“Despite reports from some officials that have characterized the illicit trade in antiquities as a multi-billion-dollar industry and the third largest black market after the drugs and arms trades, the new [World Customs Organization] report reveals that the scale is much more modest. In fact, cultural heritage crime is so minor compared with other risk categories globally that it barely registers on Customs’ radar.” – Artnet
Tag: 09.28.20
Sofiane Sylve Had Just Started Jobs Leading Two Ballet Companies When The Pandemic Hit
“Departing her post as a principal dancer at San Francisco Ballet, she embarked on a multifaceted, bicontinental career as ballet master and principal dancer at Dresden Semperoper Ballett, and artistic advisor and school director at Ballet San Antonio — and then COVID-19 hit, sidelining performances and administrative plans at both companies. But ballet dancers are nothing if not resilient. In her new leadership roles, Sylve is determined to help shepherd ballet through this challenging time — and transform it for the better.” – Pointe Magazine
Who Owns Public Radio’s Podcasts, The Stations Or The Creators? And Who Should?
“After controversies this year involving the intellectual property of podcasts owned by Spotify and BuzzFeed, some public media podcasters who have co-created podcasts or worked as driving voices behind them are asking whether they should have ownership stakes in their work.” – Current
What’s The Purpose Of Book Reviews? A Book Critic Speaks
Charles Finch: “For me, books evoke a feeling first, and then you have to try to feel lucidly in words. … That’s the art of criticism to me: trying to explain emotions, which, in a way, all art forms are trying to do through different means. … The best reviews often have an essayistic quality. They’re trying to say, what is this telling us about our moment of life?” – Slate
One Fourth Of U.S. Adults Say They Get News From YouTube
“The study finds a news landscape on YouTube in which established news organizations and independent news creators thrive side by side – and consequently, one where established news organizations no longer have full control over the news Americans watch.” – Pew Research Center
Scientist Discovers Drawing Hidden Beneath Paint In ‘Mona Lisa’
“The faint traces of a charcoal underdrawing, visible thanks to multispectral analysis, are evidence of the spolvero technique, in which the artist pricks tiny holes along the outlines of the drawing and uses charcoal dust to transfer the cartoon to canvas. The discovery, published by scientist Pascal Cotte in the Journal of Cultural Heritage, was more than 15 years in the making.” – Artnet
The Latest Music Piracy: Stream-Ripping
Called stream-ripping, it accounts for 80% of copyright infringement among the biggest piracy sites, according to a recent report by the PRS. Stream-ripping websites make money from advertisers, touting a mix of legitimate products, scams and pornography. Over the past three years, the use of it has increased by 1,390%, says the report. – BBC
St. Louis Public Radio Ousts Its Leader
The flap between Tim Eby and some of his workers came to light in early August when journalists and producers of color complained about unfair treatment. – St. Louis Post-Dispatch
How COVID Scrambled How Hollywood Finances Projects
COVID-19 has upended the revenue streams that Hollywood could once depend on. As theaters have yet to fully reopen and draw film fans, studios have had to find other ways to release their movies and recoup investments. – Los Angeles Times
How America’s Literary Programs Made The World Smaller
Even today, the institutions of creative writing in the United States reflect their origins in the Cold War. In the 1940s and 1950s, early advocates for such programs, including Paul Engle at Iowa and Wallace Stegner at Stanford, shared a common vision for American culture with the internationalists of the Truman and Eisenhower administrations and influential philanthropic foundations. – Chronicle of Higher Education