“His most famous design emerged out of material restrictions imposed during World War II: The 1943 Risom Lounge Chair originally had a curved frame made from wood scraps and a seat and back woven out of a parachute producer’s rejected nylon straps.”
Tag: 12.10.16
Monuments Men 2.0 – International Heritage Needs Protection Now More Than Ever
“While art historians, provenance experts, and criminologists might seem like unlikely war heroes, the fact that the military recognizes the need for these types of experts, to advise commanders and to work with civilian authorities after battles, is hugely important. As the military are planning before and during a conflict, it is important for officers in charge to think ‘what are the historically significant places we need to protect in a conflict, and how do we preserve what is damaged as a result of military necessity.’”
Study: Arts Schools’ Impact On The UK Economy
The study by GuildHE, a representative body for higher education, found creative-focused universities and colleges generate at least £8.4bn each year by meeting the needs of employers for creative, qualified, trained workers.
An Astounding List Of Drunk Great Composers!
“The list of heavy-drinking composers is worthy of Monty Python’s ‘Philosophers’ Song’. It includes Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Liszt, Brahms, Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky and Sibelius. There are no reports of Bach getting drunk — but during a fortnight’s trip to Halle in 1713 his beer bill came to 18 grossen, which suggests that he got through eight gallons of the stuff (plus lashings of brandy). Berlioz and Wagner preferred opium, and it’s not fanciful to suggest that you can hear it in the Symphonie Fantastiqueand Tristan. Can you hear alcohol in the music of the boozers?”
Why Are Bookstores Thriving In Berlin?
“Despite the rise of the predatory online and mass-market bookseller, the dark specter of Amazon that has caused roughly one-third of indie bookstores in Britain to close in the last decade, Berlin is undergoing an analogue reading renaissance with more owner-run bookshops opening than shutting in recent times.”
Iconic Bookstores Around The World That Are As Atmospheric As They Are Literary
“When you walk into the shop, the books appear to reach impossible heights and stretch clear into the distance, an effect created by the perfect symmetry of the dark wooden shelves and the clever use of mirrors on the ceilings and walls. In an amphitheater-like room for readings and lectures, the impression is amplified by the reflection of the curved wall in the mirrored ceiling; it feels as if you are completely surrounded by a rainbow of book spines. In yet another room, the books are arranged on thin columns placed randomly around the room like trees in a forest, with benches interspersed for reading. Again, a mirrored ceiling makes the shelves appear as if they are not just trees, but towering redwoods.”
Clash Of The Titans: When Nabokov Debated Wilson
As we enter into the era of Trumped-down literacy, when “the life of the mind” seems almost like a quaint idea, it’s somehow thrilling to imagine a world where great intellects clashed, taking language seriously, meaning what they said, and being able to back their assertions with genuine knowledge.
The Irrepressible Jerry Saltz And The Future Of The Critic/Artist
There was a perfect storm: Saltz’s TV notoriety coincided with the advent of social media and the explosion of the art market onto a global stage stoked by the boogeymen of big bucks, glamour and lack of attractive alternatives in the financial markets.
How Did Ads For Canadian Arts Organizations Show Up On Breitbart News?
“The ads’ appearance illuminates a vexing consequence of a growing method of ad buying on the Internet, in which companies often have no idea where their commercial messages are showing up or which publishers they are financially supporting.”
Mavis Staples Just Got A Kennedy Center Honor, But She Says Today Isn’t So Different From The Civil Rights Era
The singer, who was barely into double digits when she started singing gospel music with her family, has thoughts about what’s happening now: “I watch the news sometimes and I think I’m back in the ’60s. It’s all happening all over again. This kid Chance The Rapper, he’s very good at explaining what’s happening in the world today.”