By the end of the 15th century, the self-portrait has become an act of self-fashioning: how I present myself to you. Dürer’s self-portraits were not the very first, but he made himself his subject with uncommon frequency. – The New York Times
Tag: 09.25.20
Carrie Mae Weems Wields Art Against COVID
There is no time for being artsy or coy, one might argue, when so many people are dying. This project also reveals a certain degree of modesty on Weems’ part — almost no one who drives past the billboards will know that an artist is responsible, as her name only appears in small letters at the bottom of each frame. – Dallas Morning News
The Writer-Diplomat Tradition
The writer-diplomat tradition, though largely ignored in the history of letters, has been critical to the development of many European and Latin American writers. Eight poets with diplomatic experience, including Octavio Paz and Czeslaw Milosz, have won the Nobel Prize for Literature. – Robert Fay
Here’s One Book Publisher Getting Through The Pandemic On Sales Of (Believe It Or Not) Poetry
Well, one kind of poetry in particular — that of Rupi Kaur, who is so popular that her most recent collection knocked Dr. Seuss off the top of Amazon’s poetry bestseller list. (Her two previous books are no. 5 and no. 8.) “For Kaur’s publisher, Andrews McMeel Publishing, this kind of immediate market impact has become customary.” – Publishers Weekly
Survey: Audiences Are Willing To Pay For Online Performances
Frequent arts attendees’ online engagement with culture has boomed during the lockdown, more than doubling to 59% by July, according to analysis of Indigo’s After The Interval sentiment tracker survey. Altogether, 82% of the 130,00 respondents said they would consider engaging with online events in the future – and 70% were willing to pay to do so. – Arts Professional
Beethoven Was A Revolutionary. Aren’t We In Revolutionary Times?
There is something incongruous about the attendance of the lavishly dressed, moneyed elite at public concerts of Beethoven symphonies or concertos, given his music’s expression of such a revolutionary, democratic, humanitarian spirit. Such are the ironies that result when the historical specificity of art is denied or forgotten and all that is left is a vague feeling of aesthetic enjoyment. Still, even the pure aesthetic enjoyment is significant. – Dissent
Philadelphia’s BalletX Experiments With A Virtual Subscription
To watch them, you have to subscribe to BalletX Beyond, which also gives you access to premieres later in the season, along with extras like interviews and making-of documentaries. The cheapest plan is $15 a month — less than a ticket to a live show but almost as much as premium Netflix. It’s a necessary experiment, especially for companies without huge endowments. Somebody has to figure out how to get people to pay for digital dance. – The New York Times
David Attenborough Break Instagram Record In First To 1 Million Followers
Attenborough stated the reason he decided to join Instagram simply: “The world is in trouble. Continents are on fire, glaciers are melting, coral reefs are dying, fish are disappearing from our oceans. The list goes on and on,” he said. “But we know what to do about it, and that’s why I’m tackling this new way of communication.” – NPR
British Royal Family Sees $35M In Lost Tourist Revenue
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth and her family are facing a 35-million-pound ($60 million Cdn) hit from the coronavirus pandemic, partly due to a shortage of tourists, the monarch’s money manager said Friday. – CBC
A Central Park Playlist That Geo-Tags You And Plays The Right Music When You’re There
For those who never manage to create an iPhone playlist that delivers the right thing at the right time, Pulitzer Prize–winning composer Ellen Reid and the New York Philharmonic have created Soundwalk, a free app that plays music through your phone, programmed for each section of the park. A built-in GPS knows right where you are and how to give the setting an extra atmospheric layer, whether earthy or ethereal, which evolves with whatever way you turn. – WQXR