Art News from Around the World

Visual Arts Mon, 17 Feb 2020 19:29 Why The Trump Administration’s Greek Columns Plan For Federal Buildings Will Be A Bust While much of the criticism that has been directed at NCAS’s proposal thus far (from the American Institute of Architects, from the profession at large, and from more or less the entire critical establishment) only threatens to elevate the group’s standing—reigniting a tiresome 1980s Style War, pitting pop historicists against high-minded modernists—it has tended to […]Source: Visual Arts Mon, 17 Feb 2020 17:28 Remember The Stolen-Klimt-Hidden-All-These-Years-In-A-Museum-Wall Story? Weird, right? While the painting is definitely authentic, police are still trying to puzzle out the odd story of how it ended up there and who really did it. It’s complicated. – The Daily BeastSource: Visual Arts Mon, 17 Feb 2020 14:45 Overheard At LA’s Art Fairs “I walk into the wrong entrance at the large industrial building hosting the Spring/Break Art Show. ‘Sorry!’ a young cheery Englishwoman at a desk tells me. ‘This is a dumpling-associates popup!’ I don’t think I’ve ever heard a more beautiful sentence.” – HyperallergicSource: Visual Arts Mon, 17 Feb 2020 13:30 Adding Back In The Workers That Art About Los Angeles So Often Forgets For instance, David Hockney’s “splash” paintings created an idea of Los Angeles that was cool and secluded. Artist Ramiro Gomez imagines what was going on behind the scenes in No Splash – and other scenes of “cool” LA. “He creates these paintings more as questions than as heavy, social statements, using the words ‘subtle anger’ […]Source: Visual Arts Mon, 17 Feb 2020 13:15 The Wedding Dress That Cost The Cooper Hewitt Director Her Job In a reversal of fortune story that seems nigh-on impossible given certain trends in federal government, Caroline Baumann “was forced to resign as director of the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in Manhattan last week following an investigation by the Smithsonian’s inspector general into potential problems regarding the procurement of the dress and the wedding space.” – […]Source: Visual Arts Mon, 17 Feb 2020 12:30 What Philly Must Do To Preserve Its Jazz Legacy A ton of Philadelphia jazz history – including John Coltrane’s house – is in danger of disappearing. Property neglect, loss of institutional memory, gentrification by Temple University and unprotected development threaten several foundational spots in the city – but steps could be taken, were there someone to take them. – The Philadelphia InquirerSource: Visual Arts Mon, 17 Feb 2020 12:15 Inside The Sad, Sudden, Dramatic Demise Of The Marciano Art Foundation Was it a dispute between art workers and ultra rich owners, a lack of attendance – or so much more? The shut-down “raises questions about the public benefit of private museums run by wealthy art collectors as foundations. Such establishments, often viewed by skeptics as vanity projects or tax shelters, have mushroomed in recent years.” […]Source: Media Mon, 17 Feb 2020 21:31 “Save The BBC” Petition Gets 100,000 Signers In First 24 Hours The 38 Degrees petition is a response to a report on the front page of Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper The Sunday Times, in which sources close to prime minister Boris Johnson set out a blueprint for how the BBC should be dismantled when its current charter expires in 2027. – DeadlineSource: Ideas Mon, 17 Feb 2020 21:01 Abu Dhabi’s “City Of The Future” Gets Off To A Slow Start To build Masdar City, the provincial capital put in seed money for the estimated $20 billion cost. The project team, Masdar, a subsidiary of Mubadala Development Company, brought in the British architectural firm Foster + Partners, which boasts impeccable eco-credentials. The vision was for a 2.5-square-mile neighborhood that would be close to carbon neutral, thanks […]Source: Ideas Mon, 17 Feb 2020 20:25 How We Got So Disaffected From Our Culture We make the same movies, over and over (most involving Marvel superheroes or galaxies far, far away). Our young turn away from actual sex and toward the consolations of pornography: sex without human relationship, and therefore without consequence and contingency. We approach “politics the way [we] approach a first-person shooter game—as a