Where Artists’ Copyright Meets Commerce, Things Get Messy

“Even if a painting (or drawing or photograph) has been sold to a collector or a museum, in general, the artist or his heirs retain control of the original image for 70 years after the artist’s death. … If someone wants to reproduce the painting – on a Web site, a calendar, a T-shirt, or in a film – it is the estate that must give its permission, not the museum.” Issues arise everywhere from Google Art Project to the 3-D re-release of Titanic.

Christopher Hitchens Snubbed By Orwell Prize

“Hitchens has been described as the heir to Orwell, but never won the £3,000 prize which seeks to reward the art of political writing. It was widely whispered among critics that Hitchens, who died aged 62 in December after a long battle with cancer, would likely receive posthumous recognition this year.” But his final book, Arguably, did not make this year’s shortlist.

UK Science Fiction Writers Ask To Be Matched Up With Scientists

“A group of six major British science fiction authors including Alastair Reynolds, Ken MacLeod and Geoff Ryman are calling urgently for closer collaboration between the arts and the sciences,” including a body like the US National Academy of Sciences’ Science and Entertainment Exchange, which connects scientists with fiction projects that need expertise.

Engagement? Here’s A Chamber Music Group That Exists To Engage

The new 46-member collective that calls itself The Declassified “plans to give chamber music concerts in various formations. But it mainly wants to establish residencies for weeks at a time at universities, conservatories and just about anywhere else. Performing would be only part of a menu of teaching, master classes and projects that bring audience members closer to performers.”

Advertising On The Web Isn’t As Carefully Targeted As You Might Think

“Everyone knows that half of all advertising dollars are wasted. And everyone knows that the Internet fixes that, because digital advertisers can spend money getting their messages to the people they want to reach. Except that’s not true at all: The Web offers advertisers a slew of creepily effective targeting mechanisms, but they only work for some stuff, some of the time.”