists. … What killed the jingle? It owes its demise not only to shifts in the advertising business but also changes in the music business, and how the two industries became more entwined than ever.”