“The gallery scene here has expanded before—notably in the 1990s—but this time the expansion has an internationalist, big-money feel… The question—posed frequently by gallerists, artists, and journalists—is whether this growth can support itself in a city long known for its scarcity of serious collectors.”
Tag: 09.06.16
Study: A Measurable Bias About Rap Music
“Those who were told the lyrics were from a rap song perceived them to be more negative overall,” the researchers report. They were also more likely to favor regulation of the lyrics, and more likely to believe they were literally true.
‘The Simpsons’ – The Best TV Show Ever? Definitely, Say Matt Zoller Seitz And Alan Sepinwall
“The Simpsons is so ambitious, intimate, classical, experimental, hip, corny, and altogether free in its conviction that the imagination should go where it wants, that to even begin to explain all the things The Simpsons is, and all the things it does, you would need an immense Venn diagram drawn on a football field, each circle representing different modes of comedy.”
Culture Is Dead, And Entertainment Killed It, Writes Mario Vargas Llosa
“The great majority of humanity does not engage with, produce or appreciate any form of culture other than what used to be considered by cultured people, disparagingly, as mere popular pastimes, with no links to the intellectual, artistic, and literary activities that were once at the heart of culture. This former culture is now dead, although it still survives in small social enclaves, without any influence on the mainstream.”
Signifying Nothing And Everything: How Harambe The Gorilla Became The Perfect Meme
“Over the summer, Harambe evolved from ordinary tragedy to perfect meme: defined only by its ability to replicate … In a reversal of Marshall McLuhan’s classic dictum, Harambe is the message that became a medium, capable of carrying any signal, without becoming identified with any of them.”
Fort Worth Symphony Musicians Vote To Authorize Strike
“The strike authorization vote comes as the American Federation of Musicians Local 72-147 plans to reopen contract negotiations with symphony management on Wednesday morning. Musicians rejected a proposed four-year deal that included lower annual pay on Sunday.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 09.06.16
Bach’s Brandenburgs: Liberated by The Sebastians?
The world probably wouldn’t be appreciably different had Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos not been discovered sitting on some shelf, possibly unplayed and unexamined, for a century or so after they were finished in 1721. … But the Brandenburg Concertos are so singular in Bach’s output, [and] in the history of concertos, that their impact on audiences was inevitable. … read more
AJBlog: Condemned to Music Published 2016-09-06
Gard Foundation Symposium–Our Communities: Begins Today
Today marks the beginning of The Robert E. Gard Foundation’s gathering … Our Communities: A Symposium on the Arts is a reflection on the state of arts/community connections … Since this is a by-invitation-only event, I have been tasked with keeping the outside world apprised of at least some of the discussions that take place there. … read more
AJBlog: Engaging Matters Published 2016-09-06
Leonard Weinglass, Our ‘Modern Clarence Darrow’
Other defense attorneys may have been more famous – William Kunstler, for example – but radical leftists of a certain age remember the late Leonard Weinglass with special feeling. … read more
AJBlog: Straight|Up Published 2016-09-06
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Oops – Warner Reports Its Own Site For Violating Copyright, Demands Google Take It Down
“It also asked the search giant to remove links to legitimate movie streaming websites run by Amazon and Sky, as well as the film database IMDB. The request was submitted on behalf of Warner Brothers by Vobile, a company that files hundreds of thousands of takedown requests every month.”
Nieman Celebrates 100 Years Of Pulitzers – So Why Is Criticism Conspicuously Absent?
“I couldn’t help but notice a revelatory lacuna. There were no critics or writers on the arts among the announced participants. None of the subjects of the panels (‘Power in the Home,’ ‘Power in the Nation,’ ‘Power in the World’) appear to deal with issues raised by arts and culture coverage. Winners of awards in Investigative Journalism, History, Public Service, Poetry, Drama, Feature Writing, Editorial Writing, General Non-fiction, Photography, and Commentary are represented — but nothing in the august line-up acknowledges there is a prize for Criticism.”
Does The Glamor-Driven Music Business Work Anymore?
“Consider this fact: more people watched The Great British Bake Off the previous week. Online streams for the MTV show were up, but that offers little consolation to promoters who depend on TV advertising to fund their gala events. Those golden days when Miley Cyrus twerked her way to MTV rating success now seem a blurred, distant memory.”