kind of sport, […]Source: People Mon, 17 Feb 2020 20:02 The Man Who Sees A History Bigger Than All Of Us Yuval Noah Harari did not invent Big History, but he updated it with hints of self-help and futurology, as well as a high-altitude, almost nihilistic composure about human suffering. He attached the time frame of aeons to the time frame of punditry—of now, and soon. His narrative of flux, of revolution after revolution, ended urgently, […]Source: Ideas Mon, 17 Feb 2020 19:02 At Least 80 American Cities Are Shrinking. Here’s How They’re Planning For It Some cities have turned to “rightsizing”, or shifting their focus from returning to their historical peak and instead toward improving life for the remaining residents. Sometimes that means turning to drastic measures, such as eliminating services to largely empty neighborhoods or demolishing thousands of buildings. – The GuardianSource: Ideas Mon, 17 Feb 2020 18:34 Why The Business Case For Diversity Doesn’t Work Why doesn’t the business case work? Recent research suggests that what’s required for transformational action is a moral and legal case. The business case, because it is based in an economic logic, undermines moral arguments and weakens resolve to make anything other than incremental change. Indeed, experiments show that making the “business case for diversity” […]Source: Issues Mon, 17 Feb 2020 18:01 California’s New Freelance Law Is Playing Havoc With Artists “Since AB5 took effect on January 1, hundreds of thousands of Californians are finding their businesses in tatters. Musicians can’t join bands for a one-night gig, chefs can’t join forces with caterers, nurses can’t work at various hospitals, and writers must cap their submissions per media outlet to 35 per year.” – City JournalSource: Theatre Mon, 17 Feb 2020 17:01 A Theatre Director Rates The Presidential Candidates On their Performance Style “Maybe it’s an occupational hazard, but I tend to view politicians, and especially the current crop of contenders for the Democratic nomination, through the lens of performance. As a director I’ve watched thousands of actors audition; it’s a truism in the field that you can tell whether or not someone is of interest within the […]Source: The World Mon, 17 Feb 2020 16:29 An AI Bot Interviews Billy Eilish, Eliciting Some Interesting Answers Its abstract questions provoked some surprising insights into the singer’s mind. Viewers learnt that Eilish used to dream of working at Jamba Juice or Trader Joe’s, and once wore a wig out to dinner to avoid attracting attention — but she doesn’t want to go back to being anonymous. – TheNextWebSource: Media Mon, 17 Feb 2020 16:00 Independent Cinemas In Canada Say They’re Being Shut Out By Cineplex How’s this for a near monopoly? Cineplex owns 75 percent of movie screens across Canada – and indie theatres say the behemoth is shutting them out of Oscar winners and nominees like Parasite and Little Women. “Industry insiders say the practice of exclusive runs at certain cinemas isn’t new. But independent theatres say that exclusivity has […]Source: Media Mon, 17 Feb 2020 15:30 While Boris Johnson Wants To ‘Massively Prune’ The BBC, Senior Tory MPs Say No One MP called the idea an “act of cultural vandalism,” and another wrote, “”his is not a fight the BBC is picking nor a contest my party promised if we got elected. … If the BBC ends up in decline, it will be the government which will be accused by the very people we will […]Source: Media Mon, 17 Feb 2020 15:00 More Eyes On South Korea’s Class Divisions After ‘Parasite’ Hits Big On The World Stage The semi-basement that the Kim family lives in is a reality for about 2 percent of South Koreans living in Seoul – one of the most expensive cities in Asia. One of them, who shares a name with the daughter in the film, says it’s very similar. “Kim, who moved into her $211-a-month banjiha apartment […]Source: Media Mon, 17 Feb 2020 14:30 The Oscar Bump Was Real This Week For ‘Parasite’ Well, debate over, at least for films with subtitles: “The twisted South Korean thriller collected $5.5 million over the weekend, an exceptional 234% increase in ticket sales and the biggest post-Oscar boost for a best picture winner in the past decade.” (And that’s not including the massive overseas bump as well.) – VarietySource: