“When I was in college I always got more out of lectures than out of the reading, and now I work in a trade, journalism, that is largely about listening to the spoken voice. And this, in turn, led me to wonder whether I’m wired in some way to listen rather than read.”
Tag: 11.26.11
More Museums In Colorado. Fewer Curators
“As museums take major strides forward, the area’s alternative art centers seem to be slipping backward, cutting curatorial positions and settling for inconsistent and often unambitious exhibition schedules.”
Oh, Goody! London Has A New Literary Feud!
“It has been an intellectual spat of some savagery, so far largely confined to the refined pages of one of Britain’s most respected literary magazines. This weekend, however, it seems ever more likely that a court will have to adjudicate between the historian Niall Ferguson and writer Pankaj Mishra over Ferguson’s claim that he had been accused of being a ‘racist’.”
The Bad And Fabulous Week Of A Czech Cubist
After four of Czech cubist Emil Filla’s paintings were stolen, one of his paintings sold for a record-setting price in Prague — and then another Filla painting, this one seized in Vienna because of a lawsuit, returned to Prague and stands at the center of a controversial new Czech policy about artwork.
Free Weights In The Balcony: What Happens To Beautiful Old Movie Theatres?
Working out in front of the big screen (which still shows flicks) has become business as usual for customers at the Crunch Fitness in the old Alhambra Theatre.
Putting A Face, And A Body (Or Several) To Religious Freedom
Jerusalem’s Kolben Dance Company and its new open blinds policy are one part of wider Israeli society resisting religious restrictions on women.
Is The New South African Censorship Law As Bad As Apartheid Laws?
Nadine Gordimer thinks so.
Back To The Drawing Board, With Matisse
“Drawing is a labour-intensive activity, yet the results have the lightest touch, to be subjective and impressionistic, to be chasing the fugitive moment. You have to come in close to a drawing to examine it properly, and the relationship is one-on-one.”
Die, Suburban Scum! (Or At Least Suburban Housing Stock)
“Many fringe suburbs are turning into slums, with abandoned housing and rising crime.” (Of course, the writers have some suggestions to change this decline.)
Taking A Literary Feud To The Next Level – The Courts
Book reviewing in Britain can be a dangerous art, thanks to libel laws. Now reviewer Pankaj Mishra may face a lawsuit from historian Niall Ferguson over whether Ferguson got an appropriate apology, and whether Ferguson’s work can be called racist.