“The truth is that everything you do changes your brain. Everything. Every little thought or experience plays a role in the constant wiring and rewiring of your neural networks. So there is no escape. Yes, the internet is rewiring your brain. But so is watching television. And having a cup of tea. Or not having a cup of tea.”
Month: May 2012
The Recreated Barnes – New Museum Different But The Same
“While there are many moments of breathtaking refinement, and the galleries themselves are a revelation, the result is sadly – no, tragically – a long way from being a successful addition to the city.”
Philadelphia’s Emerging Museum Mile Transforms The City’s Culture
“While some aren’t sure whether the clustering of these collections will add up to something greater than the sum of their parts, the consensus is that the Barnes’ relocation to the Parkway marks a tipping point in Philadelphia’s cultural and civic life.”
Recreating The Barnes
“For most modern architects, the idea of replicating any building, even one as fine as Paul Cret’s exquisitely proportioned 1920s gallery, is anathema. Some art-world figures were appalled to hear that Barnes’ antiquated, salon-style hanging scheme would also be replicated, although others saw it as crucial to understanding the collector’s intentions. Yet for the Barnes to succeed in its new location, the board understood that the building had to be a serious work of architecture, not a pastiche.”
The Myth Of “Average” – It Turns Out Most Of Us Are Outliers
“New research suggests that rather than describe how humans perform, the bell curve may actually be constraining how people perform. Minus such constraints, a new paper argues, lots of people are actually outliers.”
The End Of Music Genres
“It’s no longer necessary for artists to play by the rules of a specific genre to make music that resonates with a crowd. You don’t need to strive for authenticity in the same way that artists of a previous generation did because the rules for what it means to be authentic don’t apply anymore.”
Museum Wins (Well, Is Granted) Nearly Six Million Pounds From The Lottery
“A grant of £5.9m from the Heritage Lottery Fund has brought the Ashmolean museum a step closer to owning a painting of a wistful young woman in a shimmering white dress by Édouard Manet.The Oxford museum now needs to raise a further £908,000 by the 7 August deadline.”
Scottish Bagpipers Not So Thrilled With Bags Made In China
“Sheepskins were traditionally prepared by fellmongers in Scotland and elsewhere in the UK. But over the last decade rising costs and legislation to reduce pollution have seen fellmongery businesses close down or their machinery shipped to purpose-built joint-venture plants in China and Morocco.”
Afghan National Museum Highlights Country’s Buddhist Heritage
“Dating from the second century A.D., the original artifacts in the show were hidden – many of them in secret vaults outside the museum – and protected by museum staff through 30 years of conflict.”
Do U Wnt 2 C R&J 2Nite? Then Texting Won’t Really Do
22-year-old student Alex Edwards “has transposed the whole of Romeo and Juliet’s famous Act II, Scene II into text abbreviations and produced it as Were4 rt thou Rmo? It’s a flip-page book with the text versions alternating with Shakespeare’s actual words; currently a uni project limited edition, but hopefully more widely available soon. Interestingly, the point is not to celebrate or promote the world of texting, but to show newcomers to Shakespeare how beautiful and powerful the original writing is.”