“We can read into this tragedy the disastrous head-on collision of two conflicting obligations that the ‘creative city’ imposes on itself and its residents.”
Tag: 12.28.16
Indie Booksellers Pick Their Favorite Overlooked Books Of 2016
There’s a huge French bestseller just translated into English, a ferocious and hilarious satire of contemporary El Salvador, Jim Harrison’s final collection of poetry, the history of a New York apartment building through the AIDS crisis, a history of the coyote, and “the most literary book on bodybuilding and superbike racing you’ll ever read!” (There’s also Marina Abramović’s memoir, which we don’t think was exactly overlooked.)
Rereading ‘Great Expectations’ After 50 Years
David Denby: “Page by page, the book is less hearty than I remembered … and much funnier – really savage in many passages.”
Stephen Petronio’s Dance Company Buys New Home In Catskills
The purchase was funded by the sale of visual art by some of Petronio’s famous collaborators.
Top Posts From AJBlogs 12.29.16
Overbuilding of cultural facilities and ‘economic impact’
Followers of this blog are familiar with my thoughts on ‘economic impact‘ studies. But I think I have forgotten to mention yet another way in which these studies are not only useless, but positively harmful. … read more
AJBlog: For What It’s Worth Published 2016-12-28
12 Plays of Xmas: 2. Birth by TW Robertson
What does reality look like on stage? I’ll tell you what it doesn’t usually look like: a play that sets the finale in ivy-covered ruins on an aristocratic estate. … read more
AJBlog: Performance Monkey Published 2016-12-28
It’s Still the Christmas Season
When I wrote two recent seasonal posts here–about art-related Christmas/Chanukkah presents and about the Star Trail at the National Gallery – I had forgotten about an exhibition … read more
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts Published 2016-12-28
Algorithm-Driven Art – How Netflix Is Changing The Way Artistic Decisions Are Being Made (Or Not)
How do you calculate the value of art? In the TV and movie business, given the size of budgets involved and the number of tickets that need to be sold, the commercial business calculation is paramount. A worthy artistic project won’t get very far if the potential audience calculation isn’t right.
Of the many ways Netflix is changing the TV and movie business, calculating audience behavior might be the most revolutionary. Netflix uses an algorithm to calculate how viewers choose what to watch, what they’re watching, when, and for how long they’re tuning in.
When determining how cost-efficient a program is, Netflix analyzes its share of viewing relative to its share of the cost budget, and other factors like impact on acquisition, total raw viewing hours, critical acclaim, and awards performance.
Of course, Netflix doesn’t release audience viewership data, so competitors can’t tell which Netflix projects are doing well and which aren’t, which in itself upends the popularity charts that typically power pop culture and guides producers and studios in which projects get made.
This article suggests that Netflix is also using its viewer algorithms in negotiating how much it will offer producers for projects, though Netflix denies the practice:
Like other entertainment entities, it (Netflix) looks at things like the talent attached to a project and the audience for a particular genre to estimate how much a film or show might be viewed compared to its cost. Every project, Netflix said, is assessed differently.
But why, really? Any studio makes a series of calculations when deciding on what it will buy. Netflix, by virtue of the granular way in which it can chart audience behavior, undoubtedly has the data to be able to algorithmatize the process to its benefit. What does it say that Netflix feels the need to deny it about how we think about the artistic process?
Debbie Reynolds Dead At 84, One Day After Her Daughter’s Death
Before she became known to a younger generation as Carrie Fisher‘s mother, Reynolds was one of America’s biggest stars – on stage, screen, and turntable – of the 1950s and ’60s. (Not to mention being the most famous of the women who lost their husbands to Elizabeth Taylor.)
As The Year Ends, The Oscars Race Heats Up
Who, and what, will get nominated for Academy Awards – and what’s still in the running even as the discussion narrows?
Berlin Cancels Show Of Contemporary Works From Iran After Getting No Approval From Tehran
The best collection of Western modern art outside of Europe and North America will not travel to Germany. The head of the Berlin museum authority says that as far as he knew, “Iran’s culture minister and foreign minister both backed the exhibition. All that was required was the signature of the president, Hassan Rouhani, for the export licenses to be granted, and that signature never came.”
As The World Turns Its Back On Art Historical Expertise, Ignorance Will Reign
You can blame the threat of lawsuits for just about all of the problems, including a contraction in the value of Old Masters. And without real experts, “There will be an even greater consolidation and reliance on a small number of powerful artist foundations and committees, who have the money to deter or fight litigation.”