About 36,000 additional three-dimension objects belonging to the art gallery are already on display at the West Campus at its recently opened Wurtele Study Center. This is all on top of a $135m renovation of the main building that opened in 2012, doubling the museum’s size through the imaginative reuse of two adjacent existing buildings. Few if any museums in America have undergone a more dramatic transformation, and for the better. – The Art Newspaper
Tag: 12.17.18
Prominent Artists Protest Appointment At France’s National Arts Academy: Too Conservative?
The artists Mai-Thu Perret and Lili Reynaud-Dewar, along with the curator Chus Martinez, signed the petition statement published on the Mediapart news website in early November, saying that Jean De Loisy is “near retirement… and the symbol of a hegemony”, adding: “We ask that our voices are heard, denouncing the hold that conservative [views] still exert on the cultural policy of France today, despite a desire for renewal.” – The Art Newspaper
So Just How Dependent Are Ballet Companies On ‘Nutcracker’ These Days?
“[Dance/USA] just reported on the state of The Nutcracker for the first time since 2008, and the data shows just how much the ballet’s prevalence has grown in the past 10 years — and how much companies have come to rely on it as a revenue source.” — Dance Magazine
Accountant Whose Theft Destroyed Literary Agency Gets Only Two Years In Prison
“Darin Webb, the bookkeeper who stole more than $3.4 million over eight years from venerable New York literary agency Donadio & Olson, was sentenced to two years in prison on Monday, less than half the 51-63 month term the government had recommended.” The judge’s reason? That Webb didn’t steal the money for himself. — Publishers Weekly
Alice Walker Under Fire For Recommending In NY Times Book Seen As Anti-Semitic
For the Times Book Review‘s “By the Book” feature, Walker cited among the books on her nightstand David Icke’s And the Truth Shall Set You Free, which allegedly cites The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Leading the criticism of Walker was Tablet magazine’s Yair Rosenberg: “The book is an unhinged antisemitic conspiracy tract written by one of Britain’s most notorious antisemites.” — The Guardian
‘Seismic’: English National Opera To Give Under-18s Free Tickets To Saturday Night Shows
Said company CEO Stuart Murphy, “We were founded on the belief that opera is for everyone. Removing cost as a barrier to entry for under-18s is a seismic leap forward for ENO and for opera as a whole.” There are two hitches, though … — The Guardian
Play Publisher Samuel French Has New Owner
“Concord Music, which started as a jazz label but now owns song catalogs from classical to metal, said Monday that it would establish a new division, Concord Theatricals, to oversee its stage-related holdings, which now include Samuel French.” — The New York Times
Early TV-Age Media Theorists Understood A Lot About Our Current Age
These observers captured the moment when civilization turned from typographic culture—itself a massive break from the largely oral culture that preceded it—to electronic media. They’re the metaphorical physicians who noted the first symptoms of a worsening malaise we’re seeing now. In other words, our internet-and-smartphone-driven age does not represent, as we might think, its own huge shift from the Enlightenment tradition, but rather the most recent stages of a shift that started with disembodied voices and faces streaming out of clunky boxes. – Wired
Canadian Radio Banned “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” Then Reversed The Decision; Is This Progress?
Outrage — the hallmark of 21st-century discourse — still exists, but the radio flip-flop on banning indicates the paradigm may be shifting toward a reasonable middle ground, with space for the sorts of varied responses one hopes for in a debate that is in theory black and white but, in practicality, is filled with shades of grey. – Toronto Star
A Debate About “After” Poems: Homage Or Theft?
There’s nothing straightforward about the debate, and nothing particularly new about the “after” convention. Poetry is a medium in which sampling, allusion, and conversation have always been part of the game. – New York Magazine